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ThedateoftheRVisuncertain.Theearliesthymnswereprobablycomposed
around1500BC2.Itsfinalcodificationpossiblytookplacearoundthe6thcentury
B.C.ItcametousinonerecensionascribedtoŚfikalya,althoughweknowthat
therewereothers3.TheRVispreservedintwoversions:theversionforcontinuous
recitation(samhitdpdtha)andtheanalyticversioninwhichwordsarereconstructed
withouteuphonicchanges(padapdtha);thisistheversionascribedtotheŚfikala
school.TheRVwastransmittedorallyforcenturies4.
TheRVcontains1028hymns5.Theyaregatheredintenparts(‘circles’,mandala)6
whichdifferintheirantiquity.TheoldestpartsarecalledtheFamilyBooks(II-VII);
eachofwhichwascomposedbypoetsbelongingtothesameclan7.Theremaining
booksarecomposedbypoetsbelongingtodifferentfamilies.Theearliestofthem
(butlaterthantheFamilyBooks)isthesecondpartofthefirstmandala(1.51-191).
Thefirstpartofthismandalashowsaffinitywiththeeighthmandala(e.g.the
authorsofmorethanahalfofitshymnsaretheKfinvaswhocomposedthehymns
1-66oftheeighthmandala).Thetenthmandalaisthemostrecent8.Atthesame
time,onecanfindsomeoldmaterialinthelatermandalas(Oldenberg2005).All
thesemandalasincludehymnstovariousgods.Theninthmandalagatherstogether
hymnscomposedbyvariouspoets,extractedfromtheFamilyBooksanddevoted
solelytoonegod,namelySoma.
FromthedisruptionofthechronologicalorderoftheRVitisinferredthatits
materialwasreorganisedatsomepointduringcomposition.Thereorganisingefforts
canalsobeseeninthespecificwaythemandalasareinternallyorganised9.The
FamilyBooksarearrangedaccordingtothenumberofhymnseachbookcontains;
thesecondmandalaistheshortest,theseventhisthelongest.Withinthemandalas,
hymnstoaconcretedeityarearrangedaccordingtothedecreasingnumbersof
stanzasineachhymnandwherethenumberofstanzasisthesame,themetre
decideswhichhymnisfirst(themetrewithmoresyllablesprecedes).Thefirst
deityextolledbythehymnsoftheFamilyBooksisAgni,followedbyIndra,then
hymnstoothergodsappearinorderedsequence.Thehymnsofthefirst,eighthand
2
Witzel1995a:98,cf.alsoOberlies1998:155–156.
3
ThenamesoftheotherschoolsoftheRVareBfiskala,Aśvalfiyana,ŚfiṅkhfiyanaandMfindūkfiyana,
cf.Scheftelowitz1906,Renou1947.
4
TheoldestmanuscriptofaVedictextisdatedfromthe11thcenturyAD(Witzel1997:259).
Forhypothesisofanearlywrittenversionofpadapdtha,cf.Bronkhorst1982.Forcontestation
ofhisapproach,cf.Scharfe2002:12whowrites:‘Thebestevidencetodayisthatnoscript
wasusedorevenknowninIndiabefore300B.C.,exceptintheextremeNorthwestthatwas
underPersiandomination’.ForpeculiaritiesofIndianoraltradition,cf.Staal1986.Forthe
issuesconnectedwithoralandwrittentraditioninIndia,cf.Rocher1994.
5
Elevenhymns,includedintheeightmandala,areknownasthevdlakhilyaappendix(khila,RV
8.49–8.59)
6
Itisalsodividedintoaṣtakas(eights).Thisisamechanicaldivisionintoportionswhichcan
bememorised,cf.Gonda1975:9.
7
G{tsamada,Viśvfimitra,Vfimadeva,Atri,Bharadvfija,Vasisṭha.
8
Cf.Gonda1975:9ff.,Elizarenkova1989:475,Witzel1995b,Witzel1999:6.
9
Fordetails,cf.Oldenberg2005,Bergaigne1889,Witzel1995:309–210.
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