The Khilani (Sanskrit: खिलानि, Khilāni) are a collection of 98 "apocryphal" hymns of the Rigveda, recorded in the Bāṣkala, but not in the Śākala shakha. They are late additions to the text of the Rigveda, but still belong to the "Mantra" period of Vedic Sanskrit, contemporary with the Atharvaveda, Yajurveda, and Samaveda, estimated to fall within the range of c. 1200–1000 BCE. The Khilāni hymns include the Śrī Sūkta, as well as the Kuntāpa hymns for the Mahāvrata ceremony, the New Year's festival of the early Kuru Kingdom.[1]

References

  1. ^ Witzel, Michael, "The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools : The Social and Political Milieu," in Witzel, Michael (ed.) (1997), Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts. New Approaches to the Study of the Vedas, Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora vol. 2, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, pp.284–285

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