ly through the
sky, who on the waters knows the ships;--

8. He, the upholder of order, who knows the twelve months
with the offspring of each, and knows the month that is
engendered afterwards;--

9. He who knows the track of the wind, of the wide, the
bright, the mighty; and knows those who reside on high;--

10. He, the upholder of order, Varu_n_a, sits down among his
people; he, the wise, sits there to govern.

11. From thence perceiving all wondrous things, he sees what
has been and what will be done.

12. May he, the wise Aditya, make our paths straight all our
days; may he prolong our lives!

13. Varu_n_a, wearing golden mail, has put on his shining
cloak; the spies sat down around him.

14. The god whom the scoffers do not provoke, nor the
tormentors of men, nor the plotters of mischief;--

15. He, who gives to men glory, and not half glory, who
gives it even to our own selves;--

16. Yearning for him, the far-seeing, my thoughts move
onwards, as kine move to their pastures.

17. Let us speak together again, because my honey has been
brought: that thou mayst eat what thou likest, like a
friend.

18. Did I see the god who is to be seen by all, did I see
the chariot above the earth? He must have accepted my
prayers.

19. O hear this my calling, Varu_n_a, be gracious now;
longing for help, I have called upon thee.

20. Thou, O wise god, art lord of all, of heaven and earth:
listen on thy way.

21. That I may live, take from me the upper rope, loose the
middle, and remove the lowest!

In conclusion, let me tell you that there is in the Veda no trace of
metempsychosis or that transmigration of souls from human to animal
bodies which is generally supposed to be a distinguishing feature of
Indian religion. Instead of this, we find what is really the sine qua
non of all real religion, a belief in immortality, and in personal
immortality. Without a belief in personal immortality, religion surely
is like an arch resting on one pillar, like a bridge ending in an
abyss. We cannot wonder at the great difficulties felt and expressed
by bishop Warburton and other eminent divines, with regard to the
supposed total absence of the doctrine of immortality or personal
immortality in the Old Testament; and it is equally startling that the
Sadducees who s