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{{short description| | {{short description|Fourth Veda, ancient scriptures of Hinduism}} | ||
{{About|the knowledge storehouse|other uses|Atharva (disambiguation){{!}}Atharva}} | |||
{{Infobox religious text | {{Infobox religious text | ||
| religion = [[Hinduism]] | | religion = [[Historical Vedic religion]]<br />[[Hinduism]] | ||
| image = | | image = Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png | ||
| alt = Four Vedas | | alt = Four Vedas | ||
| language = [[Vedic Sanskrit]] | | language = [[Vedic Sanskrit]] | ||
| caption = | | caption = Atharva-Veda Saṁhitā Manuscript | ||
| period = [[ | | period = [[Vedic period]] ({{circa}} 1200–900 BCE){{sfnm|Flood|1996|1p=37|Witzel|2001|pp=5–6}} | ||
| chapters = 20 ''[[Chapter (books)|kāṇḍas]]'' | | chapters = 20 ''[[Chapter (books)|kāṇḍas]]'' | ||
| sutras = | | sutras = | ||
| verses = 5, | | verses = 5,977 mantras<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sites.google.com/a/vedicgranth.org/www/what_are_vedic_granth/the-four-veda/interpretation-and-more/construction-of-the-vedas?mobile=true |title=Construction of the Vedas |website=VedicGranth.Org |access-date=3 July 2020 |archive-date=17 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717035126/https://sites.google.com/a/vedicgranth.org/www/what_are_vedic_granth/the-four-veda/interpretation-and-more/construction-of-the-vedas?mobile=true |url-status=dead }}</ref> | ||
}} | |background=#FFC569}} | ||
{{Hindu scriptures}} | {{Hindu scriptures}} | ||
{{EngvarB|date=March 2015}} | {{EngvarB|date=March 2015}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}} | ||
The '''Atharva Veda''' ([[ | {{Italic title}}The '''''Atharvaveda''''' or '''''Atharva Veda''''' ({{langx|sa|[[wikt:अथर्ववेद|अथर्ववेद]]}}, {{IAST3|Atharvaveda}}, from ''[[wikt:अथर्वन्|अथर्वन्]]'', "priest" and ''[[wikt:वेद|वेद]]'', "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''[[wikt:अथर्वन्|atharvan]]s'', the procedures for everyday life".<ref name=lauriepatton38>Laurie Patton (2004), "Veda and Upanishad," in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, {{ISBN|0-415215277}}, page 38</ref> The text is the fourth [[Veda]], and is a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of [[Hinduism]].<ref>Carl Olson (2007), ''The Many Colors of Hinduism,'' Rutgers University Press, {{ISBN|978-0813540689}}, pages 13–14</ref><ref name=lauriepatton57late>Laurie Patton (1994), ''Authority, Anxiety, and Canon: Essays in Vedic Interpretation,'' State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791419380}}, page 57</ref><ref name="maurice1" /> | ||
It is a collection of 730 [[Music of India#History|hymns]] with about 6,000 mantras, divided into 20 books.<ref name=maurice1>Maurice Bloomfield, [https://archive.org/stream/atharvaveda00bloouoft#page/n5/mode/2up The Atharvaveda], Harvard University Press, pages 1-2</ref> About a sixth of the Atharvaveda texts | The language of the Atharvaveda is different from [[Rigvedic]] [[Sanskrit]], preserving pre-Vedic Indo-European [[archaisms]].{{sfn|Parpola|2015|p=131}}<ref name=maurice1/> It is a collection of 730 [[Music of India#History|hymns]] with about 6,000 mantras, divided into 20 books.<ref name=maurice1>Maurice Bloomfield, [https://archive.org/stream/atharvaveda00bloouoft#page/n5/mode/2up ''The Atharvaveda''], Harvard University Press, pages 1-2</ref> About a sixth of the Atharvaveda texts adapt verses from the [[Rigveda]], and except for Books 15 and 16, the text is mainly in verse deploying a diversity of Vedic meters.<ref name=maurice1/> Two different recensions of the text – the {{IAST|Paippalāda}} and the {{IAST|Śaunakīya}} – have survived into modern times.<ref name=fritsstaal136>Frits Staal (2009), ''Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights,'' Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0143099864}}, pages 136-137</ref> Reliable [[manuscripts]] of the Paippalada edition were believed to have been lost, but a well-preserved version was discovered among a collection of palm leaf manuscripts in [[Odisha]] in 1957.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> | ||
