What is it about?
Though the most ancient Vedic texts were recited as part of the performance of sacrifice (yajna), they were also recited privately. This private recitation (svadhyaya) became a ritual in itself. The Veda was transmitted orally, but private recitation, removed from the sacrificial context, decontextualizes the spoken text, somewhat as, in Paul Ricoeur's view, written texts are decontextualized.
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Why is it important?
The article attempts to clear up some misunderstandings about oral literature, and shows that writing is not the only way to fix a text.
Perspectives
I find Vedic texts fascinating, partly because verses and phrases are re-used in different ritual and cosmological contexts, and so acquire different meanings.
Dr Dermot Hastings Killingley
Newcastle University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Svādhyāya: An Ancient Way of Using the Veda, Religions of South Asia, August 2014, Equinox Publishing,
DOI: 10.1558/rosa.v8i1.109.
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