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SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.
light of heaven ; just as we found Mitra, the sun, by the side of Varuna, the god of the all-encompassing heaven. Not as if Agni and Indra had ever entirely superseded Mitra and Varuna. On the contrary, all these gods continue to share, in a greater or less degree, the affections of the Vedic singers; and as regards Varuna and Indra in particular, their relations are well expressed by Vasishtha when he says (Rig-v. VII, 82, 2; 5), that the one (Varuna) is' samråg'(universal ruler, overlord); and the other (Indra) ‘svarâg' (self-ruler, independent lord);—and that, ever since the time when these two, by their power, created all the beings in the world, Mitra serves Varuna in peace, whilst the mighty (Indra) goes forth with the Maruts in quest of glory. Even in the sacrificial ritual, Mitra and Varuna continue to play an important part, seeing that one of the priests—the Maitråvaruna-is named after them, that they receive various oblations, and that at the end of every Somasacrifice at least one sterile cow is offered to them, apparently as an expiatory victim, for shortcomings in the sacrifice, thus accentuating once more the ethical character of these deities. It is thus not to be wondered at that, whilst Agni and Indra are most commonly referred to in the Brahmanas as the divine representatives of the Brahman and Kshatra, or the spiritual and the political powers—the high priest and king-respectively, the very same is the case as regards Mitra and Varuna ®; and the Maruts, representing the common people, are accordingly associated with Varuna,
1 Taitt. S. VI, 6, 7, 4, explains this offering as symbolically smoothing down the sacrifice torn up by recited verses and chanted hymns, even as a field, torn up by the plough, is levelled by a roller ('matya,' taken however by Sây. in the sense of cow-dong '). The Sat. Br. does not allude to the expiatory character of the offering, but there can be no doubt that it is of an essentially piacular significance. It need scarcely be mentioned that the avabbrithe,' or lustral bath, at the end of Soma- and other sacrifices, is distinctly explained (II, 5, 2, 46; IV, 4, 5, 10) as intended to clear the Sacrificer of all guilt for which he is liable to Varuna. Cf. Taitt. Br. III, 9, 15, 'At the lastral bath he offers the last oblation with “To Gambaka hail !" for Gumbaka is Varana : he thus finally frees himself from Varuna by offering.
See, for instance, Sat. Br. IV, 1, 4, 2; V, 3, 2, 4; IX, 4, 2, 16; Maitr. S. IV, 5, 8; Taitt. Br. III, 1, 2, 7 (kshatrasya råga Varuro sdhirigar).
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