வேத இலக்கியத்தில் சூரியனின் ஏழு குதிரைகளும் சப்த சந்த மரபும்: உஷ்ணிக் சந்தத்தை மையமாகக் கொண்ட இந்திய அறிவு, மொழி மற்றும் பண்பாட்டுக் குறியீடுகளின் ஆய்வு

Abstract

In Vedic literature, the concept of the Sun is not merely a natural phenomenon but a symbol of knowledge, time, motion and cosmic order. The metaphor found in Rigveda hymn 1.164 — a one-wheeled chariot, a horse with seven names, and the number seven — is interpreted in later traditions as the seven horses that draw the Sun’s chariot and bear the names of the seven metres. This study examines the literary, linguistic and cultural connections among the Sun, the seven horses, the seven metres and the Ushnih metre across seven dimensions. In particular, it explores in detail the structural distinctiveness of the Ushnih metre, which has twenty-eight syllables, its association with the deity Savitr, and its phonetic-cultural symbolic dimensions. Through a semiotic approach, the study establishes that the elements Sun–chariot–wheel–horse–number–metre operate as an integrated cosmological language system. It is expected to contribute to the understanding of oral memorization systems, Vedic metrics and the symbolic layers of the Indian knowledge tradition.