Chapter 10 - Introduction to the Vedangas

Introductory—For the proper understanding of the Veda need was felt for some disciplines, six in number, which came to be known as its angas, limbs. These six are enumerated in the following verse siksa kalpo 'tha vyakaranam niruktam chandasam cayah/ jyotisam ayanam caiva vedangani sad eva tull Another verse also enumerates them much in the same way with a change of a word here and there siksa kalpo vyakaranam niruktam jyotisam gatih/ chandovicitir ity esa sadango veda ucyate// Superimposing on the great Veda the human figure and treating it as the Lord incarnate, Veda Bhagavan, the Paniniya Siksa describes each of these six disciplines as forming a particular limb of His body. Metres are His feet, Kalpa hand, Astronomy/Astrology, (Jyotisa) His eyes, Nirukta His ears, Siksa His nose and Vyakarana His face (mukha). These six angas find mention in the Gopatha Brahmana (1.27), Baudhayana Dharmasutra (2.142), and the Ramayana (1.7.15). The need for proper rendering of the Vedic Mantras in correct pronunciation of Siksa, for proper ritual for sacrifices of Kalpa, for wordconstruction and word forms of grammar, for derivation of

words for apprecaition of their meanings of Nirukta, appreciation of Vedic metres of Chandas, Prosody and determining the right period for sacrifices of Astronomy (Jyotisa) is just obvious. Siksa Siksa concerns itself with the pronunciation system. Each Veda has its Siksa text which lays down rules for its recitation. The first effort in this connection was in the Samhita-patha where rules for Sandhi, euphonic combination, are given. The Siksas encompass in them the Pratisakhyas also which have direct relation with the Samhita and the Pada-patha. Each principal recension of Samhitas has its own Pratisakhya. The name Pratisakhya denotes this Sakha connection-sakham sakham prati iti pratisakham, pratisakham idam iti pratisakhyam. The Rkpratisakhya of Saunaka is an old and authoritative text. It has 18 Patalas which deal with vowels, consonants, possible inaccuracies in their pronunciation, the system of Vedic recitation and metres. This follows the Samhitopanisad (Aranyaka 3) of the Aitareya Aranyaka and refers in its Karikas 2 and 3 to old authorities like Mandukeya, Maksavya, Agastya, Suravira and so on mentioned in Aranyaka 3.1.1 of the same Aranyaka. Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya of Katyayana is connected with the Sukla Yajurveda. It has eight Adhyayas which discuss such topics as accent, Sandhi, the rules of Pada-patha, the number of letters and their form and so on. The Taittiriya Pratisakhya is connected with the Taittiriya Samhita. Divided in two parts called Prasnas it deals with the alphabet, the origin of sounds, the Svara and the Visarga sandhis, the change of n to n, Anusvara and Anunasika, the divisions of Anunasika, the divisions of Svarita etc. Among its commentaries the Padakramasadana is the oldest. omsid Of the Samaveda Pratisakhyas the prominent ones are the Puspasutra and Rktantra. Written by the sage Puspa the Puspasutra has ten Prapathakas. It is connected with the

Ganasamhita. Rktantra of Sakatayana is the Pratisakhya of the Kauthuma recension of the Samaveda which has 287 Sutras divided in five Prapathakas or Adhyayas. It deals with the origin, the place of articulation of the letters, the euphonic combinations, the accentuation and the explanation of the technical terms. Panini's Astadhyayi carries on it its great impact. Yaska too refers to it. Of the Atharvaveda only three Pratisakhyas are available at present. They are: Saunakiya Caturadhyayika, the AtharvavedaPratisakhya-sutra and the Atharvapratisakhya . Of these the last is more important and useful in understanding the text of the Veda. Kalpa-Sutras As has been said earlier, the Kalpa-sutras give a systematic description in the Sutra style of the Vedic rituals and ceremonies and sacrificial performances. Kalpa means Vidhi, a religious ceremony, Niyama, rule/s governing the ceremony, Nyaya, customs and traditions, Karma, the ritual, Adesa, the instructions (for the conduct of the sacrifices). The Kalpa-sutras describe in brief the longwinded descriptions of sacrificial rites and ceremonies and the rules governing them in the Brahmana texts so that they could easily be committed to memory. Without these Sutras it is difficult to keep in mind the elaborate sacrificial procedure. Kumarilabhatta while highlighting the importance of the Kalpa-sutras goes to the extent of saying that the priests with the help of the Kalpas (Kalpa-sutras) perform sacrifices with no (help from) Veda but without (the help of) Kalpas, they, some of them, cannot perform them, with just the Mantras and Brahmanas: Vedad rte 'pi kurvanti kalpaih karmani yajnikah/ na tu kalpair vina kecin mantrabrahmanamatrakat// In his Rgvedabhasyabhumika Sayana has used the etymology of the word (kalpa) for highlighting its importance:

