484 BRAHMANISM AND BUDDHISM 



High priest, and through him the entire priesthood, is extolled in 

 terms of frank selfishness. The Udgatar priest asks the Brahman, 

 the highest priest at the sacrifice, the following leading questions: 

 "Who knows the navel of this universe; who heaven, and earth, 

 and atmosphere; who knows the birthplace of the lofty sun; knows, 

 too, the moon, whencesoever born?" The Brahman priest answers: 

 "I know the navel of this universe; I, heaven and earth and atmo- 

 sphere; I know the birthplace of the lofty sun; know, too, the moon, 

 whencesoever born." (Ibid. 23, 59 and 60.) 



We see the whole stuff of religions: nature myth, liturgy, human 

 psychology, theosophy; they all present themselves as mystery fit 

 for the riddle, and they are handled often in a very fresh and original 

 way; perhaps yet more often with labored obscurity, with mock 

 profundity, designed to swell the importance of the too simple 

 thought. But what is most remarkable, the same ritualistic texts 

 that have preserved the divine riddle have also preserved the, so to 

 speak, human riddle very human indeed in its choice of the most 

 ordinary objects, in its shallow didacticism, in its lumbering humor, 

 and in its naive grossness. Especially in the so-called kuntapa-hymns 

 of the Atharva-Veda, a curious medley of gift-praises, didactic 

 stanzas, riddles, and obscenities, all of which are firmly imbedded 

 in the liturgy, the homely riddle appears, at the first blush, like the 

 cry of a baby in arms in a serious assembly. What shall we say of 

 religious texts that break out in the nursery-charade? Once it is 

 said that the gods propounded these charades a la sphinx to the 

 Asuras, or devils, and so got the better of them: "In that which 

 lies stretched out there is hidden that which stands: (what is it?) " 

 Answer: "The foot in the shoe." 



" By drawing two little ears to one's self they are gotten out in the 

 middle: (what is it?) " The tying of a knot in a rope. 



"Well, here it is, east, west, north, and south; as soon as you 

 touch it, it melts away: (what is it?)" Answer: "A drop (of rain)." 



Then three riddles from the animal and vegetable kingdoms, 

 typifying the actions of quick arrival, swift disappearance, and firm 

 standing, or permanence. The thing is at once subtle and simple: 

 "Bounce! he has come: (what is it?)" Answer: "The dog." 

 " Whish! it is gone: (what is it?) " Answer: "The fall of a leaf." 

 " Bang! it has trodden: (what is it?) " Answer: " The hoof of an ox." 



The decencies of present-day literature forbid the report of that 

 very characteristic class of riddles which deal with human nature 

 in the narrow sense, and with the sexual relation (Atharva-Veda, 

 20, 133), but it is well to bear their existence in mind when looking 

 for an explanation. The theme, of course, primarily suggests popular 

 origin. Yet its presence in the liturgy is taken with the utmost seri- 

 ousness by the ritualists; they explain and apologize for its foolish 



