duced the hymn, totally changes it. The
hymn was written for a burial ceremony. The later ritual knows only
cremation. The ritual, therefore, forces the hymn into its service,
and makes it a cremation-hymn. This is a very good (though very
extreme) example of the difference in age between the early hymns of
the Rig Veda and the more modern ritual. Mueller, _ib_. IX. p. I
(_sic_), has given a thorough account of the later ritual and
ritualistic paraphernalia. We confine ourselves here to the older
ceremony.

The scene of the Vedic hymn is as follows: The friends and relatives
stand about the corpse of a married man. By the side of the corpse
sits the widow. The hymn begins: "Depart, O Death, upon some other
pathway, upon thy path, which differs from the path of gods ... harm
not our children, nor our heroes.... These living ones are separated
from the dead; successful today was our call to the gods. (This man is
dead, but) _we_ go back to dancing and to laughter, extending further
our still lengthened lives." Then the priest puts a stone between the
dead and living: "I set up a wall for the living, may no one of these
come to this goal; may they live an hundred full harvests, and hide
death with this stone...."

The matrons assembled are now bid to advance without tears, and make
their offerings to the fire, while the widow is separated from the
corpse of her husband and told to enter again into the world of the
living. The priest removes the dead warrior's bow from his hand: "Let
the women, not widows, advance with the ointment and holy butter; and
without tears, happy, adorned, let them, to begin with, mount to the
altar (verse 7, p. 274, below). Raise thyself, woman, to the world of
the living; his breath is gone by whom thou liest; come hither; of the
taker of thy hand (in marriage), of thy wooer thou art become the
wife[35] (verse 8). I take the bow from the hand of the dead for our
(own) lordship, glory, and strength." Then he addresses the dead:
"Thou art there, and we are here; we will slay every foe and every
attacker (with the power got from thee). Go thou now to Mother Earth,
who is wide opened, favorable, a wool-soft maiden to the good man; may
she guard thee from the lap of destruction. Open, O earth, be not
oppressive to him; let him enter easily; may he fasten close to thee.
Cover him like a mother, who wraps her child in her garment. Roomy and
firm be the earth, supported by a thousand pillars; from thi