Vrata divine and human in the early Veda. From: The Journal of the American Oriental Society | Date: October 1, 2001| Author: Lubin, Timothy | COPYRIGHT 2001 American Oriental Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

The relationship between Rigvedic and post-Rigvedic usages of the word vrata has not been adequately explained, despite several studies of the concept. This paper distinguishes three aspects of the word's meaning in the Rg Veda and in the "mantra-period" texts: (1) 'rule' in the general sense of a fixed articulation of will or authority; (2) as the attribute of a god, it denotes the distinctive natural and social laws that the god ordains and maintains; (3) in verses in which the g...