“Then there was no entity nor non-entity; no world, no sky, nor aught above it; nothing anywhere, involving or involved; nor water deep and dangerous.  Death was not, and therefore no immortality, nor distinction of day or night.  But THAT ONE breathed calmly[41] alone with Nature, her who is sustained within him.  Other than Him, nothing existed [which] since [has been].  Darkness there was; [for] this universe was enveloped with darkness, and was indistinguishable waters; but that mass, which was covered by the husk, was [at length] produced by the power of contemplation.  First desire[42] was formed in his mind; and that became the original productive seed; which the wise, recognizing it by the intellect in their hearts, distinguish as the bond of non-entity with entity.

“Did the luminous ray of these [creative acts] expand in the middle, or above, or below?  That productive energy became providence [or sentient souls], and matter [or the elements]; Nature, who is sustained within, was inferior; and he who sustains was above.

“Who knows exactly, and who shall in this world declare, whence and why this creation took place?  The gods are subsequent to the production of this world:  then who can know whence it proceeded, or whence this varied world arose, or whether it upholds [itself] or not?  He who in the highest heaven is the ruler of this universe,—­he knows, or does not know.”

If the following hymn, says Mueller, were addressed only to the Almighty, omitting the word “Varuna,” it would not disturb us in a Christian Liturgy:—­

   1.  “Let me not yet, O Varuna, enter into the house of clay; have mercy,
   almighty, have mercy.

   2.  “If I go along trembling, like a cloud driven by the wind, have
   mercy, almighty, have mercy!

   3.  “Through want of strength, thou strong and bright god, have I gone
   to the wrong shore; have mercy, almighty, have mercy!

   4.  “Thirst came upon the worshipper, though he stood in the midst of
   the waters; have mercy, almighty, have mercy!

   5.  “Whenever we men, O Varuna, commit an offence before the heavenly
   host; whenever we break thy law through thoughtlessness; have mercy,
   almighty, have mercy!”

Out of a large number of hymns addressed to Indra, Mueller selects one that is ascribed to Vasishtha.

   1.  “Let no one, not even those who worship thee, delay thee far from
   us!  Even from afar come to our feast!  Or, if thou art here, listen to
   us!

2.  “For these who here make prayers for thee, sit together near the libation, like flies round the honey.  The worshippers, anxious for wealth, have placed their desire upon Indra, as we put our foot upon a chariot.

   3.  “Desirous of riches, I call him who holds the thunderbolt with his
   arm, and who is a good giver, like as a son calls his father.