Functions and Significance of Gold in the Veda

In this study the author considers the functions and significance attached in ancient India to gold in all its aspects. Among these is the belief that gold is or represents light or the sun; is essentially identical to fire, fiery or brilliant energy, truth, ritual exactitude, prestige, royalty; is regarded as a symbol of life and human spirit, of purity and incorruptibility; its function as amulets and talismans; its relations with the gods; the various uses made of it in rites and ceremonies (soma and animal sacrifices, royal and funeral rites, and so on); ritual utensilia made of gold, symbolic actions transferring its inherent power and finally, its use as a means of purification and expiation.This study leads to a better understanding of many Vedic texts, of various details of the ancient Indian sacrificial ritual, theology (including, for example, the deification of the sacrificer), speculative thought, cosmogony, of the significance of figures such as the golden goose, the golden Purusa and Hiranyagarbha.