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This note is in continuation of the arguments about references to writing in Vedic Age in :
Were Vedic people illiterate and did they oppose literacy? A riposte to the canard spread by a Harvard Professor.http://
In Hindu, Vedic tradition, Brāhmaṇas (Devanaga
Each Vedic śākhā has its own ब्राह्मणम् written-down text. Two such ब्राह्मणम् associated with Rigveda, six with Yajurveda, ten with Sāmaveda, and one with Atharvaveda are extant. The learned seers who documented, in writing, these texts were Śrotriya brāhmaṇa.
The lexemes श्रौत and श्रौत्रम्
"śrotriya akṣaras: We have found the word śrotriya for writing in literature which definitely shows that the Vedic priests had their own system of writing and that was known only to a very selective group of people. This system continued till at least the Gupta period. This writing was called ‘śrotriya akṣarāṇi’ in the drama ‘Mudrā-rākṣasa’ of Viśākhadatta ascribed to the Gupta period. In the first act of the drama a disciple of Cāṇakya hands him over a ‘mudrā’ (seal) of Rākṣasa. This triggers a plan in latter’s mind to trap Malayaketu an ally of Rākṣasa through it. He prepares a letter in this writing of the Vedic brāhmaṇas (śrotriya akṣarāṇi) and asks his disciple to get it rewritten, because of its obscurity, in the prevalent script of his times in the hands of śakaṭadāda. Here Cāṇakya says ‘śrotriya akṣaras, though written with much effort, are of definite pronunciation’ (śrotriyākṣarāṇi prayatnalikhi
श्रोत्रिय is a word attested in the Atharvaveda and is interpreted as meaning 'conversant with sacred knowledge' and as a reference to 'a Brahman versed in the वेद , theologian , divine'. There is also a fine distinction of this term contrasted with अनूचान and ब्राह्मण meaning, respectively, 'one who repeats his lesson after his master' and 'a Brahman in the second stage (between मात्र and श्रोत्रिय)'
श्रोत्र thus means 'conversancy with the वेद or sacred knowledge itself', 'the heard sound' and 'the written-down sound' or in the case of takṣat vāk, 'incised speech'. It is common knowledge that श्रुति 'hearing , listening' is distinguished from स्मर 'remembering , recollecting'. Thus, श्रुति is 'that which has been heard or communicated from the beginning , sacred knowledge orally transmitted by the Brahmans from generation to generation , the वेद (i.e. sacred eternal sounds or words as eternally heard by certain holy sages called ऋषिs , and so differing from स्म्/ऋति or what is only remembered and handed down in writing by human authors » Mn. ii , 10' (Monier-Williams, p. 1101). Note that Śankha is the name of the author of a Smriti (mentioned in conjunction with लिखित q. v.). Incising speech or writing down recollected, remembered sacred knowledge was certainly in vogue as attested by Atharvaveda and Manu. Some cognate Indo-Aryan lexemes: smaraṇa n. ʻrememberingʼ R., ʻmemoryʼ BhP., smaraṇī -- f. ʻrosary of beadsʼ MW. [√smr̥] Pa. saraṇa -- n. ʻmemory ʼ, Pk. samaraṇa -- , sum°, saraṇa -- n.; A. xõwaran ʻremembrance, recollectionʼ, xõwarni
In Rigveda, śrṓtra n. ʻ ear ʼ RV. [√śru] Pa. sōta -- n. ʻ ear ʼ, Pk. sōa -- n., Si. sō. -- śrōtas -- n. lex. is sanskritization of Pk. sōa --(CDIAL 12730). In Pali, asotatā (nt.) [abstr. a + sota + ta], 'having no ears, being earless' J vi.16. sota listening, attentive, intent upon (cp. sotaŋ odahati to listen) usually in phrase ohitasoto dhammaŋ suṇāti; M i.480; iii.201; S v.96; A iv.391.
Thus, the smṛti, śruti distinction is clearly related, respectively, to mean 'heard, remembered, recollected' and 'heard, versed, written down'. Thus, Prof. TP Verma's elucidation of śrṓtriya as a word meaning 'writing in literature' is apposite, correct and is certainly relateable to early Vedic Age, certainly to the period of the Atharvaveda.
Megasthenes distinguishes between Brāhmaṇa and Śramaṇa: "The philosophers are of two kinds: (I) Brachmanes and (2) Sarmanes. The Brachmanes are the best esteemed, for they have a more consistent dogmatic system." (loc.cit. Radhakumud Mookerji, 1988, Chandragupta Maurya And His Times, 4th edn, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, p.184).
