10-08-2005, 09:33 PM
The only complete surviving oral tradition is that of the 4th veda is the shaunakIya(AV-S) recitation. Even this is dwindling now. The paippalAda recitation (AV-P) is not preserved with svaras. An ekashruti recitation is preserved amongst the Orissan atharvavedis, and a few ritually critical mantras AV-P mantras with svaras, especially in the context of the tantric rituals of kubjikA upaniShad (relating to atharvaNa bhadrakAli and bagalamukhI) are known to some of the surviving atharvavedis (but largely kept secret). S.S. Pandit and Satavalekar have produced reasonable printed texts of the AV-S. Satavalekar's edition depended heavily on Pandit Ramachandra Shastri Ratate of Varanasi, who knew the whole saMhita pATha orally. An examination of his son's Atharvan recitation illustrates that his had a high fidelity of svaras. Pandit used multiple reciters of AV-S. Among them were Bapuji Jivanram from Gujarata, who a good recitational musicality and knew much of the saMhita orally and also pada pATha and krama pATha of the first 4 kANDas. The Maharastri AV scholar Keshava Bhatta from Mahuli near Thane knew whole saMhitA and pada recitation except the funerary hymns and also krama of kANDas 1-4. Venkan Bhatta another of Pandit's sources was the greatest Maharashtrian reciter of the AV-S who knew whole saMhitA, pada and a considerable part of the krama and jaTA pAThas. The vikR^iti pAThas of the AV-S saMhita are now largely extinct with the exception of few ritually critical recitations that are known by a small number of reciters.
In the Vaidik Samshodhana Mandal (Pune) we have seen a manuscript of an archaic mantralakShaNaM on how the atharva vedic jaTa and krama recitations were constructed. The basic rules are discussed: padas:
a, b, c -(krama)-> ab/bc/b iti b
a,b,c -(jaTA)->abbaab / bccbbc / b iti b
Further examples are discussed of the actual transformations in action.
jaTa and krama manuscripts belonging to the Gujarati Pancholi Brahmanas survive, but none of them are complete and nor is an extensive vikR^iti tradition known from extant Pancholis. The known jaTA manuscripts do not correspond to the expected rules of vedic accentuation. However, they are systematic throughout in their differences from the expected rules and from each other. This suggests that there might be many unknown issues with the recitational aspects of the AV-S vikR^iti which have been lost.
However, the krama pATha of the 2oth kANDa of S-AV closely resembles the R^igveda krama pATha. The RV krama pATha has not been printed, but I have seen a complete recitation of it by the Vedavikritilekhana Mandal (with fragment Audio recordings) in Pune by a Maharastri R^igvedic savant, Bhalachandrashastri.
In the Vaidik Samshodhana Mandal (Pune) we have seen a manuscript of an archaic mantralakShaNaM on how the atharva vedic jaTa and krama recitations were constructed. The basic rules are discussed: padas:
a, b, c -(krama)-> ab/bc/b iti b
a,b,c -(jaTA)->abbaab / bccbbc / b iti b
Further examples are discussed of the actual transformations in action.
jaTa and krama manuscripts belonging to the Gujarati Pancholi Brahmanas survive, but none of them are complete and nor is an extensive vikR^iti tradition known from extant Pancholis. The known jaTA manuscripts do not correspond to the expected rules of vedic accentuation. However, they are systematic throughout in their differences from the expected rules and from each other. This suggests that there might be many unknown issues with the recitational aspects of the AV-S vikR^iti which have been lost.
However, the krama pATha of the 2oth kANDa of S-AV closely resembles the R^igveda krama pATha. The RV krama pATha has not been printed, but I have seen a complete recitation of it by the Vedavikritilekhana Mandal (with fragment Audio recordings) in Pune by a Maharastri R^igvedic savant, Bhalachandrashastri.