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So Jupiter ousted Chronos, and Indra himself had almost ousted Trita, even in the Veda; and Indra and others had almost ousted Varuna. So in the period we are considering had Sakka, in his turn, almost ousted Indra. Though the epic poets afterwards did their best to re-establish Indra on the throne, they had but poor success; for his name and his fame had dwindled away. And we catch sight of him, in these records, just as he is fading dimly away on the horizon, and changing his shape into that of the successor to his dignity and power.'
It is the same, but in each case in different degrees, with other Vedic gods. It were tedious here to go at length into each case. Isana, the vigorous and youthful form of the dread Śiva of the future, is already on a level with Soma and Varuṇa. And Pajāpati and Brahmā' will soon come to be considered as co-partners with Sakka in the lordship over all the gods. The worship of Agni is scoffed at as on a par with the hocus-pocus of witchcraft and divination, and it is soon to be laughed to scorn in the amusing tales of the folklore of the people." Vayu, the wind-god, never very important, is just mentioned in our list, but nowhere else in texts of that age, and will soon also be the laughing-stock of the story-teller. Varuna is still a power, ranked with the highest,' but he will soon be reduced to a tree-god, a Nāga king,' a lord of the oracle girls,"
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RELIGION-ANIMISM
1 Jät., 4. 8.
2 D. 1. 244; S. 1. 219.
3 Jacobi, Jaina Sutras, I. 198. 4 D. I. 67.
Jātakas Nos. 35 and 162.
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
6 Jātaka No. I7.
'S. 1. 219; Jāt. 5. 28, 6. 201. 8 Jāt. 4. S.
9 Jāt. 6. 164, 257-329.
19 The Varunis, Jāt. 6. 586.
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