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Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2001-10, Vol.121 (4), p.565-579
Ort / Verlag
Ann Arbor, MI: American Oriental Society
Erscheinungsjahr
2001
Link zum Volltext
Quelle
Alma/SFX Local Collection
Beschreibungen/Notizen
The relationship between Rigvedic and post-Rigvedic usages of the word vratá has not been adequately explained, despite several studies of the concept. This paper distinguishes three aspects of the word's meaning in the Ṛg Veda and in the "mantra-period" texts: (1) 'rule' in the general sense of a fixed articulation of will or authority; (2) as the attribute of a god, it denotes the distinctive natural and social laws that the god ordains and maintains; (3) in verses in which the god's vratá is closely linked with specific rites (the morning and evening offerings, the three soma pressings) it acquires the sense of 'rule of ritual observance'. In these contexts, this rule of ritual performance is an obligation to be fulfilled by "descendants of Manu," who may be called vratyàs of the god. ṚV 7.103.1 and AV 4.11 foreshadow the narrower, technical application of the word in the prose yajus texts, the brāhmaṇas, and the ritual sūtras, viz., an ascetical regimen undertaken by a yajamāna or student, under the superintendence of Agni Vratapati.