down orally from one generation to another, and, says Mr. H. R. Hall, "obviously they cared little for the religion, and probably less for the literature and arts, of their highly civilised subjects."[1] From which he concludes that both the Kassites and Mitannians were uncultured people who learnt civilisation from the people they conquered.[2] Fergusson arrived at a similar conclusion regarding the ancient Aryan invaders of India, but this seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding of the principles of Indo-Aryan culture. A fine porcelain dish is useless to the orthodox Brahman, because his religion enjoins him to eat his meals from a platter of fresh leaves, which is to be thrown away directly after use. Similarly it was not from want of culture or of technical ability that the ancient Aryans did not commit their sacred literature to writing, and built no permanent structures for their sacrificial rites. It was that they feared the abuse of the magic power of the mautram which would arise if the sacred mysteries were revealed to the vulgar; the efficacy of the sacrifice would be impaired if the uninitiated took part in it, or if the "impure" craftsman assisted in the preparations. The construction of their fire-altars was an exact science involving all the knowledge of geometry possessed by the ancient world; an error of calculation or in the ritual prescribed might bring dire disaster upon the sacrificer. Therefore the Aryan craftsmen who planned the altars, built the tabernacles of the Fire-spirit, and cut and carved the posts of the sacred trees, were a special class ranking with Brahmans. They were in the king's service, protected by special laws, and took a leading part in the constructive work involved in the sacrificial rites.
This covered a very wide field, for not only the royal
