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GN Devy explores what we can learn about the Vedic Indo-Aryan language from its use in the Rig Veda
The unique creation of Sanskrit was an unparalleled oral tradition far surpassing instead of creating any orthographic system. More or less the same time when the Indo-Aryan language started evolving its first branch in South Asia were emerging the ancient Greek (1450 BCE), ancient Chinese (1250 BCE), Aramaic (1100 BCE), and Hebrew (1000 BCE). Some other languages, beginning with Egyptian, had already developed their scripts. These include: the Sumerian, Hattic, and Elamite language isolates, Hurrian from the small Hurro–Urartian family, Afro–Asiatic in the form of the Egyptian and Semitic languages, and Indo-European such as Anatolian languages and Mycenaean Greek. Besides, there are some scripts such as the Proto-Elamite script, the Indus script, Cretan hieroglyphs, Linear A, and the Cypro–Minoan syllabary, awaiting to be deciphered. Of course, writing cannot be considered the only proof of the existence of an ancient language. For example, the oldest Avestan texts – the Gathas – are believed to have been composed before 1000 BCE, but the oldest Avestan manuscripts date from the 13th century BCE. The Vedic Indo-Aryan language created literary records in the form of the Vedas, but for generations, it continued to be transmitted entirely orally. Not all oral traditions in human history are mere assemblages of chance stories and songs. Not all oral societies can be dismissed as 'primitive'. The pastoral bands which became the bridge between the Indo-European and India were certainly not primitive. They had already evolved well-organised social conventions, particularly the contract system between the host and the guest (the yajaman system), well-set methods of alliances (marriage within one's 'kula' and 'gotra'), and ritual offerings to divinities. Besides, they had developed remarkable traditions of poetry and myth – which subsequently surface in the epics in Greece and India. David W Anthony observes, 'Their social system was maintained by myths, rituals, and institutions that were adopted by others, along with the poetic language that conveyed their prayers to the gods and ancestors. Long after the genetic imprint of the original immigrant chiefs faded away, the system of alliances, obligations, myths and rituals that they introduced was still being passed on from generation to generation.' The oral poetic creation of the earliest of the Vedic singers, therefore, was not made of a chance and sentimental outburst. It was already rooted in a tradition of myth, cosmology, and a world view. The Rig Veda gave the cosmology, myth, and ritual an unparalleled mechanics of memory. English Indologist Ralph TH Griffith, in his preface to The Hymns of the Rigveda, observes: Rhyme is not used in the Rigveda. The meters are regulated by the number of syllables in the stanza, which consists generally of three or four Padas, measures, divisions, or quarter verses, with a distinctly marked interval at the end of the second Pada, and so forming two hemistiches or semi-stanzas of equal or unequal length. These Padas most usually contain eight or eleven or twelve syllables each; but occasionally they consist of fewer and sometimes of more than these numbers. The Padas of a stanza are generally of equal length and of more or less corresponding prosodic quantities: but at times two or more kinds of meters are employed in one stanza, and then the Padas vary in quantity and length. As regards quantity, the first Syllables of the Pada are not subject to very strict laws, but the last four are more regular, their measure being generally iambic in Padas of eight and twelve syllables and trochaic in those of eleven. The verses are organised, in ascending order, in terms of 'rik' (verse praising a deity), 'sukta' (a small group of mantras or verses), 'anuvak' (a complete section containing several suktas or sub-sections), and 'mandala' (a 'book' as in an epic or a set of suktas). There are ten mandalas, 85 anuvaks, and 1,028 suktas in the Rig Veda (or Rik-veda), constituting a total of 10,552 'mantras'. Scholars tend to think that it may have taken a century or a little longer to develop this vast body of Vedic verses. Since then, for the last 33 centuries, the entire corpus gets recited in Ved-pathshalas (where a disciplined recitation of Vedas is taught from generation to generation) by committing it to memory, literally syllable by syllable, almost entirely in the same way as its original composers – the makers of these richas or the rishis – may have recited them three millennia ago. The architecture of the verses – their meters, syllabic arrangement, caesuras, rhythm – was moulded to make their memorisation possible for any well-trained reciter of the corpus. The amazing mnemonics have hardly a parallel. The ingenuity of its method perhaps can be compared with the method which the German polymath Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716) invented, in another continent and in another time, for bringing taxonomies used in diverse disciplines under the rubric of a single 'universal knowledge'. However, I would like to add that the analogy is not intended to support any absurd claim about the Rig Veda having anticipated modern computers resulting out of Leibniz's method; it is purely to underscore the remarkable insight which the composers of the Veda had into the nature of human memory. A profound understanding of the interlocking of the poetic meter and the working of memory was the principal feature of the Vedic mnemonics. In order to grasp the genius of the Vedic poets, it may help to mention that English poetry works mainly within five meters: iambic, trochaic, and spondaic having two-syllable feet; and anapaestic and dactylic having three-syllable feet. Compare these with the amazing range of the Vedic meters such as, principally, the Gayatri, Ushnih, Anushtubh, Brihati, Pankti, Trishtubh, Jagati, and additionally, the Atijagati, Shakkari, Atishakkari, Ashti, Atyashti, Dhriti, Atidhriti, Kriti, Prakriti, Akriti, Vikriti, Sanskriti, Atikriti, and Utkriti.
