of Edinburgh, Session 1869 - 70 . 
121 
The hair appears to have been occasionally worn wound or braided 
upwards in a spiral form. 
8. Barley, at least, if not wheat also, and no doubt other grains, 
were used as food. The flesh of kine also seems to have been eaten. 
Wine (from what material distilled does not appear) was drunk by 
people of the upper classes, contrary to the usage of the later 
Hindus. 
9. A hymn, descriptive of the variety of men’s tastes and pursuits, 
was given in a metrical translation, in which, various professions 
are mentioned, viz., those of poet, priest, physician, carpenter : the 
construction of chariots is often alluded to; and working in iron or 
other metals, and in hides, must have been common, as the mention 
of weapons of war and other metal implements, and of leather, is 
constantly occurring. Weaving, too, was of course practised, and 
boat building understood, as boats are frequently referred to. The 
caste system does not seem to have been developed during the earlier 
part of the Yedic era ; but in a few of the later hymns Brahmans are 
mentioned; and in one text the names of the four castes Brahman, 
Rajanya, Yaisya, and Sudra, occur in conjunction. A free translation 
was given of a hymn in which the Brahmans and their observances 
appear to be satirised. From what precedes under head 8, it will 
be seen that agriculture was practised, and specific references to it, 
and apparently to irrigation as auxiliary to it, occur. 
10. Playing at dice was a favourite amusement of the Yedic 
Indians, as appears from numerous texts. A hymn, in which the 
miseries of a gambler’s life are strikingly described, was given in an 
English metrical dress. G-aily dressed dancers or actors are referred 
to as exhibiting their performances. 
11. Theft and robbery are alluded to as common offences. 
12. As animals, wild or tame, mentioned in the Rigveda, kine, 
horses, sheep, goats, dogs, deer, boars, buffaloes, apes, wolves, and 
lions, are adduced. Elephants, too, are alluded to in the Rigveda, 
certainly as wild, but whether or not as tame also is not so clear. 
Among birds, pigeons, falcons, vultures, ducks, swans, and quails 
are referred to. 
13. It need scarcely be said that wars were frequent in the Yedic 
age. Parts of two hymns translated in prose were read — one of them 
in celebration of Indra’s prowess, and supplicating victory, and the 
