A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, so far as it illustrates the Primitive Religion of the Brahmans c10.87

c10.87

But we have better evidence in the hymns themselves, that some of their authors belonged to a later, generation than that of the most famous Rishis. The most celebrated poets of the Veda are those who are now called the Mâdhyamas¹, from the fact of their hymns standing between the first and the last books of our collection. They are Gṛitsamada, (2d Maṇḍala), Viśvâmitra (3d Maṇḍala), Vâmadeva (4th Maṇḍala), Atri (5th Maṇḍala), Bharadvâja (6th Maṇḍala), and Vasiṣhṭha (7th Maṇḍala). Added to these are, in the beginning, the hymns of various poets, collected in the first Maṇḍala, called the book of the Śatarchins, from the fact that each poet contributed about a hundred verses; and at the end, the book of the Pragâtha hymns (8th Maṇḍala), the book of the Soma hymns (9th Maṇḍala), and the book of long and short hymns, ascribed to the Kshudrasûkta and Mahâsûkta poets, which, in accordance with its very name, is a miscellaneous collection.