File: Michael_Witzel.jpg (100.5 KB)

100.5 KB JPG

>“Kṛṣṇa invokes you, Aśvins rich in sacrifices, that you may drink the exhilarating Soma. Leaders (of all), hear the invocation of Kṛṣṇa, the hymner, who praises you-- that you may drink theexhilarating Soma." - Rigveda 8.85.3-4

>“(The expounders of the Vedas) spoke to Kaṇva, the son of Nṛṣad, and he the dark-tinted (syava), havingfood, acquired wealth; (Agni) sprinkled (the milk of the brilliant udder for the dark (complexioned sage); no otherdivinity so favours the sacrifice for him] - Rig Veda 10.31.11

Even Michael Witzel noticed this. From his "Ṛṣis, the Poets of the Ṛgveda" paper:

>Among the other important ṛṣi clans of the Ṛgveda, the Kāṇva stand out in many ways. They are an enigmatic group of poets who claim decent from an ancient Kaṇva, son of Nṛṣad (“The One Who Sits among Men”). Kaṇva is mentioned along with other ancient ancestors. His descendants, the Kāṇvas, include Medhātithi (“Who Has Wisdom as His Guest”) and Priyamedha (“To Whom Wisdom is Dear”) and thus have proper Indo-Aryan names. However, the etymology of the name Kaṇva itself, just as the character of this group of poets, remains contested. Some of the Kaṇva hymns in book 8 show closeness to east Iranian names and realia, while other hymns are deeply rooted in the greater Punjab area

>It is possible that the Kaṇvas, as indigenous priests, became included in the ārya fold and switched from marginal priests who echo some local Indus myths (such as a hero shooting a boar who guards the – otherwise not yet mentioned – rice dish in a mountain) to a major ṛṣi clan that aligned itself with the Viśvāmitras and other Āṅgirasas and hence figures prominently in the first addition to the Ṛgveda (book 8), as well as in some sections of the late additions found in book 1 (12-23, 36-43, 44-50)

File: image-1 (1).png (550.5 KB)

550.5 KB PNG

The funny thing is that Kanva is the adoptive grandfather of Bharata, after whom India is named.

>Shakuntala (Sanskrit: शकुन्तला, romanized: Śakuntalā) is a heroine in ancient Indian literature, best known for her portrayal in the ancient Sanskrit play Abhijnanashakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala), written by the classical poet Kalidasa in the 4th or 5th century AD. Her story, however, originates in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata (c. 400 BC - 400 AD), where she appears in the Adi Parva ("The Book of Beginnings"). In both narratives, Shakuntala is the daughter of the sage Vishwamitra and the celestial nymph Menaka

>Abandoned at birth, she is raised by the sage Kanva in a forest hermitage. She later falls in love with King Dushyanta and becomes the mother of Bharata, a celebrated emperor of India

>Bharata (Sanskrit: भरत, romanized: Bharata) is a legendary emperor featured in Hindu literature. He is a member of the Chandravamsha dynasty, and becomes the Chakravarti (Chakra possessing emperor). He is regarded to be the ancestor of the Pandavas, the Kauravas, Brihadratha and Jarasandha

>According to popular tradition, Bhārata, one of the traditional names of the Indian subcontinent, is named after Bharata

File: f5fd034d-8f18-4b64-bad2-34b576c8064c_1047x497.png (66.9 KB)

66.9 KB PNG

>>18371363
>>18371365
>>18371371
I forgot to mention that they were also the authors of many hymns in the first mandala and the second family of authors with the most attributed hymns in the RigVeda.

>Mandala 1 can be divided into two parts: suktas 1-50 and 51-191. The first part consists of six groups of hymns by individual poets, many of whom belong to the Kanva bardic family. The much longer and older second part is divided into nine groups of hymns, also by individual poets belonging to various bardic families; the hymns in these groups are arranged according to the same rules as in the Family Books

>The hymns in the second part are some of the ‘most glorious’ in the Rigveda, and the poets some of the most distinctive including Kakshivant, Dirghatamas, and Agastya (Brereton and Jamison, 2020, p. 27)

>The hymns in the first part, by contrast, are quite unremarkable—with the exception of the magnificent sukta 32, to Indra, which describes his triumph over the serpent Vritra

>Each hymn of the Rigueveda is traditionally attributed to a specific rishi, and the "family books" (2-7) are said to have been written by a different family of rishis each. The main families, listed by the number of verses attributed to them, are:

>Angirasas: 3619 (especially Mandala 6)

>Kanvas: 1315 (especially Mandala 8 and 1)

>Vasishthas: 1267 (Mandala 7)

>Vaishvamitras: 983 (Mandala 3)

>Atris: 885 (Mandala 5)

>Bhrgus: 473

>Kashyapas: 415 (part of Mandala 9)

>Grtsamadas: 401 (Mandala 2)

>Agastyas: 316

>Bharatas: 170