2G6 
Zaratliustra does not proclaim tlie cult of the Ahuras as 
against that of the Devas, but the worship of the Ahuru, 
Ahuramazda, as against that of the company of Devas, God 
against gods, monotheism against polytheism. Now Zara- 
thustra, as noticed, was a reformer, refers to good men living 
ere his time, and did not invent the concept of Ahura ; and 
therefore, so far as the investigation has proceeded, we have 
exceedingly strong reasons for surmising that the Vedic 
period was one of gradual degradation, during which, what- 
ever may have been the superior faith or knowledge of indi- 
viduals, Dyaus, “ the Bright/'’ the god of heaven, was by 
degrees transformed into the Devas or band of bright divini- 
ties, in disregard of that profound saying of a Chinese sage, 
“As there is but one sky, how can there be many gods ? ”* 
Ere considering the Vedic religion in this connection, several 
points alluded to in the foregoing quotations from the Yasna 
must first be noticed. 
13. Tlie Soma-orgies and the Bridge of the Judge. 
The intoxication spoken of in the Gdtha is that produced 
by the Soma-juice; the Karapans or “Performers of sacri- 
ficial rites,” were accustomed in the days of feud between 
Indian and Iranian to prepare solemn Soma-feasts for the 
Indian divinities. The Kavis or Seer-priests of the Vedic 
Aryans then invoked a particular divinity with hymns, and 
the god was supposed to descend and pai’take of the delicious 
beverage. His votaries next intoxicated themselves more or 
less, and when sufficiently excited set out on plundering excur- 
sions. Hence the horror and abomination with which the 
Zarathustrians regarded these depraving orgies, which at 
once vastly debased the concept of divinity and ruined the 
peaceable and orderly agriculturist. The Gdtha speaks of 
“ the priests of idols,” an expression which seems clearly to 
imply an image-worship more or less pronounced. Prof. 
Muller states that “ the religion of the Veda knows of no 
idols. The worship of idols in India is a secondary formation, 
a later degradation of the more primitive worship of ideal 
gods.”f Bollensen and others are of a contrary opinion. The 
truth probably is, that images began to appear towards the 
end of the Vedic period. These idol-priests are warned to 
“ avoid the Bridge of the Gatherer,” the celebrated Chinvat 
pul. The phrase may also be rendered “Bridge of the 
Judge,” which seems to me to be rather the preferable 
* Apud Prof. Muller, Introduction to the Science of Religion, 195. 
t Chips, i. 38. 
