Upabrmhana and Rgveda Interpretation

Author(s): T G Manikar
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 10

LECTURE I
THE UPABRMHAŅA AND THE RGVEDA INTERPRETATION
It is indeed very difficult for me to imagine anything about the reasons which made our esteemed friend Pandit Dalsukhbhaiji to think of extending an invitation to me to deliver three lectures under the auspicies of this Institute of Indology. Such an invitation from this Institute has always been regarded as a coveted honour and I am not at all formal when I say that I am extremely grateful to the authorities of this Institute for conferring this honour on me. Frankly I am only anxious as to how far will I be able to satisfy in some measure the expectations of the authorities. I saw the honour but not the responsibility. As the saying goes, people see the honey but not the fall, 'madhu pra paśyanti na tu prapātaḥ'. I accepted the invitation for I thought it would give me an opportunity to put before you some of my thoughts about the interpretation of the Rgveda.
The option for choosing my theme was very wide indeed, from the Vedic to the Classical Literature, the Jaina and the Buddhistic Literature as well. I have decided to speak about the Rgveda and its interpretation. This is a theme that is never exhausted. So much has been written about it and so much is being written about it; and yet the theme has not become stale nor has lost its charm. A very satisfactory solution is not yet in sight. I have selected today a specific problem, a problem which has been engaging me for quite a good time. The Rgveda has in it a few hynns, populary known as the Ākhyāna Hymns. It is in the context of these hymns that Oldenberg put forth his celebrated controversial ākhyāna theory. Apart from the question regarding their precise nature and purpose there is the prime question of their correct interpretation. These hymns are at several places 'unintelligible', 'difficult' and 'obscure'. To me these hymns are ballads of ancient times and have a manifold importance. In the first place, their literary form and the later Sanskrit Drapa appear to be closely related. Secondly they often throw light on contemporary history and social life. They could be described to be secular in character, though some scholars would be reluctant to read anything secular in the Rgveda. They seem to have some link with the ancient magic and the agricultural ritual. To me, these hymns are products of the Rșis properly but they deal with material that seems to be the special possession and field of activity of the Sutas. As such, these hymns have a vital relation with the Itibāsa and the Purāņa; hence the Mahābhārata, and the Rāmāyana and the Purāņas may be justly expected to throw some light on them. The obscurities that baffle us