வேத இலக்கியத்தில் சூரியனின் ஏழு குதிரைகளும் சப்த சந்த மரபும்: பங்க்தி 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 Pankti Metre

Abstract

The Vedas, which serve as ancient literary sources of the Indian knowledge tradition, are approached not only as religious and ritual records but also as repositories of knowledge that integrate language, sound, nature, time, numerical thought, astronomical observation, memory and cultural life. The solar imagery and the metrical tradition found in Vedic literature provide important fields of study for such a multi-disciplinary approach. In the Rigveda, the Sun appears in association with light, vital energy, awakening, motion and the cycle of time. The solar chariot, wheel, horse and the numerical symbol ‘seven’ constitute poetic elements that express cosmic motion and order. On the other hand, in the Vedic metrical tradition, the principal metres Gayatri, Ushnih, Anushtubh, Brihati, Pankti, Trishtubh and Jagati bring sound and language within a metrical order. Among these, Pankti is a Vedic metre that generally has five feet with eight syllables in each foot, totalling 5 × 8 = 40 syllables. Concepts associated with the word ‘Pankti’ — such as row, group and five-tiered structure — offer opportunities for exploring its numerical and cultural dimensions. Centred on the Pankti metre, this study examines the Vedic symbols relating to the Sun’s seven horses and the Sapta Chanda tradition through linguistic, metrical, semiotic and Indian-knowledge-systems approaches. Its aim is to reveal the connections among the order of nature, the order of number, the order of sound, the order of language and the order of memory.