Gentoo studies

[Shrisha Rao]

On Tue, 25 May 1999, Hans Henrich Hock wrote:

> Something to ponder:  If the Vedas are apauruSeya, what can they tell us
> about pauruSeya history?

Who says they can, by the way?  As far as I know, the Vedas do not speak
of historical persons (in the sense that history is commonly understood,
as referring to "a systematic, written account of events," etc.).  They
refer to legendary or otherwise-unknown persons like Vishwamitra, etc., or
to strange beings called Indra, Mitra, etc.  The only exception to this
one is aware of is the reference to Madhva (1238-1317) in RV I.141-3 and
elsewhere, but this is not universally accepted as indeed referring to
him, and indeed, one doubts that a student of history would find much
worth or value in studying the Vedic descriptions to learn about Madhva.

The latter, however, could be counted on to assert that the references to
transient beings such as Vishwamitra, or even he, in the RV is because of
their being repeated in endless cosmic cycles (`dhAtA yathA pUrvaM
akalpayat.h' -- Black Yajur Veda).

Regards,

Shrisha Rao

> Hans Henrich Hock