Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s20.459

v1.c3.s20.459

Nārāśaṃsī (scil. Ṛc), ‘(verse) celebrating men,’ is mentioned as early as the Rigveda,¹ and is distinguished from Gāthā in a number of passages in the later literature.² The Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā,³ while distinguishing the two, asserts that both are false (anṛtam). It is hardly probable that the two were absolutely distinct, for the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa⁴ has the phrase ‘a Gāthā celebrating men’ (nārāśaṃsī). What such verses were may be seen from the Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta Sūtra,⁵ which enumerates the Nārāśaṃsāni at the Puruṣamedha, or ‘human sacrifice.' They may legitimately be reckoned as a source of the epic.⁶