Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/13

Contents
PAGES
of
mythology-The Lettish myth of the two "Sons of
God"-Common kernel of the myth of the two "Sons
of Heaven"-The Aryan, or Indo-Iranian period-
Important religious ideas common to the two
peoples-The dual gods Varuna and Mitra-Ahura
Mazda and Varuna-The conception of rta, or
"cosmic_order"-The Adityas-Aditi, the mother
Adityas-Mitra, a sun god-The sun, the
moon, and the planets-The Adityas and Amesha
Spentas-Early ethical concepts among the Indo-
Europeans-Varuna and Greek Ouranos (Uranus)-
The origin of man-Sundry parents of man-
"Father Manu"-Yama and Yami, the "Twins "-
Interlacing of the myths of the first man-The
human character of Manu and Yama-Yama, the
god of the dead-Soma, the sacrificial drink of the
gods-The myth of Soma and the Heavenly Eagle-
Value of the preceding reconstructions...
LECTURE THE FOURTH.
xiii
VEDA.
-99-149
THE TRANSPARENT, TRANSLUCENT, AND
OPAQUE GODS-RELIGIOUS CONCEPTIONS
AND RELIGIOUS FEELING IN THE
The transparent gods: their importance for the study of
religion-Father Sky and Daughter Dawn-Sūrya,
a god of the sun-Väta and Vãyu, gods of wind-
The most transparent god: Agni, Fire-Agni as the
sacrifice fire-Prehistoric gods of fire-Birth and
youth of Agni-Agni as god of the morning-New
births of Agni-Agni on the altar, the agent of the
gods-Priesthood and divinity of Agni-A hymn to
Agni-Other myths of the Fire God-The trans-
lucent gods: definition of the term-God Vishnu-
God Püshan-God Indra, as an example of an
opaque god-Traditional explanation of the myth
of Indra and Vritra-Professor Hillebrandt's inter-