The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c34.s3.1

v2.c34.s3.1

The Rigveda and the Vedic literature of the period of the Saṁhitās and the Brāhmaṇas presents us with no clear proof of the belief in the transmigration of the dead : the scanty evidence which has been adduced to prove the contrary view will be discussed hereafter,³ but in this place it is important to note certain really popular beliefs of which there are traces in that literature and in that of the Sūtras. The most important piece of evidence is late : it is recorded by Baudhāyana ⁴ that the birds at the offering to the dead should receive lumps of food, just like the Fathers, on the ground that in the form of birds the Fathers go about. It must, however, be admitted that this is not enough to prove a real popular belief. The idea of the incarnation of men as snakes is clearly to be accepted for the later period,⁵ but for the actual Vedic period it is not demonstrated, and it must in all likelihood be deemed to be an idea which entered the religion of the Veda with the advance of aboriginal influences. A more interesting case is recorded in the ritual for the final burial of the bones of the dead ; ⁶ if they cannot be found, then a garment is spread out, and, if a beast alights on it, it is treated as representing the bones of the dead. But this usage which is recorded for us at a late period cannot be pressed very far. To this scanty evidence may be added such support as can be obtained from such stories as that ⁷ of a mother, who, dying in the absence of her son, lies in wait for him in the shape of a newly created jackal to warn him of danger. The proof does not come to much, and none of it is of early date.