வேத இலக்கியத்தில் சூரியனின் ஏழு குதிரைகளும் சப்த சந்த மரபும்: ஜகதி சந்தத்தை மையமாகக் கொண்ட இந்திய அறிவு, மொழி மற்றும் பண்பாட்டுக் குறியீடுகளின் ஆய்வு

The Seven Horses of the Sun and the Sapta Chanda Tradition in Vedic Literature: A Study of Indian Knowledge, Language and Cultural Symbols Centred on the Jagati Metre

Abstract

In Vedic literature, the Sun is understood not merely as a symbol of natural light but also as a symbol of time, motion, vital energy, knowledge and cosmic order. The central idea of this study is that the mythic reference to the Sun’s seven horses found in the Rigveda and the Sapta Chanda (seven-metre) tradition together form the numerical and phonetic foundation of Indian knowledge mythology. Among the seven principal metres — Gayatri, Ushnih, Anushtubh, Brihati, Pankti, Trishtubh and Jagati — the study takes as its focus the Jagati metre, which has four feet of twelve syllabic units each, totalling forty-eight units. Its metrical structure, linguistic characteristics and place in the oral tradition are examined, and the conceptual connection among the three symbols of Sun–horse–metre is explained. Finally, the continuity and transformation of these symbolic systems in later Tamil cultural spheres, including Sangam literature, are examined. The study seeks to establish that the Vedic metrical tradition functions not merely as an instrument of poetic prosody but as a multi-layered scientific–cultural framework that carries language, memory, astronomical thought and cultural knowledge.