Vedic Sakhas- Past, Present, Future

Firmly located in Europe, Romania, at the western coast of the Black Sen, faces East. Accordingly, Romania has a long tradition of familiarity with Oriental cultures. The scientific study of the Orient started in Romania long ago and reached an early summit in the internationally acclaimed pioneering work of the Romanian orientalist and historian of religions Mircea Eliade (1907-1986). It was therefore fortunate and appropriate that the then Centre of Eurasiatic and Afroasiatic Studies, after having organized several seminars and courses in Eurasiatic and Afroasiatic Studies in preceding years, could organize the Fifth International Vedie Workshop in Bucharest from 20 to 23 September 2011. The editors of the volume of Proceedings of this event are happy that it could appear in the prestigious series of the Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora, Cambridge (Mass.), where, eighteen years ago, in 1997, also the Proceedings of the First International Vedic Workshop edited by Michael Witzel appeared. The 41 papers in the present volume contribute, in one way or another, to "the study of a civilization based on its texts" the brief definition of philology given in Michael Witzel's Introduction to the Proceedings of 1997.

The papers, although many of them may cover more than one field or topic, are placed in three broad categories. The second category is further divided Säkha-wise.

1) GENERAL STUDIES AND TOPICS ON SAKHAS: thirteen papers in connection with the theme of the conference, Sakhas, past, present, future;

2) Thirty three SPECIFIC STUDIES ON SAKHAS: five on Rig Veda, ten on Yajur Veda, three on Sama Veda, five on Atharva Veda;

3) LINGUISTIC STUDIES: five studies on linguistic issues in connection with the Vedas and the Vedic Sakhas.

Within each division, the papers are given in the alphabetical order of the last name of the authors with the exception of the study of Michael Witzel which is at once an overview of the field of Vedic Studies and is as such a sequel to his Introduction to the Proceedings of the First Vedic Workshop 1997.

**Contents and Sample Pages**