| Sumario: | Analysis of the language and formulaics of the Vedic liturgical prose texts known as nivids and praisas reveals that they presuppose a complete, multi-lineage collection of the Rgveda, yet are linguistically more archaic than the bulk of mantras incorporated into the standarised srauta ritual. This conclusion does not contradict the findings of others according to which various words, phrases, and even sentences contained in the nivids and praisas bear the stamp of great antiquity, since certain elements may be more ancient than the structural scheme in which they are embedded. Furthermore, the nivids and the praisas are to be recognised as the oldest direct evidence for the formation of certain key features of the standardised srauta rituals, while the praisas contain a vestige of an important Rgvedic-iperiod ritual not preserved in the systematised srauta descriptions.
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