pproach to a human figure, and the
physical side is not so obtrusive. Indra is most frequently invoked
of all the gods, and may be called the national god of this period.
He is described as a chieftain standing in a chariot drawn by two
horses. He waged a great battle, but still wages it constantly,
against the monsters of heat and drought, Vrittra, the coverer, and
Ahi the dragon, for the deliverance of the cows, the heavenly waters,
kept by them in captivity. The contest between the god and the demon
goes on for ever. Indra is also the giver of good things of every
kind, he keeps the heavenly bodies in their places, he is the author
and preserver of all life, the inspirer of all noble thoughts and the
answerer of pious prayers, the rewarder of all who trust in him, and
the forgiver of the penitent. It is good to sacrifice to him and to
offer him soma in abundance; for it strengthens him to take up afresh
his conflicts and labours as the champion of man. Indra is surrounded
by the Maruts, the storm-gods, who are separately invoked in many
hymns. They drive through the sky with splendour and with mighty
music, and bring rain to the parched earth. Their father is Rudra,
also a god of storms, the handsomest of all the gods, and, in spite
of his thunderbolts, a helpful and kindly being. Wherever he sees
evil done, he hurls his spear to smite the evildoer, but he is also a
healer of both physical and moral evils, and the best of all
physicians. Of the same order of deities are Vata or Vayu, the wind,
and Parjanya, the rain-storm. But the loftiest of all the Vedic gods
is Varuna, the great serene luminous heaven. The hymns addressed to
him are comparatively few, but among them are those which rise to the
highest moral and religious level. In language recalling that of the
psalmists and prophets of the Bible, they exalt Varuna as the creator
of the world and of heaven and the stars, as the omniscient defender
of the good and avenger of all evil, as just and holy, and yet full
of compassion, so that the conscience-stricken suppliant is
encouraged to turn to him.

We here give a few extracts from hymns addressed to some of the gods
we have spoken of. The versions are those of the late Dr. John Muir.
A metrical version can scarcely represent the hymns with the accuracy
the scholar would desire, but, on the other hand, a literal
translation, such as that of Professor Max Mueller in vol. xxxii. of
the Sacred Books of the East, gi