Page:The Hymns of the Rigveda (English Translation).pdf/4

IV the work which the present volume is intended to commence aims to give the text of the Rigveda in a form that, to the extent permitted by the state of tradition and the capabilities of research—both foreign and our own—approximates the original version.

The paths leading to this goal need not be described to the knowledgeable; it is not about discovering them but walking them. We are only allowed to allude to a few points here. First, it seemed essential to us to collect as comprehensively as possible the quotations of Rigvedic verses in the later Vedic texts and record the variants that appear therein. It was necessary to follow, in a more systematic context than has been done before, the question of the textual-historical nature and value of these readings through their branches: a part of the prolegomena presented here seeks to solve this task. Even if, in contrast to widely held beliefs—as the author's opinion indeed suggests—the critical yield that can be derived from the other Vedas is only slight, the mentioned investigations are not in vain. It is justified not to forsake anything that can contribute to understanding the original text, however small. Moreover, as the inferiority of the other sources becomes apparent in comparison to the authority of the Rigvedic textual tradition, positive results for characterizing the latter, which provide important foundations for our text treatment, are obtained at the same time. Also, for the dissection of compositions consisting of several hymns transmitted as a single hymn