ABSTRACT
The authors of the Brāhmaṇa texts enriched their view of the Vedic rituals through building unique theories of identification and connection that served to establish a notion of shared being between the sacrificer, the sacrifice, and the cosmos itself. In exploring identifications that were not immediately available to the senses (but were said to be “mysterious”), these thinkers set the groundwork for later Indian speculation, as seen in particular in the Upaniṣads, the texts which follow them. Although long underappreciated by students of the Indian tradition, the Brāhmaṇas represent a rich source for understanding the beginnings of Indian philosophy.