The distinction is significant given the traditional association of a śramaṇá as a religious ascetic: śramaṇá m. ʻascetic, religious mendicantʼ ŚBr., °ṇā -- , °ṇī -- f. R. [√śram] Pa. Pk. samaṇa -- m. ʻasceticʼ, °ṇī -- f., Aś.shah. man. śramaṇa -- , gir. dh. kāl. samaṇa -- , NiDoc. ṣamana, Dhp. KharI. śramaṇa -- , ṣamaṇa -- , OSi.hamaṇa, Si. mahaṇā, māṇa m., meheṇa f. (CDIAL 12683). This distinction is comparable to the distinction between a 'priest' and 'ascetic' in Bauddham: Brahmin is an anglicised form of the Sanskrit word Brāhmana.
Sariputra, Maudgalyayana, Maha
Verses 385 and 386 of Dhammapada are cited in this context, to define a Brahmin:
Verse 385. The Unfettered Person Is A Brāhmana
Explanation: To him there is no further shore. To him there is no near shore. To him both these shores are non-existent. He is free of anxiety and is freed of bonds. That person I describe as a Brāhmana.
Verse 386. Who Is Contemplative And Pure Is a Brāhmana
Explanation: He is given to concentrated contemplation. He is free of all blemishes - the dust that defiles a being. He sits in solitude. All his spiritual tasks and obligations are done. He has reached the highest goal. That person I describe as a brahmana.
कर्णाटकाश्च तैलंगा द्राविडा महाराष्ट्रकाः,
गुर्जराश्चेति पञ्चैव द्राविडा विन्ध्यदक्षिणे || सारस्वताः कान्यकुब्जा गौडा उत्कलमैथिलाः, पन्चगौडा इति ख्याता विन्ध्स्योत्तरवासिनः || Translation: Karnataka (Kannada), Telugu (Andhra), Dravida (Tamil and Kerala), Maharashtra and Gujarat are Five Southern (Pañca-Draviḍa). Saraswata, Kanyakubja, Gauda, Utkala (Orissa), Maithili are Five Northern (Pañca-Gauḍa).(Pt Ḍori Lāl Śar
Visvakarma brahmins are descendants of Lord Visvakarma and divided into five gotra and notes that each clan's name is mentioned in the Yajurveda (4.3.3).
It is reasonable to hypothesise that the five rishis who provide the Vishvakarma Brahmin lineage are the Śrotriya brāhmaṇa who could incise speech. The takṣat vāk 'incised speech', Rigveda tradition is attested in later day Indus Writing and in the cuneiform records for Sumerian/Akkadian. The same tradition continues to be recorded in Śrotriya brāhmaṇa texts and in Śrauta sūtra texts. According to the Baudāyana śrauta-sūtra Viśvāmi
I am citing the following concocted account by George Varghese which is not far removed from the type of pseudo-historical, class-struggle dialectical analysis provided by Witzel in his article. (Witzel, M., 2011,Gandhāra and the formation of the Vedic and Zoroastrian canons) Also referred in:http://bharatkalyan97.
h1522 (from Indus Writing Corpora).
Note: The first known examples of writing may have been unearthed at an archaeological dig in Harappa, Pakistan. So-called 'plant-like' and 'trident-shaped' markings have been found on fragments of pottery dating back 5500 years. According to Dr Richard Meadow of Harvard University, the director of the Harappa Archaeological Research Project, these primitive inscriptions found on pottery may pre-date all other known writing. http://news.bbc.co.
Speculation on the continuum of Indus Writing |
[1] Mudrā Rākṣasam of Viśākhadatta, Varanasi (Reprint 2001), Act 1.
The rationale for error-free methods of chanting mantras is well summarised in the following excerpt.
Conch as a trumpet. Excavated in Harappa and is now shown in the Lahore Museum -- the image is from Jonathan Mark Kenoyer's "Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization".
Nāda brahman is an attribution of sacredness to the sounds of vāk. This is a tradition which has attributed divinity to the sound, OM, the praṇava and has contributed phenomenally to the study of language from Patañjali to Bhartrhari.
