The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c27.s5.1

v1.c27.s5.1

On the gift theory of sacrifice it is natural that man should offer what he delights to feed upon, and in point of fact this undoubtedly is the rule in the great majority of cases: the Vedic Indians practised agricultural as well as pastoral pursuits, and we find therefore that they offered to the gods, not only milk in its various forms, as curd or melted butter in several varieties, but also grain, barley and rice, which served to make different kinds of cakes, or were mixed with milk or curds to form variegated messes. These materials served to satisfy many needs, but the animal and the Soma offerings were of still greater consequence in the eyes of the priest, though they must have been numerically very few in comparison with the sacrifices of simple materials.