<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>elisa freschiDid ṛṣis author the Veda? UPDATED &#8211; elisa freschi</title>
	<atom:link href="https://elisafreschi.com/2018/01/15/did-%E1%B9%9B%E1%B9%A3is-author-the-veda/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>https://elisafreschi.com</link>
	<description>These pages are a sort of virtual desktop of Elisa Freschi. You can find here my cv and some random thoughts on Sanskrit (and) Philosophy. All criticism welcome! Contributions are also welcome!</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 19:06:15 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en-US</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	
		<item>
		<title>Did ṛṣis author the Veda? UPDATED</title>
		<link>https://elisafreschi.com/2018/01/15/did-%e1%b9%9b%e1%b9%a3is-author-the-veda/</link>
		<comments>https://elisafreschi.com/2018/01/15/did-%e1%b9%9b%e1%b9%a3is-author-the-veda/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Jan 2018 08:57:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>elisa freschi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mīmāṃsā]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Veda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Veṅkaṭanātha/Vedānta Deśika]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nyāyapariśuddhi]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://elisafreschi.com/?p=2656</guid>

				<description><![CDATA[A Mīmāṃsā and Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta view about it. In his Seśvaramīmāṃsā (ad 1.1.29), Veṅkaṭanātha discusses the problem of the authorship of the Veda while being a Mīmāṃsaka, but also trying to condede something to theism. For instance, he is less straightforward than Mīmāṃsā authors in ruling out the role of the ṛṣis. Mīmāṃsā authors spoke of the ṛṣis mentioned in connection with some [&#8230;]]]></description>
					<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em id="gnt_postsubtitle" style="color:#770005;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.2em;font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;">A Mīmāṃsā and Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta view about it</em></p> <p>In his <em>Seśvaramīmāṃsā</em> (ad 1.1.29), Veṅkaṭanātha discusses the problem of the authorship of the Veda while being a Mīmāṃsaka, but also trying to condede something to theism. </p>
<p>For instance, he is less straightforward than Mīmāṃsā authors in ruling out the role of the ṛṣis. Mīmāṃsā authors spoke of the ṛṣis mentioned in connection with some Vedic parts as having just recited (and not authored) those parts in an excellent way. Veṅkaṭanātha does not deny his opponent&#8217;s claim that ṛṣis could see parts of the Veda they did not learn with a teacher. Nonetheless, they only see what they are eligible to see, through powers given to them by Prajāpati. They also don&#8217;t see anything new:</p>
<blockquote><p>
For this very reason, also the fact that the ṛṣis have done the sūtras, the [Vedic] parts (<em>kāṇḍa</em>) (Brāhmaṇa and Upaniṣads) and the mantras (i.e., the Vedic saṃhitās), conforms to previous acts (i.e., they have uttered them as they were in the previous kalpa), [and] the immediate perception (<em>sākṣatkaraṇa</em>) of a part of the Veda which has not been studied [by them] by ṛṣis who had specific powers given [to them] by Prajāpati conforms with their various eligibilities. For this reason, in this way there is no author of the Veda. Therefore, in all times the Vedas are only recited by a sequence (<em>paramparā</em>) of people depending on someone else (<em>paratantra</em>).</p>
<p>ata eva ṛṣīṇām sūtrakāṇḍamantrakṛttvam api prācīnakarmānuguṇaṃ prajāpatipradattaśaktiviśeṣāṇāṃ tattadadhikārānuguṇam anadhītavedabhāgasākṣātkaraṇam eva. tad evaṃ na vedakarteti sarvadā paratantrapuruṣaparamparādhītā eva vedāḥ.
</p></blockquote>
<p>In other words, ṛṣis are an exception to the normal transmission of the Veda, they are not at its origin. And they don&#8217;t see anything more than what people learn through their teachers.</p>
<p>Now a question to you, dear readers: <strong>I am not sure about my interpretation of the compound <em>sūtrakāṇḍamantrakṛttvam</em>.</strong> This is found in the same context also in Veṅkaṭanātha&#8217;s <em>Nyāyapariśuddhi</em>, but I could not find it in any other text. I am not sure about its meaning, since the Vedic kāṇḍas (karmakāṇḍa and jñānakāṇḍa) do include mantras. Nor did Veṅkaṭanātha mention here mantras of altogether different origin… Moreover, sūtras are generally accepted to have an author, so that they don&#8217;t really belong to the same group. <strong>What could be meant here?</strong></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			

		<wfw:commentRss>https://elisafreschi.com/2018/01/15/did-%e1%b9%9b%e1%b9%a3is-author-the-veda/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
				<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2656</post-id>	</item>
	</channel>
</rss>