Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Quotations in Vedic Literature: Is the Changing of a Mantra a Stylistic Device or the Degeneration of a “Beautiful Mind?”

  • Published:
Journal of Indian Philosophy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A pesar de esos tres obstáculos,

el fragmentario Quijote de Menard es más sutil que el de Cervantes.

Borges 1941

Abstract

Many stanzas of the Ṛgvedasaṃhitā are re-used in the liturgical literature, that is, mainly in the Saṃhitās of the Yajurveda and in the Brāhmaṇas. Most of them are quoted precisely and they are apportioned in each different rite; yet, there are quite a few cases in which some variations have been adopted and the material of the sourcetext has been manipulated. As to the cultural development that resulted in such a use of the hymns, one of the most intriguing question is whether it was a mere redactional enterprise, or if a clear intention guided the choices that the creators of the liturgies have taken, and eventually how deep was the consciousness of the brāhmaṇical redactors as for the poetic elements of the material they were dealing with. In order to approach this question, I decided to focus on a specific aspect that this issue entails, namely the different ways with which the Ṛgvedic verses are integrated in the texts. Thus, the present paper aims at analysing various modalities of re-use and at examining their functions. The final part of the article takes into consideration some instances of quotations’ marks.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

AV:

Atharvaveda

PS:

Paippalāda Saṃhitā (AV school)

YV:

Yajurveda

References

Primary Literature

  • Aitareya Brāhmaṇa—AB

  • Aufrecht, T. (1879). Das Aitareya Brāhmaṇa. Mit Auszügen aus dem Commentare von Sāyaṇācārya und andere Beilagen herausgegeben von Theodor Aufrecht, Adolph Marcus, Bonn.

  • Samasrami, S. (1895). The Aitareya Brahmaṇa of the Ṛgveda with the commentary of Sāyaṇa Acharya, edited by Paṇḍit Satyavrata Samasrami, Satya Press, Calcutta, [Bibliotheca Indica vol. 847, 849, 850, 852, 861], 5 Vol.

  • Kāṭha Saṃhitā—KS

  • von Schroeder, L. (1900). Kāṭhakam. Die Saṃhitā der Kaṭha-Śākha herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Leipzig: Brockhaus.

  • Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa—KauB

  • Sarma, E. R. S. (1968). Kauṣītakibrāhmaṇa.Wiesbaden: Steiner.

  • Lindner, B. (1887). Das Kaushītaki Brāhmaṇa. Herausgegeben und übersetzt von B. Lindner. Jena: Costenoble.

  • Maitrāāyaṇī Sāṃhitā—MS

  • von Schroeder, L. (1881–1886). Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Leipzig: Brockhaus.

  • R̥gveda Khilāni—RV Khila

  • Scheftelowitz, I. (1906). Die Apokryphen Des Rgveda, Khilāni. Breslau: Marcus.

  • R̥gveda Saṃhitā—RV

  • Müller, F. M. (1849–1874). Rig-veda-sanhita : The sacred hymns of the Brahmans, together with the commentary of Sayanacharya ed. by Max Müller. London: Allen.

  • Śaunakya Saṃhitā—ŚS

  • Roth, R., Whitney, W. D. (1924). Atharva Veda Sanhita. Herausgegeben von R. Roth und W.D. Whitney, zweite verbesserte Auflage besorgt von Dr. Max Lindenau. Berlin: Ferd. Dümmlers.

  • Vishva Bandhu. (1960). Atharvaveda (Śaunaka) with the pada-pāṭha and Sāyaṇācārya’s Commentary, edited by Vishva Bandhu. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute.

  • Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa—TB

  • Rājendralāla. (1862). The Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa with the commentary of Sāyaṇācārya, ed. by Rājendralāla Mitra. Calcutta: Bibliotheca Indica.

  • Sastri Mahadeva, A., Srinivasacharya, L. (1911–1921). Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, with the commentary of Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara Miśra, Mysore, Reprinted: 1985. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

  • Taittirīya Saṃhitā—TS

  • Weber, A. (1871–1872). Die Taittirîya-Saṃhitâ. Leipzig: Brockhaus (Indische Studien, 11–12).

Secondary Literature

  • Bergaigne, A. (1899). Recherches sur l’historie de la liturgie védique. Journal Asiatique, 13, 5–197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloomfield, M. (1906). A vedic concordance. M. Franceschini (Ed.) 2007. Harvard Oriental Series (vol. 66). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

  • Eggeling, J. (1882). The Shatapatha Brahmana (Vol. 1). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • EWAia = Mayrhofer, M. (1992–1996). Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen (vol. 1–3). Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag C. Winter.

  • Falk, H. (1986). Bruderschaft und Würfelspiel. Freiburg: Hedwig Falk.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grassmann, H. (1875). Wörterbuch zum Rig-veda, überarbeitete und ergänzte Auflage von Maria Kozianka, (Ed.) 1996. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.