kalpyate samarthyate yagaprayogo 'treti kalpah, Kalpa is so I called because it lays down, samarthyate-pratipadyate, the sacrificial ritual. There is another explanation of Kalpa and that is that it is a discipline that provides a description in due order of rites and ceremonies prescribed in the Veda, kalpo vedavihitanam karmanam anupurvyena kalpanasastram. The Kalpasutras are divided in four: Srautasutras, Grhyasutras, Dharmasutras and Sulbasutras. 1. Srautasutras-Srauta means found in Sruti, Sruter idam. The Srautasutras give a systematic description of the sacrifices prescribed in the Vedas. These include such sacrifices as Agnihotra, Paurnamasya, Somayaga, Rajasuya, Sautramani and so on. These also have the description of threefold fires, the Daksinagni, the Garhapatyagni and the Ahavaniyagni. The following table gives the connection of the Srautasutras with the respective Vedas: (i) Samkhayana and Asvalayana-Rgveda (ii) Arseya/Masaka, Latyayana, Drahyayana and Jaiminiya-Samaveda (iii) Katyayana Srautasutra-Sukla Yajurveda (iv) Apastamba, Hiranyakesin, Bodhayana, Bharadvaja, Vaikhanasa, Manava, Varaha-Krsna Yajurveda (v) Vaitana-Atharvaveda 2. Grhyasutras-These describe domestic, grhya, sacrifices, rituals and festivals and the Samskaras, the rites, from the purificatory ones preceding conception to the funeral ones with the sacred thread and marriage ceremonies claiming more details. So also they describe the five daily sacrifices enjoined for a householder, the devayajna, the pitryajna, bhutayajna, the manusyayajna and the atithiyajna as also the sacrifices to be performed every morning and evening. They also lay down the ritual for building of house, for housewarming, for upkeep of animals, for cure of diseases, as also the magical the

formulae and the beliefs about heaven and hell. Sraddhas, the ceremonies performed in honour of the spirit of the departed rtelatives also get a detailed treatment in them. Grhyasutras of the respective Vedas (i) Asvalayana, Samkhayana, Kausitaki-Rgveda (ii) Drahyayana, Gobhila, Khadira, Jaiminiya-Samaveda (iii) Paraskara-Sukla Yajurveda (iv) Apastamba, Bodhayana, Hiranyakesin, Bharadvaja, Manava, Kathaka-Krsna Yajurveda (vi) Kausika-Atharvaveda 3. Dharmasutras-These are treated as part of the Grhyasutras. These lay down rules for the daily life of an householder, how he is to conduct it, what he should eat, what he should not, in what way he should eat and in what way he should not, with whom he should tie the marriage knot and with whom not. These also lay down the rules for different castes and different stages of life. They also describe the duties of a king towards his subjects and vice versa. They lay down expiatory rites for different types of sins and offences along with prescribing punishment for them. While prescribing punishment the caste was kept in view. The Brahmanas were let off with mild punishment while the Sudras had to suffer hard. There was no capital punishment for the Brahmanas even for the most heinous crimes. The Dharmasutras go in detail into duties of man, woman, husband, wife, son and so on and the rules of succession. Dharma in them means following the code of conduct laid down in the scriptures. The highest of the scriptures is the Veda which as a whole is the source of dharma, Vedo 'khilo dharmamulam. As their name itself specifies, the Dharmasutras emphasise ethics and morality. Their clarion call is, follow dharma, not adharma; speak truth, not untruth; be farsighted, not shortsighted, see the Supremiet and not the lowenientityed by S 3 Foundation USA

