evil spirits. Many tales begin with the formula: 'The gods and evil
spirits, both born of the Father-god' (_Cat. Br._ I. 2. 4. 8). Weber
thinks that this implies close acquaintance with Persian worship, a
sort of tit-for-tat; for the Hindu would in that case call the holy
spirit, _ahura_, of the Persian a devil, just as the Persian makes an
evil spirit, _daeva_, out of the Hindu god, _deva_. But the relations
between Hindu and Persian in this period are still very uncertain. It
is interesting to follow out some of the Brahmanic legends, if only to
see what was the conception of the evil spirits. In one such
theological legend the gods and the (evil) spirits, both being sons of
the Father-god, inherited from him, respectively, mind and speech;
hence the gods got the sacrifice and heaven, while the evil spirits
got this earth. Again, the two entered on the inheritance of their
father in time, and so the gods have the waxing moon, and the evil
spirits, the waning moon (_ib._ III 2. 1. 18; I. 7. 2. 22).

But what these Asuras or (evil) spirits really are may be read easily
from the texts. The gods are the spirits of light; the Asuras are the
spirits of darkness. Therewith is indissolubly connected the idea that
sin and darkness are of the same nature. So one reads that when the
sun rises it frees itself 'from darkness, from sin,' as a snake from
its slough (_ib._ II. 3. I. 6). And in another passage it is said that
darkness and illusion were given to the Asuras as their portion by the
Father-god _(ib._ II. 4. 2. 5). With this may be compared also the
frequent grouping of The Asuras or Rakshas with darkness (_e.g., ib._
III. 8. 2. 15; IV. 3. 4. 21). As to the nature of the gods the
evidence is contradictory. Both gods and evil spirits were originally
soulless and mortal. Agni (Fire) alone was immortal, and it was only
through him that the others continued to live. They became immortal by
putting in their inmost being the holy (immortal) fire (_ib._ II. 2.
2. 8). On the other hand, it is said that Agni was originally without
brightness; and Indra, identified with the sun, was originally dark
(_ib._ IV. 5.4.3; III. 4. 2. 15). The belief in an originally human
condition of the gods (even the Father-god was originally mortal) is
exemplified in a further passage, where it is said that the gods used
to live on earth, but they grew tired of man's endless petitions and
fled; also in another place, where it is stated that the gods us