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Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 10:58:14 -0000
To: agathiyar@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [tamil araichchi] Search for Lost Vedas - by SSathia
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--- In agathiyar@y..., JayBee
> Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 09:01:42 +0000
> From: sisrivas
> Subject: [tamil_araichchi] Search for Lost Vedas - by SSathia
> To: tamil_araichchi@y...
>
> From: "S T"
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> I start this thread to find out whether anyone knows about the lost
parts
> of
> the Hindu Vedas. In Vivekananda's speeches, one can find that he
has talked
> about the original Vedas of sufficient volume to fill up a library
but
> these
> were lost over the ages leaving what is popularly known as the four
Vedas
> today.
>
> Since a new picture is emerging about the origins and the
development of
> Indians as major players in ancient history, it is possible that
the
> ancient
> knowledge treasurehouse of India that was lost in India still
somehow
> survives out there in different parts of the world.
>
> Although any surviving parts of Veda may not go by the name of
Veda, anyone
> noticing the similarity of thought could explore further to find
out if
> they
> could be linked to the Vedas. It is also possible that these could
have
> been
> translated into local languages. Or that they could be treated as
sacred
> manthras used for special occasions only without knowing that they
are part
> of the Vedas. A good example is Thai monarchy that uses Tamil hymns
during
> coronation.
> Regards,
> Sathia,
> KL, Malaysia
Vedas have been orally transmitted, preserved and maintained from the
beginnning. Diffferent brahmin castes in India have been historically
engaged in this project. In fact, the raison d'etre of brahmins have
been oral preservation of the vedas. Different brahmin clans in India
have preserved different parts of vedas. The idea of oral
preservation is to maintain the exact intonation as it was first
composed thousands of years ago. Even a Witzel would agree that the
present day chantings are as good as tape recording of when it was
first composed
But due to shifting sands of history, due to the ebb and flow of
migrations, emigrations, conquests, foreign rule and sheer negligence
many sections of brahmins have become extinct and with them whatever
sections of vedas they were preserving. This has been especially so
in the western and northern India. Between 11th and 16th centuries,
Hinduism ceased to be a force in what is now Pakistan/Afghanistan
with the large scale conversion, many times involuntary, into Islam.
With it, much of the vedic tradition in those regions was lost and
sections of vedas were lost to the rest of India.
Only in the south, thanks to the patronage of local people and kings,
and a far less intrusion into the politcal and cultural life by Turks
and Persians, brahminical way of life and traditions survived to the
present day by and large intact and in a purer form.
But it must be remembered that there was no "Vedic clearing house"
either at all India level or at south Indian level, so that we can
know all the vedic branches which were/are alive and which can do
some "load balancing" among brahmins. Each brahmin clan preserved one
vedic part as a part of their tradition, by and large uninterested
and unaware of what was being preserved in other areas. There was no
co-operation or co-ordination even between Nambudiris and Tamil
brahmins for centuries.
Given that background, even now, one across new parts of vedas by
some rural brahmin families, which were previously unheard of. In 96,
a new section was found in some family in Kerala. Agnicayana ritual,
which has been given up in northern India hundreds of years ago is
still conducted in the south. The only way of discovering new
sections is to carefully listen to all the religious rituals all over
the country, these rituals may be public or private.
