The aim of the dissertation is to present a critical edition of kāṇḍa 15 of the Paippalādasaṁhitā of the Atharvaveda. The work is divided into two main parts: an Introduction and the critical... Show moreThe aim of the dissertation is to present a critical edition of kāṇḍa 15 of the Paippalādasaṁhitā of the Atharvaveda. The work is divided into two main parts: an Introduction and the critical edition itself. The Introduction deals first with topics related to the transmission of the text. After the description of the manuscripts collated for the edition and the study of their mutual relationships, I address the problem of orthography and spelling in the written sources. Arrangement and content of the hymns are then discussed. The explanation of the way the text is presented and the criteria according to which the critical apparatus has been prepared follow. Finally, the methodology and results of the metrical analysis are investigated. The critical edition follows the same pattern for each of the 23 hymns that constitute the kāṇḍa. Text, translation, a positive critical apparatus, parallel passages, and commentary then follow in that order, arranged stanza by stanza. The comment deals with philological, grammatical, metrical and lexical problems, as well as with the interpretation of the text. At the end of the volume, after a list of abbreviations and the Bibliography, an Index Verborum and an Index Locorum complete the dissertation. Show less
Grammatical as well as poetological studies of the Rigveda have almost exclusively concentrated on the regular patterns of Vedic Grammar and Poetry. As was to be expected, irregularity of any kind... Show moreGrammatical as well as poetological studies of the Rigveda have almost exclusively concentrated on the regular patterns of Vedic Grammar and Poetry. As was to be expected, irregularity of any kind has always had a very difficult stand with scholars. Against the background of a highly regular prosodic and grammatical system, rare exceptions have been neglected, played down, or simply (dis)qualified as nonce formations, aberrations, abnormities, and even monstrosities. The further a formal excentricity deviates from the norm, the more likely it appears to me that this deviation is intended. And, not only is it to be accepted as intentional, it may convey a Surplus of Meaning that could not have been communicated in a regular way and by normal means of expression. All along the partly published (A. B. C. D.), partly unpublished (E. F.) articles that are united in this dissertation, I have enacted the role of a critically devoted advocate of the Vedic poet, taking sides with him or trying to do justice, in his apparent absence, to certain forms of irregularity. Show less
