History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c24.s6.8
History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c24.s6.8
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v1.c24.s6.8
The Vedic literature refers to sacrifices being resorted to for bringing rains. Yāska (Nirukta, II.11) names a group of hymns in the Ṛgveda (X.98) as Varṣakāmasūkta or hymns recited at a sacrifice performed to bring about rain. The belief in the efficacy of sacrifice to cause rains is recorded in the Gītā (III.14) and the Manusmṛti (III. 76). R. Gangopadhyaya (p.112) goes too far in asserting that this belief had ‘a substantial basis’ as ‘famines were few and far between in the time of the Ṛgveda when Indra worship was greatly in vogue’.
Linked texts (4)
- Mānava Dharmaśāstra — Manu & Bhṛgu, Sanskrit
- Nirukta — Yāska, Sanskrit
- Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
- Bhagavadgītā — Vyāsa, Sanskrit