英语论文网

pay for them.

During this time, the rituals themselves became more and more detailed. Sacrificial skills and the appropriate mantras and hymns were passed down from one generation of priests to the next. Priestly rules for ritual structure influenced the domestic sphere as well and the simple domestic rituals began to conform to the formulas prescribed by the priesthood. The domestic rites did, however, remain confined to those that could be performed by the householder and consisted predominantly of simple offering ceremonies.

The communal sacrifices continued to become more and more elaborate as time went on. The ceremonies eventually reached a level of complexity that they required several priests to officiate over them. The various ritual duties were generally divided up among several priests who specialized in a certain aspect of the sacrifice. Therefore, training for future priests also became more specialized and specific, rather than allowing one priest to be educated in the performance of a ceremony in its entirety.

As the ritual of sacrifice gained importance in Vedic culture, the significance of the gods actually decreased. For a time the god Indra became the focus of worship and took on some of the attributes and functions of other deities. This, however, was only a transitional state in Vedic religion. More and more emphasis was placed on the sacrifice alone as the fundamental expression of the religious imagination.

Agni, because of the central role of fire in the sacrificial ceremony, continued to gain prominence and was given status above other gods. Agni was even identified with Indra and became the preeminent sacrificial deity. The sacrificial fire alone connected the earthly realm with the heavens. Agni both transmitted the offerings to the heavens and received them at the same time. Agni was the unifier of all realms of existence and the supreme mechanism for this unification of heaven and earth was the sacrifice.

The sacrificial ritual itself was believed to hold the creative power of the universe. As Hopkins states, “Once a hospitality rite and celebration of the devas, the sacrifice came to be viewed as a power in its own right. Centuries of priestly concentration on the sacrificial ritual brought about a new view of reality.” [8] The ritual itself took precedence over all else (including the gods), and therefore, the way it was performed was of utmost importance.

The Sanskrit hymns and mantras already had an important place in the sacrifice prior to this time. As the ritual gained cosmic power, so did the hymns and mantras that accompanied it. Speech itself was raised to divine status as the goddess, Vac. [9] The sacrificial mantras and hymns were believed to contain ultimate, unifying truth that was brought out through the speaking and singing of them. The very sound of Sanskrit expressed the underlying element of primordial, eternal truth that supports the universe and maintains being against the threat of non-being. This understanding of mantra was a fundamental step in the development of the concept of brahman, which would later be identified as the underlying, unified, essence of all. The concept of brahman would eventually help lead some people within this society away from the sacrificial ritual in an attempt to seek ultimate spiritual unity with the infinite.

T