To attribute this to a anti-literacy attitudes of Vedic Age -- as Witzel does -- is a gross instance of suggestio falsi and suppressio veri and an affront to the study of Veda which has stood the test of time, of millennia:
( Extract from "The Vedas" published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan )
Without resort to writing, our forefathers had devised many ways to prevent even a very small error to creep into the Vedas. The fullest benefit from the Vedic mantras can result only if no word is changed; no unauthorised upward or downward drift in the note occurs in the recitation. Hence the numerous safeguards. How much time it should take to utter each word is indicated by resort to the notation by "maatras"-the time it takes to pronounce a short vowel. How to regulate breathing so that the vibrations can occur at what part of the body to give birth to the pure word sound is also laid down in the Vedanga Seeksha. The Taitreeya Upanishad, for e.g., begins with Seeksha thus:
Seeksham Vyakyaa syaamah - Varna Swarah - Maatrabalam - Saama Santaanah
Seeksha deals with Varna, Swara, Maatra, Strength, Saama and Santaanah
A fool-proof method is to chant each mantra in various patterns and combinations known as
Vaakya, Pada, Krama, Jata, Maala, Sikha, Rekha, Dhwaja, Danda, Ratha, Ghana, etc.
Some learned pandits are called "Ghanapaatis". This means that they are learned in the Vedas to the extent of chanting of the Vedas in the pattern called "Ghanam". When we listen to a Ghanapaati reciting Vedas in Ghana form, we note that he repeats the in various ways back and forth and in different patterns. This would be pleasant to the ears and creates a sense of happiness within. It would seem that the natural grandeur of the Veda mantras is heightened, as it were. So would be the effect of recitation in the other prescribed patterns of Kramam, Jata, Sikha, Maala, etc. But the main object of reciting them is to make no mistake in the original meaning and sound pattern of the words.
Vaakya Paatha or Samhita Paatha is to recite the mantras in a sentence straight. When mantras come in sentences, some of the words therein have to be conjoined in chanting. To recite the Veda mantras, pada by pada or word by word, instead of joining the words and stringing them together is Pada Paatha. Pada Paatha occurs after Samhita paatha. In pada paatha the sentence is broken down to "words" or pada. This gives the student of the Vedas the knowledge of each word in a sentence.
In Krama Paatha, the first word of the mantra is added to the second, the second to the third, the third to the fourth and so on, until the whole sentence of the mantras is completed. This paatha or method of recitation helps the student understand not only the individual words but also how two words can be combined in recitation and what modification occurs in swara in such a combination.
In certain ancient edicts, notably gift deeds, at the end of the name of some illustrious persons, there would be a suffix "Krama Vit". Like "Veda Vit", "Krama Vit" means that the person is well versed in reciting the Vedas by the Krama Paatha methods.There are many such edicts in South India.
In Jata Paatha, the first word and the second are first recited together and then the words are recited in a reverse order and then again in the original order. Whereas in the Krama type of recitation the order of words is 1-2 ; 2-3 ; 3-4 ; 4-5 and so on, in the Jata Paatha, the order will be 1-2-2-1-1-2, 2-3-3-2-2-3, 3-4-4-3-3-4, 4-5-5-4-4-5 and so on. Just as two words are repeated forwards and backwards in the Jata Paatha, the Sikha Paatha three words to be so linked.
In Ghana Paatha the combination will be:
1-2-2-1-1-2-3-3-2-1-1-2-3
2-3-3-2-2-3-4-4-3-2-2-3-4
3-4-4-3-3-4-5-5-4-3-3-4-5
The chanting will go like this:
| 1-2-2-1-1-2-3-3-2-1-1-2-3 2-3- |
Chanted in Ghanam style as above, Rig Veda may take over 450 hours to chant and occupy nearly 300 cassettes!
Just as in a laboratory, a life giving elixir is preserved with the utmost care, the Veda mantras, which are for universal benefit, have been preserved by the ancients, without resort to writing by such methods of recitation. It must be remembered that, while chanting words backwards and forwards, the swaras of each have to be properly preserved and the student learns how the combination of words affect the swaras. The Samhita Paatha and Pada Paatha are called Prakrithi ( or natural ) Paathas, as the words of the mantras occur in normal sequence. The rest are called Vikrithi ( or artificial and not natural ) Paathas. In Krama, although the words do not occur in the natural order of one, two and three, since they do not revert like one after two and two after three, it cannot be called fully Vikrithi or artificial. The Vikrithis are eight in number:
Jataa maalaa sikha rekha dhwajo dando ratho Ghanah
Ityashta vikritayah proktah kramapoorva maharshibhih
The above system of complicated recitation was devised in very earl times in order to peserve the purity of the word, sound, intonation, pronunciation, accent and sound combination of the Vedas. By repeating the words in manifold ways, the correct tally of the words was also kept which naturally ensured the purity of the texts. To enable the scholars to take up the difficult methods of recitation, it was even laid down that the more difficult methods of chanting earned the chanter more punya or merit.