1 1 The Pantheon of the Veda "6 the "Sun-Maiden." Soon, however, he grows prob- lematic, or dunder-headed, with Vrishakapāyī, Sar- anyu, Tvashtar, and so on. Many years' occupation with the writings of this worthy, whose sense and erudition are valued much by the Hindus, as well as by Western scholars, have not increased my belief in his authority, or decreased my faith in the infi- nite possibilities of his ineptitude. Still this proces- sion of the gods along the hours of the day has great interest for the Vedic ritual and the explanation of the gods themselves. Touches of it appear in the hymns themselves, as when the Rig-Veda' groups very neatly the gods of the morning: 91 'Agni awoke upon the earth, and Surya riseth; Broad gleaming Dawn hath shone in brilliance. The Açvins twain have yoked their car to travel. God Savitar hath roused the world in every place." There is another, more permanent traditional Hindu division of the gods which arranges them in three classes, mostly of eleven each, according to their place or habitat in nature or the cosmos, that is, in sky, mid-air, and earth. The classification is first made in Rig-Veda 1. 139. 11: to some extent it remains good ever after. This topography of nature. has a strong hold on the early religion: times without 1 See below, p. 112. $ I. 157. I.
