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A 'rishi' (Sanskrit ऋषि: '') is a Hindu saint or sage. , and in its most strict canonical sense means 'a Vedic sage to whom Vedic hymns were originally revealed'.

Contents

Etymology

Seer of the Vedas

Notes

References

See also

Etymology

Traditionally, this word has been derived from the root 'rsh' which is actually not one but two separate verbs in Sanskrit grammar. All traditional Sanskrit grammarians ( cf. Commentary on Unādi-Sutra,iv,119) derive this word from the second root which means (1)'to go,move' (- Dhatupāth of Pānini,xxviii). V.S.Apte ^[1]gives this particular meaning and derivation,and Monier-Williams^[2] also gives the same,with some qualification.
Other form of this root means (2)'to flow,to move near by flowing',which seems to be related to the first meaning. Secondary meanings are(3)'to push,thrust',(4)to kill, which are not related to rishi. All the meanings and derivations cited above are based upon Sanskrit English Dictionary of Monier-Williams^[2]. Monier-Williams quotes Tārānātha who compiled world's greatest (Sanskrit-to-Sanskrit) dictionary named Vāchaspatyam : "rishati jnānena samsāra-pāram" (i.e.,one who reaches beyond this mundane world by means of spiritual knowledge).Monier-Williams also conjectures that the root 'drish' (to see) might have given rise to an obsolete root 'rish' meaning 'to see', although no Sanskrit grammarian including Pānini supported such a meaning.
This word's PIE (Proto Indo-European) etymology is unknown. It has an Avestan cognate '' (Yasna 31.5) "an ecstatic" (see also Yurodivy, Vates). Monier-Williams tentatively suggests derivation from '' "to see"[1]. A suggestion referenced by Julius Pokorny connects the word to a PIE root '' meaning "rise, protrude", in the sense of "excellent, egregious". Manfred Mayrhofer in his Etymological Dictionary prefers a connection to either '' "pour, flow" (PIE ''), or to '' "yell".
Monier-Williams quotes Hebrew form 'arsan'(a sage, a man old in wisdom) and 'arrach'(old,ancient,aged) as related to rishi. Since Hebrew is a non-IE language, the meaning 'sage' may be supposed to be the most archaic meaning of the unknown PIE etymon of rishi. In Sanskrit, forms of root 'rish' become 'arsh-' in many words,e.g, arsh. Vedic,Avestic,Hebrew etc show rish- or arsh- in the root, hence PIE etymon was certainly very near to these forms structurally, and PIE meaning must have contained the meaning 'sage' as well.

Seer of the Vedas

In the Vedas, the word denotes a singer of sacred hymns, an inspired poet or sage, or any person who alone or with others invokes the deities in rhythmical speech or song of a sacred character. In particular, it refers to the authors of the hymns of the Rigveda. Later generations regarded the Rishis as patriarchal sages or saints, occupying the same position in India history as the heroes and patriarchs of other countries, constituting a peculiar class of beings in the early mythical system, as distinct from Asuras, Devas and mere mortal men. The patriarchical structure is evident in the gotra names of Vedic sages as well. But in later period, we have two different sets of patriarchical saptarshis (Sapta-rishis or seven rishis)( cf. Mahābhārata-xii)^[4]
The main rishis recorded in the Rigveda-Anukramanis include Gritsamada, Vishvamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Angiras, Bharadvaja, Vasishta, Agastya.
Seven Rishis (the Saptarshi) are often mentioned in the Brahmanas and later works as typical representatives of the character and spirit of the pre-historic or mythical period; in Shatapatha Brahmana 14.5.2.6, their names are Gautama, Bharadvaja, Vishvamitra, Jamadagni, Vasishtha, Kashyapa, and Atri. In Mahabharata 12, on the other hand, Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya and Vasishtha. The Mahābhārata list explicitly refers to the saptarshis of the first manvantara(cf. SED by Monier-Williams) and not to those of the present manvantara. It implies that each manvantara had a unique set of saptarshi. In Harivamsha-417-ff,names of Rishis of each manvantara is enumerated. Daksha,Bhrigu and Nārada were also added to saptarshis in the list of patriarchical s in Āshvalāyana-Shrauta-Sutra, these ten being principal patriarchs created by the first Manu (Svāyambhuva Manu) for producing everyone else. In addition to the Sapta, there are other classifications of sages. In descending order of precedence, they are Brahmarshi , Maharshi, Rajarshi. Deva, Param, Shruta and Kvnda are added in Manusmriti iv-94 and xi-236 and in two dramas of Kālidasa. Chaturvarga-Chintāmani of Hemādri puts '' at the seventh place in the eight-fold division of Brāhmanas. Amarkosha ^[5] (a famous Sanskrit lexicon compiled by a colleague of Kālidasa named Amarsimha at the court of Vikramāditya Chandragupta according to tradition) mentions seven types of s : Shrutarshi, Kāndarshi, Paramarshi, Maharshi, Rājarshi, Brahmarshi and Devarshi. Amarkosha strictly distinguishes Rishi from other types of sages, such as sanyāsi, , parivrājaka, tapasvi, muni, brahmachāri, yati,etc, and gives only one synonym for '': satyavachāh (one who speaks truth). Other sages might falter, but a was believed to speak truth only, because he had ''reached'' the Higher World (of Truth, of God) according to the Sanskrit etymology of the term ''.
In Hindu astronomy, the Sapta form the constellation of Ursa Major (e. g. RV 10.82.2 and 10.109.4 ; AV 60.40.1.), which are distinct from Dhruva (Polaris).

Notes

1. V.S.Apte(Sanskrit-Hindi Kosh,1890,reprint 1997 by Motilāl Banārasidās Publishers Pvt Ltd,Bungalow Road,Jawāhar Nagar,Delhi-7)
2. cf.Monier-Williams's SED, p.226
3. cf.Monier-Williams's SED, p.226
4. Cf. D. D. Kosambi.
5. Cf. Amarkosha (2.7.41-42)

References

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See also

★ Apaurusheyatva

★ Vedas

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