Vedic Songs as Divine Attributes: A Comparative Analysis of gāthā- and nārāśaṃsī-

The combination of songs and recitations is one of the main features of the Agniṣṭoma ritual. Already attested in the saṃhitās and further elaborated in the brāhmaṇas, this is identified by various terms or combinations thereof, one of them being represented by gā́thā- “song” and nārāśaṃsī́-, derived from nārāśaṃsá- “praised by men.” The archaic nature of these combinations is indisputable, given their presence in all the Vedas, conveying similarly a notion of ritual necessity, and also in the Young Avestan texts as gāϑā- and nairiiō.saŋha-. In Vedic sources, they are unequivocally linked to deities, as for instance in the wedding hymn (R̥S X.85.6), where they are characteristics of the goddess Sūrya’s appearance. Likewise, the word nārāśaṃsá-, as well as its feminine derivative, is used to qualify deities, like Agni in R̥S III.29.11 [Rossi 2024: 31], even to the point of being deified [Sadovski 2018: 379-380]. However, as its first part, nára-, means “man,” the etymology of nārāśaṃsá- should imply a different interpretation [see Dumézil 1969: 104]. Therefore, arises the question whether this variation is linked to the second member, śaṃsá-, which refers to the recitation. One hypothesis to be considered is whether the songs are attributed to the gods and the recitation restricted to the human domain, supported by the numeral superiority of attestations of śaṃsá- included in a context whose idea is essentially human, in the R̥gveda (34x) and in the Old Avestan texts with the word sǝ̄ṇgha- (11x). Furthermore, the Vedic exegetical texts frequently depict songs as the means for the sacrificer to attain heaven (as noted in JB I.83). This needs to be demonstrated through a comparison with the few attestations of these words and their context, mainly ritualistic. This comparison also aims to highlight their antiquity in the Indo-Aryan tradition.