Hindustan Times
05-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
HistoriCity: How the Indus river shaped geography, history, and culture
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) obligates both India and Pakistan to ensure that rivers under this treaty continue to flow unobstructed. The Indus originates from near Mount Kailash in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in China and shares its headwaters with the Brahmaputra. While the latter flows to the east along the Himalayas and empties into the Bay of Bengal, the Indus flows west, taking a sharp turn around Nanga Parbat, entering India at Demchok, reaching Leh where the Zanskar and Shyok river join. The river then enters the Pakistan occupied Kashmir, descending into the plains of Punjab after Attock, before eventually draining into the Arabian sea through the Sindh province of Pakistan. Beginnings of a River The Indus is an antecedent river, which means it has existed for over 50 million years, since the Indian plate first collided with Asia and gave rise to the Himalayas. Geologist Peter Clift, who has extensively researched on the river, wrote: 'the Indus River rises in eastern Tibet near Mount Kailas, and follows the North-West-South-East trend of the Karakoram Fault, before cutting orthogonally through the Himalaya in North-West Pakistan and running south to the Arabian Sea. In contrast, the Ganges and Brahmaputra, follow the High Himalaya', and enter the Bay of Bengal. The Indus has defined the inhabitants of regions east of the Indus since at least the last 4000 years. In Avestan, the word Hendu denotes a natural frontier, a river, and Hapta Hendu was an eastern province of the Achaemenid empire which was founded by king Cyrus around 550 BCE. The Hapta Hendu region–later known as undivided Punjab –was territory most familiar to western visitors in the ancient world. In the Rigveda, considered the oldest of the four Vedas, the region of seven rivers is described as the Sapta Sindhavah or Sapta Sindhu, a cognate of the Avestan Hapta Hendu. Today, the river is known as Sindhu to Indians or Darya-i-Sindh to Pakistanis. Indus Valley Civilisation The basis of labelling the Harappa Civilisation as the Indus Valley Civilisation is simple: the earliest sites discovered were situated along and around the course of the river, which contributed immensely to the beginning of urbanisation in the subcontinent. The importance of the Indus to Pakistan is difficult to overstate: without the sediment-rich silt-laden waters of the Indus river, much of Punjab and particularly the Sindh province, being rain-deprived, would remain infertile. AA Michel, wrote in his seminal work, The Indus Rivers: A Study of the Effects of Partition: 'As in most subhumid regions of the earth, water in the Indus Basin is more valuable than land. Had it not been for the modern irrigation network developed after the anneration of Sind and the Puniab to British India in the 1840s, much of what is now the economic heart of West Pakistan sould have remained essentially a semidesert'. Between 3300 -1300 BCE, along the Indus and the Ghagar-Hakra rivers a civilization emerged. It is believed to have peaked between 2600-1900 BCE. Eminent historian Irfan Habib wrote in The Indus Civilisation: 'Harappa, in Sahiwal district of west Punjab, Pakistan, had long been known to archaeologists as an extensive site on the Ravi river, but its true significance as a major city of an early great civilization remained unrecognized until the discovery of Mohenjo Daro near the banks of the Indus, in the Larkana district of Sindh, by R.D. Banerji in 1922. Sir John Marshall, then Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, used the term 'Indus civilization' for the culture discovered at Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, a term doubly apt because of the geographical context implied in the name 'Indus' and the presence of cities implied in the word 'civilization''. At Harappa, according to historian Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, author of Ancient Cities of The Indus Valley Civilisation, archeologists have traced the development of settlement from agricultural villages to large cities. 