dharmam carata ma 'dharmam satyam vadata ma 'nrtam/ tare dirgham pasyata ma hrasvamm param pasyata ma 'paramil Which Dharmasutra connected with which Veda: (i) Vasistha, Visnu-Rgveda (ii) Gautama Samaveda (iii) Harita, Sankha-Sukla Yajurveda (iv) Bodhayana, Apastamba, Hiranyakesin-Krsna Yajurveda 4. Sulbasutras-They describe rituals in connection with the construction of altars. Sulba means 'thread for measurement'. The Sulbasutras are connected with the Srautasutras for these also have their connection with sacrifices. They have detailed description of measurement of altars, selection of proper place for them and the methods of their construction. Apart from their utility for proper performance of sacrifices, they have their utility in giving an idea of the knowledge of ancient Indians in the field of Geometry. Vyakarana (Grammar) ban Since the Vedic language differs considerably from the classical Sanskrit in vocabulary, word-formation and accentuation, the most glaring one pertaining to the last eliciting the remark laukikanaye svaro na ganyate, in classical Sanskrit svara, accent, does not count, though initially it did count as can be inferred from Panini's sutras anudattanita atmanepadam (1.3.12), svaritanitah kartrabhipraye kriyaphale (1.3.72) where roots did carry the accentuation, that determinming their use in Atmanepada. Panini's Astadhyayi does contain rules for formation of Vedic words which occur here and there but his grammar is premarily concerned with classical Sanskrit. Bhattojidiksita put together all the Panini-sutras dealing with accentuation and Vedic word-formation in a section called the Sivara-Vaidiki CC-0. Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Co

Prakriya in his Siddhanta-kaumudi. That is about the traditional grammatical notice of Vedic words in India . The Western scholars were more comprehensive and thorough in their approach in dealing with Vedic grammar. They, especially Macdonell among them, took to Vedic grammar as a separate discipline. Macdonell's Vedic Grammar and its concise version A Vedic Grammar for Students are path-breakers in the field. The writer of these lines while translating in Hindi the concise version of Macdonell's work referred to above had the feel of the depth of his scholarship of Vedic diction which simply is unbelievable. Panini mentions let as one of the lakaras, the tenses. This Macdonell divides in two, Subjunctive and Injunctive, which he terms moods. He notices a number of Infinitive forms apart from those ending in tum, the one which only came to have its presence in classical Sanskrit, as did Panini, vide his sutra se asen ase asenadhyai adhyain... (3.4.9) but in the case of some like tave, adhyai, gantave, gamadhyai, drse, he pre-positions the adjective Dative to Infinitive. In these forms he seems to sense the Dative form like gurave. Similarly, in forms like nesani, grnisani he seems to sense the presence of Locative like matari, pitari which prompted him to term the forms as Locative Infinitive. The t in Gerund forms like prakrtya, prahrtya which Panini terms as the augment (tuk) vide hrasvasya piti krti tuk (6.1.71) he terms as phonetic t, the t whose insertion is due to phonetic reason, the reason of convenience in pronunciation, which in the words of Patanjali would be mukhasukha, mukhasukharthas takarah. In analyzing accentuation Macdonell's mastery is phenomenal. Before closing discussion on Vyakarana as Vedanga it may be pertinent to mention that it developed in India in the context of the Vedic studies. As a proof for it could be mentioned the words which recount the purpose, prayojana, of its study: raksohagamalaghvasandehah prayojanam. Vyakarana is to be

