[Advaita-l] Rudra Prashna question

[Ajit Krishnan via Advaita-l]

Dear Vidyasankar,

> And marvel at the fact that they have been preserved
> in the transmission tradition, without getting "corrected"
> by standard expectations generated by the demands of grammar.


It is certainly marvelous that the transmission tradition has preserved the
vedas as well as it has. But, at the same time, it is difficult to accept
that they have been preserved perfectly. The same mantra is often found in
multiple traditions with some variation (be it in the text, swara or
pronunciation). Minimal though it may be, it is reasonable to conclude that
change has occurred.

"Correcting" the texts with our half-baked knowledge is a dangerous
slippery slope. We are not in a position to undo changes that may have
occurred without introducing even worse corruptions. But that doesn't mean
every single vyatyaya in the veda is an original arsha prayoga.

sasneham,

    ajit





On Mon, May 5, 2014 at 8:27 AM, Vidyasankar Sundaresan via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> In the tryambakaM yajAmahe mantra, in addition to mRtyor (pancamI
> vibhakti), you also have amRtAt, which is also in pancamI.  A superficial
> reading would therefore indicate that mRtyu is amRta. Would there be a
> problem with that as well, in terms of meaning?
>
> Rule no. 1 with understanding veda mantra-s: Do not expect that standard
> grammar rules apply in a straightforward manner.
>
> Another mantra example: UrdhvaretaM virUpAkshaM viSvarUpAya vai namaH,
> which also does not conform to grammar expectations.
>
> TaittirIya upanishat examples: shIkshAM vyAkhyAsyAmaH (The word SikshA is
> normally with short i-kAra, but upanishat has dIrgha I instead) and
> ASishTho dR^iDhishTho balishThaH. Classical grammar rules dictate that the
> word should be draDhishTha, with the use of a full repha.
>
> There are many more examples where the veda has word forms that don't
> conform to grammar, either in vibhakti or in internal/external sandhi or in
> other aspects of word/sentence construction and usage. We just have to take
> them as they are. And marvel at the fact that they have been preserved in
> the transmission tradition, without getting "corrected" by standard
> expectations generated by the demands of grammar.
>
> Best regards,
> Vidyasankar
>
> > > On 05-May-2014, at 3:45 pm, Venkatesh Murthy via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> > >
> > > Namaste
> > >
> > > That is not correct. Because if I am praying to Death itself the words
> will
> > > be Mrutyo Me Paahi, not Mrutyur Me Paahi. Mrutyo is the Sambodhanaa for
> > > Mrutyu.
> > >
> > > If you look at another very near mantra Tryambakam Yajaamahe you will
> see
> > > it is saying Mrutyor Muksheeya. Liberate me from Death.
> > >
> > > According to that Mantra also the grammatical form should be Om Namo
> > > Bhagavate Rudraaya Vishnave Mrutyor Me Paahi.
> > >
>
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