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THE DOCTRINE OF LIBERATION IN INDIAN RELIGIONS
law, unity and righteousness underlying the dharmans (laws) of the universe. The gods as well as the holy men obey the laws of sta. VEDIC SACRIFICES (YAJÑA)
The Vedic people worshipped gods through sacrifices. The gods accepted as gifts food, drinks, fruits, milk, butter, honey and grain etc., offered to them in sacrifices (yajña); soma, surā (wine) and honey were also offered to the deities. At the end of the sacrifices the fees (dakşiņā) consisting of gold, silver, cattle, horses, grains, etc., were given to the priests. As the gods were superior to human beings, so the sacrifices were performed by men to please them and to communicate and cultivate friendship with them.
In the beginning Vedic people offered simple prayers to the gods. They sang hymns in praise of gods. Gradually the cult of sacrifices seems to have developed. As Radhakrishnan states, “sacrifices represent the second stage of the Vedic religion. In the first it was simple prayer." He quotes the Parāśarasmrti in which the following “meditation in krtayuga, sacrifices in the tretā, worship in the dvāpara, praises and prayers in kali.” He further compares this view with that of the Vişnupurāņa which says that "the rules of sacrifices were formulated in the tretāyuga."'10
The Rgveda shows an advanced stage of the development of the sacrificial ritualism. The Vedic rituals were performed with the help of a priest. Hymns in praise of gods were recited and articles such as grain, milk, butter, etc., were offered. Animals such as goats, sheep, etc., were also offered in Vedic sacrifices. Besides gods, ancestors and dead fathers were also honoured through offerings. It has been suggested by several scholars that the sacrificial religion of the Vedic people was largely of materialistic character.
VEDIC ESCHATOLOGY
The early Vedic eschatological beliefs were of a primitive type. The doctrine of rebirth, which later on became central to all systems of Indian thought, was unknown to old Vedic people. The Satapatha Brāhmaṇa seems to refer to belief in life after death. The priests believed that immortality was attainable through progeny and sacrifices. There was as yet no idea of spirtual liberation or release. At one place in the ægveda the breath (prāna) of a dead man is called
10.
Ibid., pp. 107-108.
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