The Arctic Home in the Vedas c16.42.2

c16.42.2

A better way to reconcile the conflicting utterances of the Ṛiṣhis would be to make a distinction between the expression, language, or form on the one hand, and the contents, substance, or the subject matter of the hymns on the other; and to hold that while the expression was human, the subject matter was believed to be ancient or superhuman. There are numerous passages in the Ṛig-Veda where the bards speak of ancient poets (pūrve ṛiṣhayaḥ), or ancient hymns (I, 1, 2; VI, 44, 13; VII, 29, 4; VIII, 40, 12; X, 14, 15; &c.); and Western scholars understand by these phrases the poets or hymns of the past generations of Vedic bards, but not anterior to the post-Glacial times. But there are clear indications in the hymns themselves which go to refute this view. It is true that the Vedic bards speak of ancient and modern hymns; but they often tell us that though the hymn is new (navyasī), yet the god or the deity to whom it is addressed is old (pratna), or ancient, (VI, 22, 7; 62, 4; X, 91, 13; &c.) This shows that the deities whose exploits were sung in the hymns were considered to be ancient deities. Nay, we have express passages where not only the deities but their exploits are said to be ancient, evidently meaning that the achievements spoken of in the hymns were traditional and not witnessed by the poet himself;