The project presented here is the first step of a larger study devoted to the exegetical tradition of the Rg-Veda, destined to a better understanding of the reception of this fundamental work in the history of Indian civilisation.
We do not have access to the entirety of the exegetical tradition of the Rg-Veda. Its development is practically unknown at least up to the age of Sâyana, in the 14th century.
The Skandasvâmibhâshya on the Rg-Veda, dated from the 7th century CE, is the most ancient commentary on the Rgvedic hymns which has been found to this date. After introducing the existing material, including manuscripts, editions and critical studies, we will examine the text and translate some relevant passages of the commentary in order to articulate the philological and historical questions arising from it.
The author
Different hypothesis have been formulated on the historical and geographical background of the commentator, and we will try to shed light on this matter. Did Skandasvâmin belong to a royal family of Saurashtra - in the actual Gujarat, or to a Brahmanic family of Central Kerala?
The text
Some philological evidences of the Skandasvâmibhâshya, as the existence of a double rencension of the commentary, have to be care about. Moreover, the internal structure and method followed by Skandasvâmin in the commentary show some features typical of the bhâshya literature, whose role was so decisive in the history of Indian philosophy.