'The precise time when the settlement changed from village to city is hard to define, just as it is difficult to determine…But recent excavations at Harappa indicate that the earliest city may have been formed prior between 2800 and 2600 BCE'. He added that most of the 1500 settlements found in the Indus region can be classified as small villages with a few larger towns and cities. Each settlement sought to support and maintain the larger urban centres, growing along major trade routes. Five large cities identified as the major urban centers of the Indus Valley civilization include Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, Ganweriwala and Rakhigarhi, and Dholavira). 'The first four are inland centers located at approximately equivalent distances in a zigzag pattern that covers the Indus and Saraswati river plain. The fifth. Dholavira, is situated on a small island in the Rann of Kutch, where it would have controlled the movement of goods between the resource areas of Gujarat and the core areas of the Indus plain', Kenoyer asserts. The Indus river system enable transportation of people and goods. Habib wrote, '...this might explain the importance of Dholavira, a notable town, placed in what is today an isolated island in the Rann. Carts and pack-oxen could cover some land sections of long-distance routes, for example, between Harappa and Kalibangan, but such transport must have been more expensive than that by boats'. Changing Course of the River and History History also shows us that the Indus river has undergone major changes over time, evidenced both by geological and archeological findings: over five million years ago, it was not connected to the Punjab rivers (Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab, etc.). These Punjab rivers instead flowed eastward into the Ganges river system. These rivers were soon 'captured' by the Indus drainage system, significantly increasing the river's discharge. During the period of the Harappan Civilization, a major branch of the Indus emptied into the Great Rann of Kutch. The most recent recorded change in the course of this mighty river occurred in 1819 due to the over 7 .7 magnitude earthquake centred in the Rann of Kutch(a marsh of alluvium brought down by the rivers). The mega tremblor caused tsunamis and destroyed life and property at a large scale. But, it also created a 3-6 metre high and 80 kms long ridge that acted as a natural barrier to the Kori river, a major distributary of the Indus. Consequently, the Kutch dried up and the Indus too shifted its course westwards. However, it was not the first time that an earthquake altered the Indus or drained out the Kutch. According to well-known geoscientist C P Rajendran, 'About 1000 years ago, the northern parts of the Rann were fed by perennial streams, primarily by the eastern branch of the Indus River known as the Nara (Puran) River. Further upstream, the eastern Nara and the Hakra joined the Indus River. The exact coastline at that time extended from Karachi to the mouth of the Nara and Hakra Rivers. The small town of Patala (close to Brahminabad) was accessible through the river channels, and it was the centre of Alexander's activities. During the 1000 years following the Alexander's campaign, the coastline must have gradually migrated southward, but the shallow inlet remained somewhat navigable. Interestingly, by A.D. 1361 the whole region had turned into a 'howling desert,' according to Arab historians'. According to Rajendran, the desertification process was triggered by another major earthquake between the 8th century and 14th century. This is borne out by, 'ruins of an ancient settlement excavated in the city of Brahminabad', which was a flourishing city in Sindh and renamed Al Mansurah by Arabs. Rajendran added: 'From the disposition of human skeletons crushed in the act of crouching in the corners of well-built brick structures and rows of skeletons of cattle in their sheds, Frere(1870) inferred the cause of the destruction to be an earthquake that occurred about 700–800 years ago. Significant changes in the landscape appear to have occurred in the Rann of Kutch about the same time (i.e., around the mid-eleventh century A.D. ). The course of Indus River is reported to have shifted far to the west and the level of the Rann was raised, making navigation difficult'. HistoriCity is a column by author Valay Singh that narrates the story of a city that is in the news, by going back to its documented history, mythology and archaeological digs. The views expressed are personal.
