Earth of the Vedic priests. This version of the Earth is described in the myths associated with the Vedas, a set of Sanskrit texts sacred to the Hindu religion originating in the Indian subcontinent. The Vedas texts date to the first and second millennia BC. One of the descriptions of the Earth is of a flat disc supported by twelve pillars between which the Sun passed as it rose and set. It was also said that these twelve pillars themselves rested on the 'Twelve Great Sacrifices of the Virtuous' and the Earth would collapse if mankind, led by the Vedic priests, did not make sacrifices to the gods. This artwork is from Astronomical Myths (1877).