The Atharvaveda is sometimes called the "Veda of magical | The Atharvaveda is sometimes called the "Veda of [[magical formula]]s",<ref name=lauriepatton38/> a description considered incorrect by other scholars.<ref name=jangonda277>[[Jan Gonda]] (1975), ''Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas,'' Vol 1, Fasc. 1, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447016032}}, pages 277–280, Quote: "It would be incorrect to describe the Atharvaveda Samhita as a collection of magical formulas".</ref> In contrast to the 'hieratic religion' of the other three Vedas, the Atharvaveda is said to represent a 'popular religion', incorporating not only formulas for [[Magic (supernatural)|magic]], but also the daily rituals for initiation into learning (''upanayana''), marriage and funerals. Royal rituals and the duties of the court priests are also included in the Atharvaveda.<ref name=Parpola>{{citation |last=Parpola |first=Asko |author-link=Asko Parpola |chapter=The Atharvaveda and the Vrātyas |title=The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_eykCQAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-022692-3 |at=Chapter 12}}</ref> | ||
The Atharvaveda was likely compiled as a Veda contemporaneously with [[Samaveda]] and [[Yajurveda]], or about 1200 | The Atharvaveda was likely compiled as a Veda contemporaneously with [[Samaveda]] and [[Yajurveda]], or about 1200 BCE – 1000 BCE.{{sfn|Witzel|2001|pp=5–6}}<ref>{{cite book|title=The Legacy of Caraka|author=M. S. Valiathan|page=22|publisher=Orient Blackswan}}</ref> Along with the Samhita layer of text, the Atharvaveda includes a [[Brahmana]] text, and a final layer of the text that covers philosophical speculations. The latter layer of Atharvaveda text includes three primary Upanishads, influential to various schools of [[Hindu philosophy]]. These include the [[Mundaka Upanishad]], the [[Mandukya Upanishad]] and the [[Prashna Upanishad]].<ref>Paul Deussen, ''Sixty Upanishads of the Veda,'' Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814691}}, pages 605–609</ref><ref>Max Muller, ''The Upanishads, Part 2,'' "Prasna Upanishad," Oxford University Press, pages xlii–xliii</ref> | ||
==Etymology and nomenclature== | ==Etymology and nomenclature== | ||
The Veda may be named, states [[ | The Veda may be named, states [[Monier Williams]], after the mythical priest named ''Atharvan'' who was first to develop prayers to fire, offer Soma, and who composed "formulas and spells intended to counteract diseases and calamities".<ref name=mmwatharvan>Monier Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit-English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry for Atharvan, page 17</ref> The name Atharvaveda, states Laurie Patton, is for the text being "Veda of the Atharvāṇas".<ref name=lauriepatton38/> | ||
The oldest name of the text, according to its own verse 10.7.20, was ''Atharvangirasah'', a compound of "[[Atharvan]]" and "[[ | The oldest name of the text, according to its own verse 10.7.20, was ''Atharvangirasah'', a compound of "[[Atharvan]]" and "[[Angiras]]", both Vedic scholars.<ref name=maurice7/> Each scholar called the text after itself, such as ''Saunakiya Samhita'', meaning the "compiled text of Saunakiya".<ref name=maurice7/> The "Atharvan" and "Angiras" names, states Maurice Bloomfield,<ref name=maurice7/> imply different things, with the former considered auspicious while the latter implying hostile sorcery practices. Over time, the positive auspicious side came to be celebrated and the name Atharva Veda became widespread.<ref name=maurice7>Maurice Bloomfield, [https://archive.org/stream/atharvaveda00bloouoft#page/6/mode/2up ''The Atharvaveda''], Harvard University Press, pages 7–10</ref> The latter name Angiras which is linked to [[Agni]] and priests in the Vedas, states George Brown, may also be related to [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] ''Angirôs'' found in an [[Aramaic]] text from Nippur.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Note on Angarôs, in Montgomery's 'Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur' |jstor = 593717|journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society|date = 1921-01-01|pages = 159–160|volume = 41|doi = 10.2307/593717|first = George William|last = Brown}}; For the text Brown refers to, see: {{Google books|qg0TAAAAYAAJ|Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur, By James Alan Montgomery|page=PA196}}, pages 196, 195–200</ref> | ||
