Dear Dominik,

You wrote that the Śrīsūkta is post-Vedic . I asked my question because both Michael Witzel and Scheftelowitz say the Rg Veda Khilas (in which Śrīsūkta occurs) are old.

Michael Witzel wrote in his article: The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools:

"This collection [the RV Khilas] contains quite diverse materials, including such
famous hymns as the Śrīsūkta, RVKh 2.6, Suparnasūkta 1.3, etc. The
bulk of the material is of Rgvedic and Mantra period age".

Scheftelowitz says the Rgvedic Khilas are from the vedic period.

Thanks,

Harry Spier

On Tue, Oct 19, 2021 at 4:53 AM Dominik Haas <dominik@haas.asia> wrote:

Dear Harry,

no, the fact that this mantra is part of the post-Vedic Śrīsūkta does not indicate that it's older than the others.

The late age of these mantras in general has been noted by several scholars, from Leopold von Schroeder in 1900 to Peter C. Bisschop in 2018. It is impossible to infer the date of their composition on the basis of their Vedic “source” texts. In a paper I gave at the DICSEP last year, I argued that the modified or adapted Gāyatrīs probably did not come into being before the 2nd century CE at the very earliest. You can find an early draft of my talk and further references here:

https://www.academia.edu/43771517/_G%C4%81yatr%C4%AB_as_a_Name_of_%E1%B9%9AV_III_62_10

Best regards,

Dominik

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Dominik A. Haas, BA MA
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Am 19.10.2021 um 01:58 schrieb Harry Spier via INDOLOGY:
Dear list members,
Verse 26 (Sheftelowitz's edition) of the śrīsūktam (in the rg-veda khilas) is the gayatri mantra

mahālakṣmī ca vidmahe viṣṇupatnī ca dhīmahi |
tan no lakṣmīḥ pracodayāt |

Would that make it older than the gayatri mantras at Maitrāyaṇī-Saṃhitā 2-9-1. Does that make it the oldest gayatri mantra in the form

... vidmahe
... dImahi
...pracodayAt |

Thanks,
Harry Spier
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