4. Recensions of the Atharvaveda

The verbal tradition of transmitting the Vedic texts from preceptors to the disciples, resulted in the variation of readings and thus, to the origination of different schools of the Vedas. In case of the Atharvaveda also, nine recensions have been spoken of in the exegetical treatises as observed by the historians.^[1] These nine recensions of the Atharvaveda are the Paippalāda, Tauda, Mauda, Śaunakīya, Jājala, Jalada, Brahmavada, Devadarśa and Cāraṇavaidya. Out of these nine recensions, none, except the Śaunakīya and the Paippalāda Saṃhitās has come down to the present era. The Muktikopaniṣad,^[2] on the other hand, refers to as many as fifty recensions of the Atharvaveda. But, no list of them has been furnished along with the reference.

It is, however, noticeable that the two extant recensions differ from one another in respect of arrangement as well as contents, to a great extent. The Śaunakīya recension contains twenty books, seven hundred and thirty-one hymns and six thousand stanzas. Of these twenty books, in the first seven books, small hymns consisting of mantras two to eight have been arranged. Large hymns have been furnished in the books eighth to eighteenth with exception to the fifteenth and sixteenth kāṇḍas, where the number of mantras increases in each, but, the number of hymns decreases.^[3] The last two books, however, are considered as later additions, for their having no place in the Atharvaprātiśākhya and in the Pañcapaṭalikā. As the very name suggests, Śaunaka is regarded as the authority of this recension.^[4]

On the other hand, the Paippalāda recension of the Atharvaveda was founded by Pippalāda or Pippalādi. This recension is not accented and is not accompanied by padapāṭha. It is divided into twenty books, which are, again, divided into some anuvākas. Each of the anuvākas contains some kāṇḍikās and the kāṇḍikās, again, consist of the mantras.^[5] This recension of the Atharvaveda contains six thousand and five hundred mantras as represented by the Kashmir manuscript and eight thousand mantras as represented by the Orissa manuscript.^[6] Apart from the arrangement, the differences between the two recensions concern to the contents also.

It is to be mentioned that the present study is based upon the Śaunakīya recension of the Atharvaveda.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vide, Karambelkar, V. W., Op.cit., p.3 Vide, Bloomfield, M., The Atharvaveda and the Gopatha Brāhmaṇa, p.11

[2]:

cf., Muktika-upaniṣad, 13

[3]:

Vide, Bijaypal (ed.), Gopathabrāhmaṇam, Introduction, p.17

[4]:

Vide, Bloomfield, M., Op.cit., p.12

[5]:

Vide, Bijaypal (ed.),Op.cit., Introduction, p.17

[6]:

Vide, Gonda, J., Op.cit., p.272, fn.4