> The Rig Veda, the most ancient Hindu scripture, says this: "Truth is
One,
> but the sages speak of it by many names."
That *might* be from the famous(?) asyavaamasya-suukta (Rgveda I 164,
by RSi Diirghatamas), whose 39th verse begins like this:
Rco akSare parame vyoman yasmin devaa adhi vishve niSeduH.
pada-paaTha (word-reading, without sandhis or euphonic combination
of words):
á¹caḥ | aká¹£are | parame | vi-oman | yasmin | devÄḥ
| adhi | vi´sve | ni-seduḥ |
Verse number 46 goes like this:
indraM mitraM varuNam agnim Ahur atho divyaH sa suparNo garutmAn |
ekaM sad viprA bahudhA vadanty agniM yamaM mAtarishvAnam AhuH ||
pada-paaTha :
indram | mitram | varuá¹am | agnim | ahuḥ | atho iti |
divyaḥ | saḥ | su-pará¹aḥ | garutman | ekam |
sat | viprÄḥ | bahu-dha | vadanti | agnim | yamam |
matari´svanam | ahuḥ //
Ralph T. H. Griffith's translation:
46 They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuá¹a, Agni, and he is heavenly
nobly-winged Garutman.
To what is One, sages give many a title they call it Agni, Yama,
Matari´svan.
If that's the same verse, we think "to what is one" is a "way" more
accurate
translation than "truth is one", because 'sat' seems to be the present
participle
neuter singular nominative/accusative form from the verb 'as' (to be).
The word 'vipra' (= sage; nominative plural: vipraaH) is "intriguing",
because its
"etymological" meaning seems to be something like 'inwardly excited':
vipra mf(%{A})n. stirred or excited (inwardly) , inspired , wise (said
of men and gods , esp. of Agni , Indra , the As3vins , Maruts &c. ; cf.
%{paNDita}) RV. AV. VS. S3Br. [973,1] ; learned (esp. in theology) TS.
S3Br. ; a sage , seer , singer. poet , learned theologian RV. VS.
Although Monier-Williams doesn't seem to mention it, it seem quite
likely
that 'vipra' is derived from the root 'vip':
vip 1 (or %{vep}) cl. 1. A1. (Dha1tup. x , 6) %{vepate} (ep. also %{-ti}
; p. %{vipAna4} RV. ; pf. %{vivepe} Gr. ; %{vivipre} RV. ; aor.
%{avepiSTa} Br. ; fut. %{vepitA} , %{vepiSyate} Gr. ; inf. %{vepitum}
ib.) , to tremble , shake , shiver , vibrate , quiver , be stirred RV.
&c. &c. ;
A rather synonymous word, paNDita, is thought by some scholars to have
originally been 'spandita', which would prolly be derived from the root
'spand':
spand (often confounded with %{syand}) cl. 1. A1. (Dha1tup. ii , 13)
%{spandate} (rarely %{-ti} ; only in pres. base and inf. %{spanditum} ;
Gr. also pf. %{paspande} ; fut. %{spanditA} , %{spandiSyate} ; aor.
%{aspandiSTa}) , to quiver , throb , twitch , tremble , vibrate , quake
, palpitate , throb with life , quicken (as a child in the womb)
Pa1rGr2. Car. MBh. &c. ; to kick (as an animal) Br. A1s3vS3r. ; to make
any quick movement , move , be active Hariv. ; to flash into life , come
suddenly to life BhP.: Caus. %{spandayati} (aor. %{apaspandat}) , to
cause to quiver or shake MBh. ; to move (trans.) A1s3vS3r.: Desid.
%{pispandiSate} Gr.: Intens. , see %{paniSpada4}. [Cf. Gk. $ ; perhaps
also &382800[1268 ,1] Lat. {pendo} , {pondus}.]
I guess it's anybody's guess, whether 'vipra' and '(s)pandita' are, at
least slightly,
from the Vedantic POV, derogatory words... :D
