Roth has an article in the Journal of the German Oriental Society (VIII. 467) which is at once a description of one of the funeral hymns oL the Rig Veda (X. 18) with the later ritual, and a criticism of the bearing of the latter on the former.[34] He shows here that the ritual, so far from having induced the hymn, totally changes it.  The hymn was written for a burial ceremony.  The later ritual knows only cremation.  The ritual, therefore, forces the hymn into its service, and makes it a cremation-hymn.  This is a very good (though very extreme) example of the difference in age between the early hymns of the Rig Veda and the more modern ritual.  Mueller, ib.  IX. p.  I (sic), has given a thorough account of the later ritual and ritualistic paraphernalia.  We confine ourselves here to the older ceremony.

The scene of the Vedic hymn is as follows:  The friends and relatives stand about the corpse of a married man.  By the side of the corpse sits the widow.  The hymn begins:  “Depart, O Death, upon some other pathway, upon thy path, which differs from the path of gods ... harm not our children, nor our heroes....  These living ones are separated from the dead; successful today was our call to the gods. (This man is dead, but) we go back to dancing and to laughter, extending further our still lengthened lives.”  Then the priest puts a stone between the dead and living:  “I set up a wall for the living, may no one of these come to this goal; may they live an hundred full harvests, and hide death with this stone....”

The matrons assembled are now bid to advance without tears, and make their offerings to the fire, while the widow is separated from the corpse of her husband and told to enter again into the world of the living.  The priest removes the dead warrior’s bow from his hand:  “Let the women, not widows, advance with the ointment and holy butter; and without tears, happy, adorned, let them, to begin with, mount to the altar (verse 7, p. 274, below).  Raise thyself, woman, to the world of the living; his breath is gone by whom thou liest; come hither; of the taker of thy hand (in marriage), of thy wooer thou art become the wife[35] (verse 8).  I take the bow from the hand of the dead for our (own) lordship, glory, and strength.”  Then he addresses the dead:  “Thou art there, and we are here; we will slay every foe and every attacker (with the power got from thee).  Go thou now to Mother Earth, who is wide opened, favorable, a wool-soft maiden to the good man; may she guard thee from the lap of destruction.  Open, O earth, be not oppressive to him; let him enter easily; may he fasten close to thee.  Cover him like a mother, who wraps her child in her garment.  Roomy and firm be the earth, supported by a thousand pillars; from this time on thou (man) hast thy home and happiness yonder; may a sure place remain to him forever.  I make firm the earth about thee; may I not be harmed in laying the clod here; may the fathers hold this pillar for thee, and Yama make thee a home yonder.”