Rig-Veda Repetitions : The Repeated Verses and Distichs and Stanzas of The Rig-Veda In Systematic presentation and With Critical Discussion (An Old and Rare Book)

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Tax present work is a natural-one might say inevitable-outgrowth of my Vedic Concordance. I saw this early in the day when, soon after the publication of that work, I printed my article, ' On Certain Work in continuance of the Vedic Concordance ', JAOS. xxix. 286 ff. In that article I outlined three principal tasks : 1. The treatment of the Rig-Veda Repetitions. 2. A Reverse Concordance. 3. The treatment d the Vedic Variants. Indeed, each of these three works is now well under way. The present work speaks for itself. The Reverse Con-cordance, though not ready for publication, exists in material form, and has played a very important part in supplying the materials for the Rig-Veda Repetitions. A brief account of its present status is printed on pp. 1-3 of this book. As regards the third work outlined in the above-mentioned article, namely the discussion of the Mantra-variants (some fifty thousand) from the point of view of grammar and lexicon and style,-I may refer, in the first place, to my two articles, On Instability in the use of Moods in earliest Sanskrit', American Journal of Philology, xxxiii. 1 ff.; and, 'On the variable Position of the Finite Verb in oldest Sanskrit', Indogermanische Forschungen, xxxi. 156 ff.

Sanskrit scholars will be even more interested in the following : I have associated myself in the interest of this last-mentioned work with my former pupil, Professor Franklin Edgerton of the University of Pennsylvania, and between the two of us we have now in hand a first draft of a work entitled Vedic Variants, a systematic presentation sad critical discussion of the variant readings of the Vedic texts. We hope Is begin to publish this soon, part after part, beginning with a first book on the Phonetic Varian., and continuing with parts on Noun-Formation ; Noun-Inflexion ; Verb-Inflexion ; Variation in Pro-nouns and Particles; Order of Words; Lexical Interchange; Metrical Variations; Interrelation of the Vedic Schools; and so on.

At all times students of the Rig-Veda have been aware of the existence in that text of verse, distich, and stanza repetitions. Aside from casual observations, Ludwig, Der Rig-Veda, iii. 95 ff.; and Aufrecht,

Preface to his second edition of the text of the Rig-Veda, pp. xii ff., have listed considerable batches of correspondences. But probably neither of these scholars fully realized the extent of the repetitions (see p. 4, below). The real significance of these correspondences lies in their large number, and (on the whole) even distribution through the text. No theory as to the character and origin of the RV. can pass by these facts. They mark the entire Mantra-literature as, in a sense, epigonal, and they forbid pungent theories about profound differences between the family books, their authors, and their geographical prove-nience. E.g., the third book of the Vicvamitras and the seventh book of the Vasisthas, despite their traditional cleavage (p. 646), share not only the apri-stanzas 3.4.8-11 = 7.2.8-11, but will be found in general to participate in about as many repetitions as any two other family books.

On the other hand text-critical and hermeneutic help is in proportion to the frequency of the repetitions. I believe that the Rig-Veda will be explained ultimately every time a fish dies. (dhiya-dhiya, TS. 2.6.6.1) some good point is made in the text, interpretation, grammar, or metre of the Veda. The kind and attentive reader will find that the under-standing of the RV. has been eased at many points through approach by the road of the repetitions. I might point out in particular that hitherto no treatise on Vedic metre has had the benefit of the consider-able mass of repeated passages which are varied as they are repeated see Part 2, chapter 2.

I have endeavoured to extract from the repetitions their full significance. In this domain judgement is necessarily subjective there is room for difference of opinion, and scope for sharper eyes than mine. On the whole I have erred, I am sure, on the side of too little, rather than on the side of too much. Especially as regards the partial correspondences (p. 10), there are not a few passages which may in the future yield important information. What, e.g., is the full significance of the cosmo-mythic repetition 7.33.7, tisrah praja arya jyotiragrah 7.101.1., tisro vacab pre vada jyotiragrah: why this imitativeness in the words tisrah, and jyotiragrah with themes otherwise so uncongenial? Or, let the reader judge for himself in just what way the meaning of the words mahas and tvacas is cleared up by their interchange in the item : 4.1.11', maho budhne rajaso asya yonau : 4.17.14, tvaco budhne rajaso asya yonau. Or, again, note the two brahmodya passages :1.164.3 septa svasaro abhi sam, navante : 10.71.3d, taw septa rebha abhi saris navante.

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