The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c22.s2.16

v1.c22.s2.16

Kaṇva, whose descendants, the Kaṇvas, are the reputed authors of the poems of the eighth book of the Rigveda, is celebrated as an ancient seer, often in connexion with persons in whose existence we have no reason to disbelieve. He is, however, said to have had his sight restored by the Açvins, and this, taken in conjunction with his connexion with the fire worship, has suggested the theory of Bergaigne ⁶ that he is really the sun during the night, or more generally the hidden Agni, a suggestion for which there is nothing to be said. On the other hand, it is probable that Kaṇva was merely an eponymous hero: nothing said of him seems to prove contemporaneity with any Rigvedic poet.⁷ Medhyātithi and Priyamedha, who are among the descendants of Kaṇva, seem to have been real personages. Of the other seers, to whom the various books of the Rigveda are assigned, Gotama, Viçvāmitra, Vāmadeva, Bharadvāja, and Vasiṣṭha, there is still less reason to disbelieve the historic existence, or at least the existence of the families bearing the names from which the ancestors may have been reconstructed.⁸