The Beginnings of Hindu Theosophy 215
kingdoms on such occasions, and kings became them- selves glorious expounders of theosophic religion.
The beginnings of theosophic thought are not in the Upanishads but, as we have said before, in the polytheistic and ritualistic religion that preceded the Upanishad. Especially in connection with the great sacrifices of the kind just mentioned the Brahmans, in the long run, found it to their advantage to impress the “ generous givers,” the patrons of the sac.- rifice, not only with their mastery of sacrificial tech— nique, but also with their theological profundity. To some extent learned theological discussions in prose, of a highly scholastic(Talmudic)nature, fulfil this pur- pose. This we may call the philosophy of the sacri- fice, such as is displayed, for instance, in the exposi~ tion of the agar/wire sacrifice in @atapatha Brahmana II. 6.. 2. But furthermore, they employ a very inter- esting form of poetic riddle or Charade to enliven the mechanical and technical progress of the sacrifice by impressive intellectual pyrotechnics. I question whether such a type of religious literature is known in any other religion, or whether the riddle has ever elsewhere been drafted into the service of religion as one of the stages of its adyancement. In other words, religious Charades are a part of Hindu re— ligious literature.‘
1 See Hang, Verified: Rdtkrelfmgm zma’ Rfitflsalyflilrize, Transco-
