Studies in the Epics and Puranas c7.7
Studies in the Epics and Purāṇas c7.7
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c7.7
Like everything Indian the origin of the epics has been sought to be traced to the Vedas. But scholars hold different views with regard to the portion of the Ṛgveda which is looked upon as the origin of the epics. Oldenberg styled the dialogue (saṃvāda) hymns in the Ṛgveda as ākhyānas and started a theory that the oldest form of epic poetry in India consisted of prose and verse, of which the latter containing speeches was fixed and committed to memory. The saṃvādas are the remnants containing dialogues, the prose portions being lost.³