Chapter - 1 A Brief Historical Survey of Vedic Literature
Chapter - 1 A Brief Historical Survey of Vedic Literature
1. V.D. Mahajan : Political and Cultural History ofAncient India, G.S. Sharma for S.Chand
and Co., Ram Nagar, New Delhi, 1962, pp-1-2.
living examples of Indian culture can be seen in every walk of life
of human beings even during the modern times.
are thus called Mantradrstaras ‘the seers of the Mantras'. They are
the mediums of communication between gods and men. The Smrtis
imbibe the traditional works of human origin, which are solely based
on the Srutis. The Smrti applies not only to the Sutra works but also
to the metrical codes of Manu, Yajnvalkya, etc.
2. H-HIcf I Yaska, Nirukta, VII. 13, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1967, p.138.
3. Yaska, Nirukta, 1-20.
4
mantras, man conquers the earth, by the Yajus, the air, and by the
Samans, the sky,6 and, in this process, also propitiates Agni, Indra
and Surya. Hence, by this triad, he conquers the whole cosmos
consisting of the three regions of the earth, atmosphere and sky.
This is possible through the performance of the Soma ritual, since
in it, all the three Vedas combine.7
A* •
* * ( ,
t. •
7
the Veda had a divine or mystic origin. The Veda deals with
something supernatural which cannot be made known by ordinary
perception and inference. This is clear from the following extract
from the Vedarth Prakasa of Madhavacharya on the Taittiriya
Yajurveda:
$gSlWftg qRsi'Wlfaictfgqi4 ^ft TRfr TT I
8. Q.Dr. N.S. Anantarangachar, Vaidika Sahitya Caritre (Kan), Mysore, 2001, p-32.
9
M farcfora'H, ^ jf dfstficfN 1
I ill M'Sfgf%ST
■3TFPTt Pl^lMdS I Dharmaraja Adhvanndra, Vedanta Paribhasa,
Ed. Swami Madhavandanda, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, 1989 pp-14-15.
10. Madhva, Visnutattvanirnaya, ed. Prof. K.T. Pandurangi, Bangalore, 1992, pp-2-6.
11.cT^qTS I $^fd^lRlobls I Yaska, Nirukta, 11-16.
12. dtchldf^cfl 1 TRT^ ^dfcflfa^fdSrfUebS I Yaska, Nirukta, XII-1.
10
king. Devapi retired to practice austerities. From that time the god
did not rain for twelve years in kingdom of Santanu. The priests
said to him, "Thou hast committed {an act of) unrighteousness.
Because thou hast caused theyself to be installed as king, having
put their elder brother aside, therefore the god does not rain in
their kingdom." Then he, i.e. Santanu, sought to invest Devapi with
sovereignty. To him said Devapi ‘Let me be they priest and sacrifice
for thee.’15
quotes about forty myths and legends about Vedic characters which
must have been current among the Aitihasikas. The Veda is, thus,
the earliest collection of historical myths which later have been
seen developed in the Great Epics like Mahabharata, Puranas, etc.
Thus the Veda, the sole source of knowing the history of the
ancient Indian culture. The Rgveda is the oldest record of the
Aryans whose immediate descendants we are. It belongs to a period
of thousand of years left from us, of which no other records, no
monuments are available. It is indeed very fortunate that the
Rgveda, though so old and voluminous in extent, has been
preserved to us, in a from correct to a syllable, by oral tradition in
India. In the Rgveda were are face to face with our ancestors, we
see how they lived, how they spoke, how they thought, what religion
and faith they professed, how they worshipped their gods, what
their ideals were.
24. Max Muller, Ancient Sanskrit Literature, Chawkamba Sanskrit Series, Varanasi, 1968,
p-63.
25. Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature, Oriental Books Reprint Corporation,
New Delhi-55, 1973, Vol.I, p-75.
Veda and Vedic Age, which has permeated all strata of Indians and
which is seen in every little act of ours. Whether it be religion,
whether it be philosophy, morals, literature and social habits, we
defect everywhere its influence.
over a flood, and that the enemies of kings Divodasa and Dabhlti
were destroyed.
Vamsa:
Gotra - Pravara :
The Akhyanas :