[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v1.c3.s20.459 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s20.459 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s20.459 - **Language:** English ### [v1.c3.s20.459](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.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 - [Previous: v1.c3.s20.458](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s20.458) - [Next: v1.c3.s20.460](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s20.460) - [Up: v1.c3.s20](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s20) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s20.459](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s20.459) · Pramāṇa