The Khilani (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
: खिलानि, Khilāni) are a collection of 98 "
apocryphal
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
" hymns of the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...
, recorded in the ', but not in the '
shakha
A shakha (Sanskrit ', "branch" or "limb") is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school.V. S. Apte. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 913, left column.Moni ...
. They are late additions to the text of the Rigveda, but still belong to the "Mantra" period of
Vedic Sanskrit
Vedic Sanskrit was an ancient language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European language family. It is attested in the Vedas and related literature compiled over the period of the mid- 2nd to mid-1st millennium BCE. It was orally preser ...
, contemporary with the
Atharvaveda
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
,
Yajurveda
The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...
, and
Samaveda
The Samaveda (, from ' "song" and ' "knowledge"), is the Veda of melodies and chants. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and part of the scriptures of Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,875 verses. A ...
, estimated to fall within the range of c. 1200–1000 BCE. The Khilāni hymns include the ''
Śrī Sūkta
''Śrī Sūkta'', also called ''Śrī Sūktam'', is evidently the earliest Sanskrit devotional hymn (set of shlokas Śloka-s), revering Śrī as Lakṣmī, the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity and fertility. Śrī Sūkta is recited, with ...
'', as well as the ''Kuntāpa'' hymns for the ''Mahāvrata'' ceremony, the New Year's festival of the early
Kuru Kingdom.
[Witzel, Michael]
"The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools : The Social and Political Milieu,"
in Witzel, Michael (ed.) (1997), ''Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts. New Approaches to the Study of the Vedas'', Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora vol. 2, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, pp.284–285
References
Literature
*Isidor Scheftelowitz, ''Die Apokryphen des Rgveda'', Breslau, 190
*Usha R. Bhise, ''The Khila Suktas of the Rgveda: A Study'',
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) is located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was founded on 6 July 1917 and named after Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837–1925), long regarded as the founder of Indology (Orientalism) in Ind ...
, Poona, 1995
{{Hinduism-stub
Rigveda