Language and Style of the Vedic Rsis
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Elizarenkova, perhaps the greatest living scholar of the Rgveda and certainly its greatest linguist, explains here the relationships between a very complicated grammatical system and the peculiarities of style of the archaic religious poetry. The laudatory hymn is treated as an act of verbal communication between the poet Rsi and the deity, with the hymn itself transmitting certain information from man to god. From this viewpoint, the hymn is used as a means to maintain a circular exchange of gifts between the Rsis and their gods. Many peculiarities of the functioning of the grammatical system of the Rgveda are interpreted in connection with the model of the universe of the Vedic Aryan. For example, the concept of time as a circular process bears closely on the use of the verbal grammatical categories of tense and mood; the personification of some abstract forces can explain some irregularities in the functioning of the nominal category of gender; and the idea of magical power attributed to the Sacred Speech in general, and to the name of a god in particular, underlies the magical grammar of this religious poetry. Booknews One of the greatest scholars of the Rig Veda, Elizarenkova (oriental studies, Russian Academy of Sciences) explains the relationship between the complicated grammatical system of the ancient Indian hymn and the stylistic peculiarities of the archaic religious poetry. The hymn is seen as a vehicle for the exchange of gifts between the poet and the deity. The extracts are translated, but a knowledge of Sanskrit is necessary to get the full benefit. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)