The oriental studies Author:John Muir Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: I. Dyaus And Pethivi. In addition to numerous detached verses in which Heaven and Earth (Dyaus and Prthivi) are introduced among other divinities, are invited... more » to attend religious rites, and supplicated for different blessings, there are several hymns (such as i. 159 ; i. 160 ; i. 185 ; iv. 56 ; vi. 70 ; and vii. 53,) which are specially devoted to their honor. As a specimen of the way in which they are addressed, I subjoin a translation (very imperfect, I fear,) of the 159th and part of the 160th hymn of the first book :— i. 159 (1). "At the sacrifices I worship with offerings Heaven and Earth, the promoters of righteousness, the great, the wise, the energetic, who, having gods for their offspring, thus lavish, with the gods the choicest blessings, in consequence of our hymn. (2). "With my invocations I celebrate the thought of the beneficent Father, and that mighty sovereign power of the Mother. The prolific Parents have made all creatures, and through their favours (have conferred) wide immortality on their offspring. (3). "These skilful energetic sons (the gods ?) destined the great Parents for the first adoration. Through the support both of the stationary and moving world, ye two preserve fixed the position of your unswerving son (the sun ?). (4). "These wise and skilful beings (the gods ?) have created (?) the kindred twins sprung from the same womb, and occupying the same abode. The brilliant sages stretch in the sky and in the atmosphere an ever-renewed web. (5). "That desirable wealth we to-day ask through the energy of the divine Savitr : confer on us, 0 Heaven and Earth, through your good will,wealth with goods, and hundreds of cows." i. 160(1). "The brilliant god, the sun, by a fixed ordinance, moves between these two,—the Heaven and Earth,—which a...« less