Often in corresponding hymns, the two recensions have different verse orders, or each has additional verses not in the other. Both have some later additions, but the core Paippalada text is considered earlier than most of the Saunakiya. Of these, only the Saunakiya (AVS), present in Gujarat, and the Paippalada (AVP) recension in coastal Orissa have survived. The Caranavyuha (attributed to Shaunaka) lists nine shakhas, or schools, of the Atharvaveda: paippalada, regions south of the Narmada River, stauda, mauda, saunakiya, regions north of the Narmada River, jajala, jalada, kuntap, brahmavada, devadarsa and caranavaidya. An early text, its status has been ambiguous due to its magical character. The largely silent Brahman priest observes the procedures of the ritual and heals it with two mantras and pouring of ghee when a mistake occurs. The Atharvaveda is less predominant than other Vedas, as it is little used in solemn (Shrauta) ritual. It incorporates much of the early traditions of healing and magic that are paralleled in other Indo-European literatures.

The Atharvaveda, while undoubtedly belonging to the core Vedic corpus, in some ways represents an independent parallel tradition to that of the Rigveda and Yajurveda. There are two surviving recensions (sakhas), known as Saunakiya (AVS) and Paippalada (AVP). Additionally, tradition ascribes parts to other rishis, such as Kausika, Vasistha and Kasyapa. In the Late Vedic Gopatha Brahmana, it is attributed to the Bhrigu and Angirasa. According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Atharvanas and the Angirasa, hence its oldest name is Atharvangirasa. 'The Atharvaveda (a tatpurusha compound of atharvan, an ancient Rishi, and veda, meaning knowledge) is a sacred text of Hinduism and one of the four Vedas, often called the fourth Veda. Visit Downloads Page for Link to download this E-Book as a PDF File.Īcknowledgement: We are thankful to Veda Prasar Samiti, Chennai for providing the pdf files of Vedas in Devanagari script to us.

Atharva veda sanskrit pdf