The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c27.s7.1

v1.c27.s7.1

As we have seen, it is an essential part of the Vedic sacrifice that it is a sacrifice for an individual, the Yajamāna,⁴ or sacrificer, who provides the means for the sacrifice, and above all the rich rewards for the priests. The king is naturally the chief of sacrificers, for him alone such sacrifices as the royal consecration could be offered, but there are others, members of the royal house, high officers and soldiers among the Kṣatriyas, rich merchants or agriculturists, and also, we should certainly add, rich Brahmans themselves. After making all allowances for exaggeration, the gifts to the Brahmans must often have resulted in the accumulation by a Brahman of great wealth which would pass on to his son, and which in view of the conceptions of the Brahmans could certainly not be better spent than in the performance of sacrifice. But even in the case of the king, the sacrifice is for the prosperity of the king, and only incidentally for the prosperity of the realm and people: the prayer of the royal consecration shows this, and still more markedly the prayer of the horse sacrifice, which in effect is the real purpose of that sacrifice, and not a thank-offering or mere celebration of the success of the king: the Adhvaryu prays,¹ 'In holiness may a Brahman be born, full of holy radiance. In the kingly power be born a prince, a hero, a bowman, piercing with shafts, a mighty warrior. May the cow be rich in milk, strong the draught ox, swift the steed, fruitful the woman, eloquent the youth. May a hero son be born to the sacrificer. May Parjanya grant rain at all time according to our desire. May the corn ripen'. The bulk of the people are not even mentioned, but their pursuits, agriculture and the care of cattle, are alluded to.