studied for the protection of the Vedas, for it is only he who has the correct knowledge of the elision, the augmentation and the substitution of the sounds is thoroughly capable of protecting the Vedas. For instance, in the expression deva aduhra the regular form aduhata is replaced by aduhra where ta is elided and is added. The other advantage of the study of Vyakarana is the modification, uha. Mantras are not mentioned in the Vedas in all genders and cases. The words therein have to be modified as per context. In the Mantra agnaye tva justam nirvapami the deity is Agni and the oblation is offered to him. But if one wants Brahmavarcasa, the lustre of Brahman, the oblation will be offered to Surya, sauryam carum nirvaped brahmavarcasakamah. In that case the priest will have to replace the word agnaye with suryaya. He should have the knowledgethat is possible only with the study of Vyakarana-to frame the word. The tradition is that a Brahmana has to study and understand the Veda together with its six auxiliaries one of which is Vyakarana termed the foremost among them, pradhanam ca satsv angesu vyakaranam. The effort put in for the foremost one bears rich fruit. There is no other way of learning words than Vyakarana which a Brahmana has got to know. And finally, for removal of ambiguity, asandeha, is necessary study of Vyakarana. The scripture says sthulaprsatim agnivarunim anadvahim alabheta. Now, sthulaprsatim is a compound which can be dissolved both ways, sthula casau prsati ca, which is stout and spotted, Karmadharaya-Tatpurusa compound; or sthulani prsanti yasyam, which has big spots, Bahuvrihi compound. The ambiguity can be resolved here through notice of accentuation. If the accent is on the final syllable, it is Tatpurusa and the meaning would be 'stout and spotted.' If it is on the initial syllable it will be Bahuvrihi and the meaning I would be 'with big spots'. This who is not a Grammarian, the

avaiyakarana cannot do. In the Vedas there would be many such places. For ascertaining the correct meaning the study of the Vedanga Vyakarana cannot be overemphasized. Nirukta There is only one Nirukta-that of Yaska-which is available at present though he refers to a number of them in his work. There were Schools of etymologists as is known from reference to them by the words iti nairuktah by Saunaka in his Brhaddevata and by Yaska in his Nirukta. The Nirukta deals with the etymology of words as compiled in the Nighantu, an old dictionary of Vedic words. But before proceeding with the subject matter it lays down rules in all elaboration of tracing the etymology the most important of which is special attention to meaning, arthanityah parikseta. Some scholars are of the opinion that Yaska authored both the Nirukta and the Nighantu while others on the authority of the Mahabharata accept Kasyapa Prajapati to have compiled the Nighantu. Still others ascribe its compilation to earlier authorities, purvacaryas. The Nighantu has thirteen Adhyayas twelve of which are divided in three Kandas. The first three are called the Naighantuka Kanda, the fourth to the sixth Adhyayas form the Naigama Kanda and the Adhyayas seventh to twelfth the Daivata Kanda. The thirteenh Adhyaya is Parisista, supplement.The first three Adhyayas, the Naighantuka Kanda, comprise synonymous words, ekartham anekasabdam, a word having a number of synonyms, like prthvi which has 21, megha 30, suvarna 15, vayu 16, jala 1000 and vega 26 synonyms. Adhyayas fourth to sixth called Naigama Kanda with an alternate name of Aikapadika comprise homonyms. Adhyayas seventh to twelfth forming the Daivata Kanda comprise names of deities. The sole commentator of the Nighantu is Devarajayajvan, a South Indian. The title of his Bhasya is Nighantunirvacana which is more centred on the Naighantuka Kanda than the other igitized by S 3 Foundation USA

Kandas. The introduction to this Bhasya carries a history of Vedic commentators. The well-known Tantric Bhaskara Rai has put the words included in the Nighantu in the form of verse in the style of the Amarakosa, making them easier to be committed to memory. Durgacarya, the commentator of Yaska's Nirukta has referred to fourteen Niruktas; Niruktam caturdasaprabhedam. Yaska mentions by name twelve authors of Niruktas and reproduces their views. These are: Agrayana , Aupamanyava, Audumbarayana , Aurnavabha , Katthakya, Kraustuki, Gargya, Galava, Taitiki, Varsyayani, Sakapuni, Sthaulasthivi. Today it is only Yaska's Nirukta which represents this Vedanga. It has thirteen Adhyayas of which the last one is in the form of supplement, as mentioned above. He has referred to eight principles or methods for the appreciation of the meanings of the Veda: adhidaivata, adhyatma, akhyana-samaya, aitihasika, naidana, nairukta, parivrajaka and yajnika. Later interpreters of the Veda carry on them deep imprint of Yaska. By saying that all nouns are derived from verbs (1.14) is the doctrine of the etymologists which also is the view of Sakatayana, tatra namany akhyatajaniti Sakatayano nairuktasamayas ca, Yaska shows himself in agreement with the upholders of the above view though as an honest researcher he does not shy away in reproducing the views of those also who are not wholly in agreement with the above. Not all nouns are derivable from verbs say Gargya among the etymologists and some among the grammarians, na sarvaniti Gargyah, vaiyakarananam caike. There are grammarians who say that the Unadis, the words sought to be formed with suffixes like un etc. are actually underivables unadayo 'vyutpannani pratipadikani. Before proceeding with the work of tracing the etymology of words Yaska draws attention to the importance of etymology. Why should one take to etymology?ifThey reasonsiares A

