Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/207

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Religious Conceptions and Feeling
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persona grata "with him that giveth, and him that shall give."[1] An exceedingly interesting hymn of the Atharva-Veda, not at all wanting in poetic inspiration, is addressed to the demoness "Grudge," or "Avarice.' The name of the lady is Arāti. Of course she is primarily an abstraction. Yet she appears as a full-fledged person: she has a golden complexion, is lovely, rests upon golden cushions; is in fact quite an Apsaras, or "schoene Teufelinne," as the old German poetry has it in for Venus. With all her charms she is coaxed to go away:

"Bring (wealth) to us, do not stand in our way, O Arāti; do not keep from us the sacrificial fee when it is being taken to us! Homage be to the power of grudge, to the power of baffling! Adoration to Arāti!

"Him whom I implore with holy word (Vāc Sarasvatī), the yoke-fellow of thought, may Faith enter him to-day, aroused by the burnished soma drink!"

(Atharva-Veda 5. 7. 1, 5.)

That is to say, when the burnished soma drink sparkles in the cup, when the pious emotion that comes from the skilful hymn stirs the heart of the rich sacrificer, then enters into him Faith. But what kind? The kind that drives out niggardliness. Then he gives to the Brahmans. How the Brahmans do long for baksheesh, especially when they are poor!

  1. ↑ Rig-Veda 10. 151. 2, 3.
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