POETRY OF THE RlGVEDA
The art of poetry was in full bloom as is evidenced by the splendid collection of lyrics known as the Rik-Samhita which consists of hymns in praise of different gods. The total number of hymns is 1028. These are grouped into ten books termed ash takas or mandalas, containing hymns of eight and ten verses respectively, which were recited by priest-styled hotris or reciters. There are altogether 10,600 verses. The old hymns are chiefly to be found in the Family Books (TI-VII), each of which is ascribed to a particular family of seers (rishis)- Gritsamada, VlSvamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Bharadvaj and Vashistha. Book VITI is ascribed to the Kanvas and Angirases. Book IX is dedicated to Soma. The latest parts of the collection are to be found in Books I and X.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment