HOS, VOL. 50: Rig Veda, a metrically restored text

  • This link allows to access and download the SAMHITA version of the RV edition made by B. van Nooten and G.Holland. It is based on the RV edition of Th. Aufrecht (2nd ed., Bonn, 1877; frequently reprinted, but now out of print.)

    The restored metrical version, printed as HOS Vol. 50, will not be made available here. It can be purchased from Harvard University Press, for $ 50, including a diskette with the metrically restored version AND the Aufrecht text.

  • The text.
    The ten files corresponding to the ten books of the Rig Veda in this version have names ending in -A: RV01A, RV02A, etc.
    The codification of the diacritics follows the International Code page that was established during the International Sanskrit Conference of Vienna in 1989 with one exception: the "anunaasika m" for which there is no apparent place was assigned to ASCII no. 222. The codepage was distributed through the INDOLOGY network and is reprinted at the end of this Note. (The MAC version of the van Nooten/Holland RV will be available very soon. I thank J. R.Gardner for making this possible (see his web site vedavid!.

  • Compression - Decompression.
    The text files have been compressed by means of the well-known program "PKZIP.EXE". They are illegible in this format. To restore the text to a readable form, the companion program "PKUNZIP.EXE" must be used. The "decompression" must be carried out on a diskette or hard drive that will allow the file to expand by 30 or 40 per cent. (The whole RV will take about one 1.4 MB diskette).
    The procedure is as follows: (a) Copy the file(s) and the program PKUNZIP.EXE to an empty diskette or a hard drive and (b) type: "PKUNZIP filename". "filename" is the file you want to convert, e.g. RV01A.zip.
    Once the text has been decompressed it will appear as a plain ASCII text. Successive lines are separated by a sequence of the invisible ASCII symbols: 13 14. Then save the converted text under a name of your choice on your hard drive or on another diskette.

  • Converting the diacritics.
    Many of us are working with configurations of Sanskrit diacritics on the screen that are different from those presented in the International Code Page. You may change them by programs such as chg.exe, by simple "search and replace" procedures, or by MACROs in your text processing programs such as MSWORD, WORD PERFECT, etc.

  • International Codepage for Sanskrit diacritics
    ASCII number
    159 r underbar
    166 l tilde
    167 m overdot
    168 a macron breve
    169 i macron breve

    170 u macron breve
    173 n underbar

    181 a macron acute
    182 a macron grave
    183 i macron acute
    184 i macron grave

    189 u macron acute
    190 u macron grave
    191 r underdot acute

    198 r underdot acute
    199 r underdot grave

    207 r underdot macron acute
    208 a tilde
    209 i tilde
    210 u tilde
    211 e tilde
    212 o tilde
    213 e breve
    214 o breve
    215 l underbar
    222 m topped by bindu]

    224 a macron
    226 A macron
    227 i macron
    228 I macron
    229 u macron
    230 U macron
    231 r underdot
    232 R underdot
    233 r underdot macron
    234 R underdot macron
    235 l underdot
    236 L underdot
    237 l underdot macron
    238 L underdot macron
    239 n overdot
    240 N overdot
    241 t underdot
    242 T underdot
    243 d underdot
    244 D underdot
    245 n underdot
    246 N underdot
    247 s acute
    248 S acute
    249 s underdot
    250 S underdot
    252 m underdot
    253 M underdot
    254 h underdot
    255 H underdot
    BvN.

  • (C) The Aufrecht/van Nooten/Holland (Samhita) version of the Rigveda is made available here on the condition that it is used for non-commercial purposes only. You may make a copy for your own research. For any further use please write to HARVARD ORIENTAL SERIES for permission.

    Download (ftp) the SAMHITA version in DOS / PKzip-compressed in 10 files: RV01A.zip, etc.:
    RV 1
    RV 2
    RV 3
    RV 4
    RV 5
    RV 6
    RV 7
    RV 8
    RV 9
    RV 10
    HOS

    available late in August 1996