WHOSE VEDA? - Bhaashya

[kichenas at math.umn.edu]

This is just a note on one of M. Witzel's comments. It goes without saying
that every one in this forum is interested in any serious work that
discusses the actual content of the Veda and its actual impact on Indian
thought. 

One of his comments might be construed as saying that Tamil texts held in
reverence comparable to that given to the Veda are actually influenced in
form by the latter. I am sure he did not mean to imply this.  Also, there
is no reason here to single out the Periya-purANam in preference to the
other fundamental texts in the 12 Tiru-muRai. 

An interesting related point is that the Tamil word used in this
connection is not vEda but *maRai*, which has been fittingly translated in
French by *Arcanes* (F. Gros). Whether the word was supposed to refer to
the veda itself, or was a generic term for important, esoteric texts is
not clear. 


                                Satyanad Kichenassamy
                                School of Mathematics
                                University of Minnesota
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                                E-mail: kichenas at math.umn.edu
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