. Etymology is essential for the proper understanding of the text of the Veda. 2. Etymology is the complement of grammar, vyakaranasya kartsnyam. 3. Etymology is necessary for the analysis of the Samhitas og into Pada-patha, and of words into their component elements. 4. Etymology has practical utility, for it enables one to discover the primary deity of a stanza which bears the characteristic marks of more than one deity, and thus helps perform the sacrifice with perfection. 5. Etymology is a science, and should be studied for its own sake, for knowledge is commended, (Chapter 1. Sec. 15-17). Sluoda do Yaska has laid down the principles of etymology. One of them to which reference has been made briefly in the preceding paragraphs is that all words can be reduced to their primordial elements. With this idea in view every word can be traced back to an original root and should never be given up as underivable. This decided, the principles for derivation should be 1. One should give the etymological explanation of words whose accent and grammatical form are regular, svarasamskarau samarthau, and are accompanied with a radical modification in the usual manner, i.e. in accordance with the laws of phonology. 2. In case the accent and the grammatical form are not regular, and are not accompanied with a radical modification, one should always take the stand on the meaning of the word, arthanityah parikseta, and endeavour to derive it from some similarity of form, or if there is no such similarity of form, even from the similarity of a single letter or syllable. 3. One should derive words in accordance with their CC-0. Prof. Satya vrat Shastri Collection, New Delhi. Digitized by S 3 Foundation USA meanings. If the meanings are the same, their ety-

mologies should be the same, if the meanings are different, the etymologies should also be different, tani cet samanakarmani, samananirvacanani, nanakarmani cen nananirvacananiti. An etymologist while deriving words comes across five types of anomalies in them. Sometimes he will find a sporadic letter appearing in them as in the word hamsa which formed from the root han has s appearing in it, sometimes he will find the order of the letters disturbed by their interchange, as in simha formed from himsa-hims>simha, sometimes he will find the letters deformed as in gudhotma (na prakasate) which should have been gudha atma, smasana which should have been savasayana, sometimes he will find the letters missing as in prsodara which should be prsadudara or patanjali which should be patadannjali where t in both is missing (dropped). Yaska gives a number of instances of interchange of letters and their loss-adilopo bhavati stah santiti, antalopo bhavati gatva gatam iti; adyantaviparyayo bhavati stoka rajjuh sikata tarkviti, 2.1.3. He should also have to be keen enough to mark that the meaning of the root in some cases has changed as in mayura which is derived as mahyam rauti. Here the original well-known meaning of the root ru, 'to give out a sound', ru sabde, is changed to 'take delight', ramanarthena yogah, vide Nyasa under the sutra prsodaradini yathopadistam (6.3.109): dhatos tadarthatisayena yogah, arthatisayah=arthavisesah, prasiddhad arthad arthantaram. It is the function of the etymologist to go back to the original form of the words and derive them. This is a part of the science of etymology. The following Karika which has wide circulation in the circles of the grammarians/etymologists sums up the above: varnagamo varnaviparyayas ca dvau caparau varnavikaranasau/ dhatos tadarthatisayena yogas tad ucyate pancavidham niruktam/ (Kasikavrtti, under the sutra prsodaradini vathopadistam. 6.3.109) CC-0. Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Collection,

