TRACING VEDIC DIALECTS - People.fas.harvard.edu

All of these features, however, have either been largely neglected, or have at
least never been investigated in the context of Vedic dialects. Another reason
why one does not have an idea how there could have existed dialects in Vedic
is that one does not really know when the texts were composed or where.
Without an area of composition (or redaction) for a Vedic text, there are, of
course, no dialects.
In fact, the Vedic texts seem to have been composed at an unknown time in
an unknown area (of N. India); in other words, even after some 150 years of
studying the texts, a dark mist still covers the whole Vedic period, which
makes it very difficult to make out who did what, where, and at what time.
The only point usually admitted is the relative chronology of the texts (see
below § 4.2.1, 4.2.5), and even in this area there is no general agreement. I
believe that we can finally move a few steps further. I have tried to localise as
many texts as possible in the Fel. Vol. Eggermont (Louvain 1986/7). The
absolute dates of the texts remain in balance, if we do not take refuge in
external evidence like the Mitanni agreement of ca. 1380 B.C., 7hich mentions
the Vedic gods, or the often discussed date of the Buddha and the age of the
older Upaniṣads.
The results are summarised in the maps and in the tables provided below
where the texts are dated according to the linguistic developments found in
them. 10
On this basis, we can observe a number of dialect divergencies in the post
Ṛgvedic (i.e. Middle Vedic) texts. I refrain here, to a large extent, from
dealing with the RV, as this text is clearly much older and limited to the
Panjab and its surroundings. The AV knows all of the N. Indian plains of the
Ganges-Yamunā doab / Uttar Pradesh. Mantra language in general can be
distinguished both from Ṛgvedic as well as from the prose of the Yajurveda
Saṃhitās and of the Brāhmaṇas.
The various levels of development of the Vedic language are briefly
described below (§ 4.3): When we arrange the data according to these levels
and to the geographical position mentioned in the maps, we arrive at a few
striking results:
9 See K. Hoffmann, Aufs. p. 581; the two other cases of RV kur- are 'popular' forms as well.
10 See: Wackernagel, Ai.Gr.I, and the add. of L.Renou; Renou, Histoire de la langue
Sanskrite, Lyon-Paris 1956; K.Hoffmann, Inj., and: Aufs., passim; see especially, J.Narten,
Die Sprache 14 ; cf. also Gonda, Old Indian, Leiden 1971 and OLZ 1977, 205-207; cf.
author, WZKS 24, p.22-24.
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