Text Atharvaveda

a page atharva veda samhita, ancient layer of text.

the atharvaveda collection of 20 books, total of 730 hymns of 6,000 stanzas. text is, state patrick olivelle , other scholars, historical collection of beliefs , rituals addressing practical issues of daily life of vedic society, , not liturgical yajurveda-style collection.

recensions

the caraṇavyuha, later era sanskrit text, states atharvaveda had 9 shakhas, or schools: paippalāda, stauda, mauda, śaunakīya, jājala, jalada, brahmavada, devadarśa , cāraṇavaidyā.

of these, shaunakiya recension, , more discovered manuscripts of paippalāda recension have survived. paippalāda edition more ancient. 2 recensions differ in how organized, content. example, book 10 of paippalada recension more detailed, more developed , more conspicuous in describing monism, concept of oneness of brahman, life forms , world .

organization

the atharvaveda samhita organized 18 books (kāṇḍas), , last 2 added later. these books arranged neither subject nor authors (as case other vedas), length of hymns. each book has hymns of similar number of verses, , surviving manuscripts label book shortest hymns book 1, , in increasing order (a few manuscripts opposite). of hymns poetic , set different meters, sixth of book prose.

most of hymns of atharvaveda unique it, except 1 sixth of hymns borrows rigveda, 10th mandala. 19th book supplement of similar nature, of new compositions , added later. 143 hymns of 20th book of atharvaveda samhita entirely borrowed rigveda.

the hymns of atharvaveda cover motley of topics, across twenty books. roughly, first 7 books focus on magical poems sorts of healing , sorcery, , michael witzel states these reminiscent of germanic , hittite sorcery stanzas, , may oldest section. books 8 12 speculations of variety of topics, while books 13 18 tend life cycle rites of passage rituals.

the srautasutra texts vaitāna sūtra , kauśika sūtra attached atharvaveda shaunaka edition, supplement of atharvan prayascitthas, 2 pratishakhyas, , collection of parisisthas. paippalada edition of atharvaveda, corresponding texts agastya , paithinasi sutras these lost or yet discovered.