Vedic mythology Arthur Anthony Macdonell Books
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Vedic mythology Arthur Anthony Macdonell Books
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Vedic mythology Arthur Anthony Macdonell Books Reviews
I like this one.
Uncommon,enigmatic,and interesting.
Somewhat scholarly,but not stylized. Anything but dry
and fossilized.
Although I hesitate to draw a comparison,somewhat like
a Vedic counterpart to a good Biblical commentary.
Moderately challenging;with page after page of alluring
imagery and anticipation. Not a huge book but has a lot
of intricate content.
Transliterated proper nouns and terms provide some
practice for those interested in Sanskrit;those who
are not will not find it problematic.
These anthropomorphic deities represent early man's
attempt to explain the forces of nature. Like nature
this literary tapestry is unpredictable,beautiful,and
at times cruel.
The quality of vagueness contributes to a sense of
mystery. Yet there is a hint of a fundamental unifying
principle.
Ample selections from the Vedas with commentary
throughout.
Critical thinking and a dash of poetic imagination,this
book might be your cup of tea.
Works equally well as a stand-alone treatment of the
subject,or stimulus for further study.
Has become one of my favorites;I hope you like it too.
This is a systematic presentation of the divine, human, animal and natural (plants, rivers, clouds, etc.) figures in early Sanskrit literature (mainly the Rig Veda, the Atharva Veda, and the early Brahmanas), with the small number of narratives which actually appear in the early hymns, and some information from medieval Sanskrit commentators. (Technically, some of this is in pre-Sanskrit Vedic, not the systematized Sanskrit of the Indian grammatical tradition....)
The much more elaborate narratives of the Epics and Puranas are not treated as such, and it is NOT a presentation of Hinduism as a living religion; those who want either one will be disappointed. The result is in many cases a list of epithets and attributes, and of family members, enemies, and rivals, at considerable remove in style from the lyrics from which the information has been gathered. It is a place to start looking for data, and is a guide to some (hardly all) of the contents of an extremely difficult body of ancient literature.
Although written in English, it was originally published in 1897-1898 as a part of a German publisher's series of monographs on what would now be called Indo-European Studies. Macdonnell was a leading scholar in his time, and his technical studies continue to be cited with respect. The book is now showing its age, and a replacement would be welcome, but as its second century begins it remains extremely helpful. (At least to someone who wants a concise overview of a huge amount of scattered material.) The proportion of hard data to theory is very high. Macdonnell's work was able to survive changing fashions, and, to judge from citations and bibliographies, was used happily by rival schools of interpretation right through the twentieth century. A rather heavy dependence on nature-mythology (especially solar) seems to show direct dependence on the great commentator Sayana as least as much as on Max Mueller's modern extensions of it, as one would expect of the author's mastery of the sources.
The Sanskrit index is quite comprehensive, and supplements the analytical arrangement of the material. Unfortunately, it lacks an index of texts cited. (In frustration at flipping pages to see if Macdonnell had mentioned a passage which did not have a major name, nor a word for which I somehow happened to know the Sanskrit, I once compiled my own index of his Rig Veda citations. I do not recommend this course to others!) The bibliographical material is, of course, long obsolete. The cautious reader will try to check Macdonnell's etymologies against modern works. He seems to have been fairly careful about accepting speculations not grounded in Sanskrit texts (not rushing to identify Vata and Wodan, for example), but of course, even the great Sanskrit grammarians were sometimes wrong....
The copy I have used for years was printed in India, by a different publisher, with a date of 1974. The paper has not stood up well to the passing decades, and I hope that more recent reprintings will prove more durable. As long as a copy is clearly printed and complete, however, and so long as the reader keeps its limits in mind, the book should be an extremely useful tool.
This is a scholarly work of Sanskrit scholar and Oxford University Professor A.A. MacDonnell. In this book he examines the religion and mythology of RgVeda and describes methodically the origin of the concept of gods, and enumerates on Vedic cosmology and eschatology. The author gives a good introduction to the fundamentals of the Vedic religion and compares it with the Avesta mythology. He lucidly explains the general characteristics of Vedic Gods (and their classification) and spiritual evolution through the period of Brahmanas.
RgVeda is one of the ancient cultures of humanity which gave rise to the concept that the humans were created by the divine power. The sense that human's existence and welfare depends on those powers made the Vedic Aryans feel the desire to worship gods in various natural forms. One of the most commonly evolved methods was to make offerings to the gods and perform sacrifices and follow certain ritualistic practices that became the part of the Vedic culture. In the evolution of faith and the belief system, the interdependence of gods in protecting the universe was essential. The Vedic tradition also provided for the existence of forces that are disruptive to the rule of gods. Hence, according to the Vedic literature gods had to engage these destructive forces, called rakshas, in constant battles to preserve the divine order and bring peace to the world he loves so dearly. Vedic gods were friends and guardians of honesty and righteousness, and morality in general. They are upholders of the moral law. Gods are angry with evil-doers, but they are also forgiving. Agni is supposed to free us from sin; Varuna and Indra are punishers of sin, and so on.
Nature became the major form of Vedic worship. Earth, mountain, river, plant, air, sky, sun, wind, fire, cow, horse and other animals became symbols of divine power. In some verses gods are described as human beings with supernatural powers and the difference being that gods are immortal. The ancient Vedic interpreter Yaksha (Nirukta 74) states that the Vedic deities are not necessarily anthropomorphic as we observe in the case of earth, sun, wind or water.
The author has a given a brief description and discussed the nature of several RgVedic gods in categories; Celestial gods (Varuna, Mitra, Surya, Vishnu, etc.); Atmospheric gods (Indra, Rudra, The Maruts, etc.); Terrestrial gods (Agni, Prithvi, rivers (Sarasvati), Soma, etc.); Abstract gods (Prajapathi, Aditi, etc.); Mythical priests and heroes (Manu, Bhrgu, Angirases, etc.); animals and inanimate objects (horse, bull, cow, goat, birds, serpent, etc.); and finally demons, rakshas and fiends (Vrtra, Vala, Asuras, Panis, Dasas, etc.)
This is by no means an exhaustive work but an excellent introductory book to understand the religion of RgVeda from one of the leading Sanskrit scholars of nineteenth century. For a more in depth study, I recommend "The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads" (2 Vols) by Arthur Berriedale Keith.
1. The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads (2 Vols)
The book is good but I see a lot of typos on my Glare free, instead of letters I see hashes, back slashes, spaces where there shouldn't be and the like.
It needs to be looked at because I don't think is properly centered in the page.
Thank You
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