Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/219
posed by the Rishis of the past. The very first hymn in the Rig-Veda strikes this note in its second stanza: "Agni, worthy to be adored by the ancient Rishis and the present ones – may he conduct the gods hither!" Another time a poet of the family of Kanva sings[1]: "In the spirit of the olden times do I dress out my songs like (the poet) Kanva, through which (god) Indra gets his fiery strength." Or again: "(Hear), O Indra, him that hath produced for thee a new and lovely song, with comprehending mind a pious song such as of yore has strengthened the divine order of the universe."[2] In more confident or ecstatic temper, the poets often declare that they have produced new songs of praise, and that, in their opinion, these are first-rate songs. One poet recommends his "new, beautiful song of praise, that comes from the heart;" another exclaims: "I bring forward my word, the new, the fresh-born." With all due respect to their predecessors this pretty nearly amounts to saying that the new hymns are just as good as the old, in addition to having the charm of novelty. One thing is certain: we have nothing like beginnings before us. The Rig-Veda is pretty nearly the final expression of its own type of composition. What comes later in the way of sacred poetry