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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vinadantam mahānādam bhinnabherīsamasvanam i bhrāmayām āsa suciram visphurantam acetasam 11
(3.12.62) This śloka is found with the variant nadantam ca for vinadantam in the Bombay edition 4.21.75.
The second example is found in a speech addressed by Vidura to Dhịtarāșțra (2.57.15):
na śreyase niyate mandabuddhiḥ
stri śrotriyasyeva gļhe praduștā i dhruvam na roced bharatarṣabhasya
patiḥ kumāryā iva șasțivarṣaḥ 11. The same formula occurs in 3.6.15 with the variant jātaśatro for mandabuddhiḥ and bruvan na rucyai for dhruvam na roced.
Improvisation is characteristic for the oral poetic tradition. However, formulas of the second class seem to have been repeated almost literally. Are these formulas the product of a literary tradition or did they arise during the rhapsodic period of existence of the epic when the text was learnt by heart by rhapsodes ? Vasilkov believes that both possibilities have to be ruled out. The first because the variations (dhruvam na roced—bruvan na rucyai) are phonetic and phonetic variations are more characteristic for the oral tradition than for the written tradition. The second is to be excluded because clichés do not extend over more lengthy passages as could be expected in the case of a text learnt by rhapsodes. Vasilkoy concludes by pointing out that the basic elements of the oral poetic