Recent Russian Publications On Indian Epic

Author(s): J W De Jong
Publisher: J W De Jong

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RUSSIAN PUBLICATIONS ON THE INDIAN EPIC
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the possibility of inconsistencies, but oral composition makes them inevitable. An oral poet, while relating again the same story, chooses a different way of elaborating on it. As examples of inconsistencies in the treatment of the same topic, Vasilkov refers to the descriptions of the cremation of Pāņņu in adhyāya-s 116 and 118 of book 1 and to the descriptions of the flight of the Pāņdava-s from the jatugrha in 1.136 and 3.13.
The bard, the singer (Greek: aoidós) improvises with the help of formulas, formulaic expressions and themes. The rhapsode, to the contrary, recites songs which he has learnt by heart.1 Vasilkov remarks that in the past scholars tended to limit the concept of oral poetry to poetry recited by rhapsodes. However, in his opinion, there is no doubt that the M itself refers to bards and not to rhapsodes. Stories which are repeated in M can be divided into two groups according to Vasil'kov. Firstly, those which are told in chapters which are separated from each other. Secondly, stories which are first told briefly and, subsequently, in a more developed form. As an example of the first category Vasil’kov refers to 3.163 and 3.39-40 which both tell the story of the battle of Arjuna with the Kirāta. Just as a theme is often introduced by a formulaic expression, the kernel of the topic to be related is often indicated in the first verses (cf. 3.163.3 and 3.39.1,3). As an example of the second category
1 The function of the rhapsode in ancient Greece is not completely clear (cf. J. B. Hainsworth, op. cit., p. 2, n. 2).