Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s12.259

v1.c3.s12.259

Gṛtsa-mada is the name of a seer to whom the Sarvānukramaṇī attributes the authorship of the second Maṇḍala of the Rigveda. This tradition is supported by the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa¹ and the Aitareya Āraṇyaka.² The Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa³ speaks of him as a Bhārgava, ‘descendant of Bhṛgu,’ with a variant Bābhrava, ‘descendant of Babhru,’ but the later tradition keeps to the former patronymic.⁴ The Gṛtsamadas are often mentioned in the second Maṇḍala of the Rigveda,⁵ and are also called Śunahotras,⁶ but never Gārtsamadas or Śaunahotras, and Gṛtsamada himself never occurs there.⁷