History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.5

v6.c81.5

Prof. V. M Apte contributed a long article on vrata to the 3rd volume of the Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute at Poona (pp. 407–488) Prof Apte agreed with Whitney in deriving the word vrata from '*vṛt*', boldly asserted that the derivation of the word from '*vṛ*' to choose or '*vṛ*' to guard or enclose is impossible (p 410), that there is not a *single vrata* passage in the Ṛgveda which favours the meaning 'will, command, obedience or fixed purpose', that '*vṛt*' not only means 'to proceed' (as Whitney holds) but also 'to turn, to turn oneself, turn round, revolve, move on' and that therefore '*vrata*' means not only procedure, course of action, conduct, but also 'circular movement' and then 'route or circular path' (pp. 411–412).