The illustrations of the four tendencies referred to above are from the Karika: bhaved varnagamad dhamsah simho varnaviparyayat/ gudhotma vranavikrter varnanasat prsodaram// given in the Siddhanta-kaumudi under the same sutra, (6.3.109) This is a tough demand on the etymologist but that should in no case deter him from attempting the derivation of the words. He is required to pursue his mission doggedly , na tv eva na nirbruyat. The Nirukta is not easy to divine at places. The reader finds it hard to get at the root of what the author is aiming at. The oldest commentary on the work is that of Durgacarya called the Durgavrtti. In his commentary he describes himself as the reciter of the Kapisthala recension and of the Vasistha Gotra. There are more of quotations in his commentary from the Maitrayani Samhita. He cannot be placed later than the 7 th cen. A.D. since Acarya Udgitha seems to be aware of his Vrtti. The Nirukta had another commentary called Niruktavartika. Durgacarya refers to it in his commentary. It is not available at present. A commentary that is available, however, is that of Skanda Mahesvara who is also credited with a Bhasya on the Rgveda. He belonged to Valabhi in Gujarat. Some one of the name of Vararuci had written a work Niruktanicaya which though not a direct commentary on the Nirukta is an independent work in hundred stanzas expounding its doctrines. Chandasam Cayah /Chandovicitih (Prosody) It is necessary to have knowledge of this discipline for the rhythm of the Vedic Mantras. In the Sarvanukramani Katyayana bases metres on the number of syllables: yad aksaraparimanam tac chandah. The word is derived differently. One derivation is chandayati prnati rocate iti chandah 'what pleases is chandas'.

Yaska derives it from the root chad, 'to cover', chadir acchadane chadayati mantrapratipadyayajnadin iti chandah, ' which protects or insulates the sacrifices prescribed in the Mantras from the attacks of the obstructionists is chandas. Or chadayanti ha va enam chandamsi papat karmana iti chandah (Aitareya Aranyaka), Chandass are called so because 'they cover (= keep away) a person from sinful activity'. This Vedanga is represented by Pingala's Chandahsutra in eight Adhyayas of which Adhyayas 1-4 up to the 4 th Adhyaya's seventh sutra give definitions of Vedic metres . Besides Pingala's Chandahsutra Vedic metres find treatment in the Pratisakhyas, especially the Rk Pratisakhya (Patalas 15-18) as well. The main Vedic metres are Gayatri, Usnik, Pura Usnik, Kakubh Anustubh, Brhati, Satobrhati, Pankti, Prastarapankti, Tristubh, Sakvari and Jagati. The Vedic metres do not follow, like the classical Sanskrit metres, the guru-laghu system but only the number of syllables. From these metres evolved later some of the classical ones like the eleven-syllabic Indravajra and Upendravajra from Tristubh, twelve-syllabic Vamsastha from Jagati, the fourteen-syllabic Vasantatilaka from Sakvari of Samaveda. Jyotisam Ayanam /Jyotisam (Astronomy) For the performance of sacrifices the knowledge of proper time and auspicious planetary position is a desideratum. It is here that Astronomy comes in. Time calculation, Ganita is an important part of it. An ancient Karika very effectively underlines its importance describing it as being at the head of Vedangas: yatha sikha mayuranam naganam manayo yathal tadvad vedangasastranam ganitam murdhni samsthitam// "Just as the crest of the peacocks and the jewels of the serpents in the same way Mathematics stands at the head of the Vedanga lores".

The ancients have walked the extra mile in highlighting the importance of Astronomy, which they term kalavidhana-sastra, the science that determines the period, by saying that he who knows it knows the sacrifice-tasmad idam kalavidhanasastram yo jyotisam veda sa veda yajnam . For this the known authoritative text is the Vedangajyotisa of Lagadha which Sankara Balakrsna Diksita assigns to 1400 B.C. It has two readings, the Yajusa Jyotisa and the Arca Jyotisa. The former with its 432 verses is connected with the Yajurveda and the latter with its 36 verses with the Rgveda. The Vedangajyotisa carries a Bhasya on it by a South Indian Pandit Somakara who resided at Kasi.