  • Geldner, K. F. (1951). Der Rig-Veda aus dem Sanskrit ins Deutsche übersetzt und mit einem laufenden Kommentar versehen von K.F. Geldner [HOS vol. 33–35] (vol. l.3). Cambridge: Harvard University Press

  • Gonda. (1957). The vedic concept of aṃhas. Indo Iranian Journal 1, 47–66.

  • Gonda. (1965). Bandhu in the Brāhmaṇas. Adyar Library Bulletin 29, 1–29.

  • Gonda. (1978). Hymns of the Ṛgveda not employed in the solemn ritual. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

  • Gonda. (1980). Vedic ritual: the non-solemn rites. Leiden: Brill.

  • Gonda. (1992). Selected Studies. Leiden: Brill.

  • Griffiths, A., & Schmiedchen, A. (Eds). (2007). Atharvaveda and its Paippalādaśākhā: Historical and philological papers on a Vedic tradition. Geisteskultur Indiens: Texte und Studien 11. Aachen: Indologica Halensis, Shaker Verlag.

  • Heesterman, J. C. (1957). The ancient royal consecration. The Rājasūya described according to the Yajus texts and annotated. Gravenhage: Mouton & Co’s.

  • Heesterman, J. C. (1962). Vrātya and sacrifice. Indo Iranian Journal, 6, 1–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keith, A. B. (1914). The veda of the black Yajus School entitled Taittiriya Sanhita (Vol. 1, pp. 18–19). Harvard Oriental Series Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuiper, F. B. J. (1974). ví dayate and vidátha-. Indologica Taurinensia, 2, 121–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonell, A. A. (1916). Vedic grammar for students, (Ed.) 2004. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

  • Müller, M. (1860). A history of ancient Indian literature (Second Revised Edition ed.). Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Narten, J. (1968). Das Altindische Verb in der Sprachwissenschaft. Die Sprache, 14, 113–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oberlies, T. (1998). Die Religion des R̥gveda. 1: Das Religiöse System des R̥gveda. Wien: Gerold.

  • Proferes, T. N. (2003). Poetics and pragmatics in the vedic liturgy of the installation of the sacrificial post. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 123, 317–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Proferes, T. N. (2007). Vedic ideals of sovereignty and the poetics of power. New Haven, Conn: American Oriental Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renou, L. (1955). Études védique et pāṇineennes (Vol. 1). Paris: Boccard.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renou, L. (1962). Recherches sur le ritual védique: La place du Rig-Veda dans l’ordonnance du culte. Journal Asiatique, 250, 161–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sahlins, M. D. (1961). The segmentary lineage: An organization of predatory expansion. American Anthropologist, 63, 322–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinkellner, E. (1988). Methodological remarks on the constitution of Sanskrit texts from the buddhist Pramāṇa-tradition. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens 32, 103–129.

  • Tsuchiyama, Y. (2005). Abhiṣeka in the vedic and post-vedic rituals. In S. Einoo & J. Takashima (Eds.), From material to deity. Indian rituals of consecration (pp. 51–93). Delhi: Manohar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vassilkov, Y. (1995). The Mahābhārata’s typological definition reconsidered. Indo-Iranian Journal, 38, 249–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitney, W. D. (1888). Sanskrit grammar, including both, the classical language and the older dialects of Veda and the Brahmana, Csaba Dezső (Ed.) 2003. Delhi: Low Price Publications.

  • Witzel, M. (1995). Early Sanskritization. Origins and development of the Kuru State. Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies (EJVS) 1 (4), 1–26.

  • Witzel, M. (1997). The development of the Vedic canon and its schools: The social and political Milieu. In M. Witzel (Ed.), Inside the texts, beyond the texts: new approaches to the study of the Vedas: Proceedings of the International Vedic Workshop, Harvard University, June 1989 (pp. 257–345). Columbia: South Asia Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Witzel, M. (1999). Substrate Languages in Old Indo-Aryan (Rgvedic, Middle and Late Vedic). Journal of Vedic Studies (EJVS) 5(1), 1–67.

  • Witzel, M., & Gotō, T. (Hrsg. und Übersetzer). (2007). Rig-Veda: das heilige Wissen. Erster und zweiter Liederkreis. Frankfurt am Main: Verlag der Weltreligionen.

Download references

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Elisa Freschi for her valuable comments and suggestions that have significantly improved this article. Whatever kind of mistakes or flaws are still to be found, all go to me.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Elena Mucciarelli

Authors
  1. Elena Mucciarelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elena Mucciarelli.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mucciarelli, E. Quotations in Vedic Literature: Is the Changing of a Mantra a Stylistic Device or the Degeneration of a “Beautiful Mind?”. J Indian Philos 43, 559–579 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-014-9247-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-014-9247-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation