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humanity and the other gods. It was the fire (Agni) that consumed the offerings and carried them to the divine realm. [2]

As the sacrificial ritual grew and developed in terms of ceremonial actions, the words of sacrifice also gained a more central role in the ritual. The priests who oversaw that the ritual was physically carried out correctly also played the role of poets who would praise the gods with hymns. Through their words, they hoped to evoke the gods’ good favor. These hymns often contained mythical material relating to the gods they addressed. The poetry expressed tones of reverence, fear, or other emotions depending on the god that was receiving the offering.

As these rituals gained complexity and the number of hymns increased, the method for choosing hymns to be used in rituals became more codified and only certain priests could participate in the process. The general consensus in Vedic society was that the priests who sung the sacrificial hymns did not create them. Rather, the priests were rishis (seers) who “heard” the primordial sound of Sanskrit and thus were able to deliver to the public the divinely inspired hymns they discovered. [3]

Certain families of priests compiled many of these hymns into books (mandalas). Within these books, the hymns were organized into groups according to the god addressed. These books were eventually brought together to form the Rig Veda. This and the Atharvaveda, Samaveda, and Yajurveda (which contain hymns and ritual procedures) make up the corpus of Vedic religious writings. [4] A portion of one such hymn from the Rig Veda is as follows:

With words sent forth in holy hymns, Agni we supplicate, the Lord
Of many families who duly serve the Gods, yea him whom others also praise.
Men have won Agni, him who makes their strength abound: we with oblations, worship thee.
Our gracious-minded Helper in our deeds of might, be thou, O Excellent, this day.
Thee for our messenger we choose, thee, the Omniscient, for our Priest.
The flames of thee the mighty are spread wide around: thy splendor reaches to the sky.
The Gods enkindle thee their ancient messenger, - Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman.
That mortal man, O Agni gains through thee all wealth, who hath poured offerings unto thee. [5]

It was not uncommon for householders at this time to perform their own, smaller scale rituals and offerings for the benefit of themselves and their families. These were probably residual practices of the early Aryan offering ceremonies. Wealthy patrons, however, often paid priests to perform larger, more elaborate rituals that required the appropriate priestly ritual knowledge. These rituals were seen as dangerous if not conducted in the proper manner by the proper priest. In return for sponsorship of the ritual, the patron was promised physical rewards on earth and in heaven. In Hubert and Mauss’s terms, the priest was the sacrificer and the patron was the sacrifier. [6] As Thomas Hopkins states, “Only the gods could give health, long life, a prosperous family with many sons, and wealth in cattle, but priests were the agents whose skill induced the gods to grant human requests.” [7] Consequently, the most qualified priests were in high demand and would travel great distances at times to perform rituals for those who could afford to