Podcast Summary: "Jan E. M. Houben and Julieta Rotaru, Vedic Myths and Rituals (Dev Publishers, 2025)"

New Books Network – Indian Religions
Host: Dr. Raj Balkaran
Guests: Professor Jan E. M. Houben & Dr. Julieta Rotaru
Date: September 11, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the newly published volume Vedic Myths and Rituals, co-edited by Prof. Jan E. M. Houben and Dr. Julieta Rotaru of Paris University. The discussion centers on the intricate relationship between myth and ritual within the Vedic tradition, theoretical approaches toward these ancient practices, and the academic and institutional efforts underpinning their research. Both guests provide insights into the genesis of the book, the evolution of Vedic studies, the significance of Atharva Veda, and future directions for scholarship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genesis and Purpose of the Book

• Prof. Houben recounts his personal journey from classical studies in Greek and Latin to Sanskrit and immersive fieldwork in India, including his early research and documentation of Vedic rituals (02:19).
• The book emerges from work initiated at a 2009 symposium on the interplay of myth and ritual and revisits papers from that gathering with a refreshed theoretical lens and new contributions.

2. The Relationship Between Myth and Ritual

• The "fascinating interplay" between Vedic myths and rituals is central to the volume (01:27).
• Two longstanding theoretical approaches:
  • Myth drives ritual: Rituals as reenactments of foundational myths, a 19th-century idea.
  • Ritual as primary: Asserting rituals precede and give rise to myths—embedded in indigenous theories like Mimamsa.
• Houben highlights the significance of both perspectives and the need for a comprehensive framework that does not lose sight of meaning within structural analysis (05:25).

"Just a simple enumeration of ritual details does not contribute much to understanding the ritual...some implicit or explicit theory is required."
—Prof. Jan Houben (03:54)

3. Theoretical Innovations: From Structuralism to Functionalism

• Critique of Fritz Staal's "meaningless ritual" model: Rituals as pure structure, devoid of meaning.
• Introduction of Roy Rappaport’s model, integrating structure and meaning using ideas from anthropology, particularly in the analysis of ritual self-reference and multifunctionality (09:50).
• Application of the model to both household (guhya) and Vedic rituals for a holistic approach (15:50).
• Importance of distinguishing canonical and performative dimensions in ritual analysis.

"Ritual must have a meaning, otherwise it cannot even function."
—Prof. Jan Houben (16:38)

4. Institutional and Historical Context

• Dr. Julieta Rotaru details the development of Sanskrit and Indological studies in Romania, especially her efforts in institutionalizing Sanskrit teaching at the University of Bucharest and in founding the Center for Eurasiatic and Afro-Asiatic Studies (22:46).
• Highlights from Bucharest’s vibrant conference scene (2008-2011), innovative summer schools, and manuscriptology courses that brought together leading global Vedic scholars and offered pioneering manuscript training in Europe.
• The collaborative nature and Pune "conspiracy"—the work’s many contributors share ties to Pune and the institutions there (Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Deccan College, and others) (40:00).

5. Focus on the Atharva Veda

• Emphasis on Atharva Veda’s unique place among the Vedas as the "performance par excellence" (Kaland, cited by Rotaru, 44:00).
• The centrality of performance and the close relationship between mantra and action in Atharvavedic rituals.
• Many authors in the volume are specialists in Atharva Veda and its ritual manuals, offering new perspectives and analyses.

"The connection between the text of the Atharva Veda Samhita and the action...is so eloquent, it's so explicit. So this is what I wanted to underline. It’s so full of meanings."
—Dr. Julieta Rotaru (44:31)

6. The Book’s Structure and New Contributions

• The current volume re-edits and updates earlier conference proceedings, adding a new introduction, theoretical dialogue, a posthumous paper by Deepak Bhattacharya, and additional context (13:50, 22:46).
• Notable for integrating theory and descriptive ritual studies and drawing connections across international scholarly traditions.

7. The Role of Performance, Orality, and Canonical Texts

• Upcoming projects will include further documentation and publication of Vedic ritual recitations and performances, highlighting their importance for understanding living ritual traditions.
• The dynamic between orality and writing in the transmission of Vedic knowledge is a key area of ongoing and future research (53:40–54:38).

"...the recitation itself is the performance of the text. So it is hardly possible to distinguish ritual and the story. Because if you recite the story and that is the ritual, then the story is the ritual."
—Prof. Jan Houben (50:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Theoretical Intervention:
  "It seems incommensurate to one who would spend their life studying such a tradition...It renders his own work meaningless if the object of his work is meaningless. But nevertheless, it's, I think, laudable to take serious tradition."
  —Host Dr. Raj Balkaran (20:40)

• On the Evolution of Indology in Romania:
  "I'm the one who reintroduced the study and teaching of Sanskrit at the University of Bucharest...because I'm a person of institutions. I believe in institutions and I wanted to have this formal teaching and Sanskrit tradition in my country."
  —Dr. Julieta Rotaru (24:15)

• On the Unity of the Volume:
  "The unity, a sort of Pune conspiracy people. And the second is Atharva Veda because most of the scholars there deal with Atharva Veda."
  —Dr. Julieta Rotaru (40:02)

• On Future Scholarship:
  "Otherwise it becomes all dry text. In fact, the recitation itself is the performance of the text... extremely important not to have a broad enough model, otherwise you will not see what is going on."
  —Prof. Jan Houben (50:12)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | 01:27 | Introduction of guests and the book | | 02:19 | Prof. Houben’s scholarly journey & book’s genesis | | 05:25 | Theories of myth-ritual relationship | | 09:50 | Rapaport’s theory and contemporary debates | | 15:11 | The book as an intervention in ritual theory | | 22:46 | Dr. Rotaru on institutional context in Romania | | 35:09 | Inclusion of Vedic pundits, recitation in training| | 40:00 | The “Pune connection” and Atharva Veda focus | | 44:00 | Performance and meaning in Atharva Veda | | 49:07 | Future research/publications on orality and ritual| | 53:40 | Orality, performance, and illustrations in ritual | | 56:43 | Farewell and outro |

Conclusion and Future Directions

• The volume Vedic Myths and Rituals presents a nuanced, theoretically rich, and institutionally grounded exploration of Vedic practices, aiming to reconcile structural and functional accounts of ritual.
• Both editors are engaged in ongoing scholarly activities, including editing further proceedings (e.g., Paris 2023 International Vedic Workshop) and publishing multi-media ritual documentation.
• The episode highlights the importance of interdisciplinarity, institutional support, and international collaboration in advancing Vedic and comparative religion studies.

For more details and to access resources mentioned, see the podcast notes for links to institutional enterprises and Prof. Houben’s Vimeo channel containing rare Vedic ritual recordings.