[[Michael Witzel]] states the etymology of ''Atharvan'' is Proto Indo-Iranian ''*atharwan'' "[ancient] priest, sorcerer", and it is cognate to Avestan ''āθrauuan'' "priest" and possibly related to Tocharian ''*athr'', "superior force".<ref>Michael Witzel (2003), [http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp129_prehistoric_central_asia_linguistics.pdf Linguistic Evidence for Cultural Exchange in Prehistoric Western Central Asia] Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 129, page 38</ref> | [[Michael Witzel]] states the etymology of ''Atharvan'' is Proto Indo-Iranian ''*atharwan'' "[ancient] priest, sorcerer", and it is cognate to Avestan ''āθrauuan'' "priest" and possibly related to [[Tocharian languages|Tocharian]] ''*athr'', "superior force".<ref>Michael Witzel (2003), [http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp129_prehistoric_central_asia_linguistics.pdf "Linguistic Evidence for Cultural Exchange in Prehistoric Western Central Asia"] Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 129, page 38</ref> | ||
The Atharvaveda is also occasionally referred to as ''Bhrgvangirasah'' and ''Brahmaveda'', after Bhrigu and Brahma respectively.<ref name=maurice7/> | The Atharvaveda is also occasionally referred to as ''Bhrgvangirasah'' and ''Brahmaveda'', after [[Bhrigu]] and [[Brahma]], respectively.<ref name=maurice7/> | ||
==Dating and historical context== | ==Dating and historical context== | ||
The | The Atharvaveda is dated by Flood at ca. 900 BCE,{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=37}} while Michael Witzel gives a dating at, or slightly after, c. 1200/1000 BCE.{{sfn|Witzel|2001|p=6}} | ||
The ancient Indian tradition initially recognized only three Vedas.<ref name=fritsstaal136/><ref name=carlolson13>Carl Olson (2007), The Many Colors of Hinduism, Rutgers University Press, {{ISBN|978-0813540689}}, page 13</ref> The Rigveda, the verse 3.12.9.1 of Taittiriya Brahmana, the verse 5.32-33 of Aitareya Brahmana and other Vedic era texts mention only three Vedas.<ref name=lauriepatton57late/> The acceptance of the Atharvanas hymns and traditional folk practices was slow, and it was accepted as another Veda much later than the first three, by both orthodox and heterodox traditions of Indian philosophies. The early Buddhist [[ | The ancient Indian tradition initially recognized only three Vedas.<ref name=fritsstaal136/><ref name=carlolson13>Carl Olson (2007), ''The Many Colors of Hinduism,'' Rutgers University Press, {{ISBN|978-0813540689}}, page 13</ref> The Rigveda, the verse 3.12.9.1 of Taittiriya Brahmana, the verse 5.32-33 of Aitareya Brahmana and other Vedic era texts mention only three Vedas.<ref name=lauriepatton57late/> The acceptance of the Atharvanas hymns and traditional folk practices was slow, and it was accepted as another Veda much later than the first three, by both orthodox and heterodox traditions of Indian philosophies. The early Buddhist [[Nikaya]] texts, for example, do not recognize Atharvaveda as the fourth Veda, and make references to only three Vedas.<ref>[[Frits Staal]] (2009), ''Discovering the Vedas: Origin, Mantras, Rituals, Insights,'' Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0143099864}}, page 135</ref><ref>Alex Wayman (1997), ''Untying the Knots in Buddhism,'' Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120813212}}, pages 52-53</ref> Olson states that the ultimate acceptance of Atharvaveda as the fourth Veda probably came in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BCE.<ref name=carlolson13/> However, notes [[Max Muller]], the hymns of Atharvaveda existed by the time [[Chandogya Upanishad]] was completed (~700 BCE), but were then referred to as "hymns of Atharvangirasah".<ref>Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/38/mode/2up "Chandogya Upanishad" 3.4.1] Oxford University Press, page 39</ref> | ||
[[Frits Staal]] states that the text may be a compilation of poetry and knowledge that developed in two different regions of ancient India, the Kuru region in northern India and the Pancalas region of eastern India.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> The former was home to Paippalāda, whose name was derived from the sacred fig tree named ''Pippala'' (Sanskrit: पिप्पल). This school's compositions were in the Rigvedic style.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> The Pancalas region contributions came from composer-priests Angirasas and Bhargavas, whose style was unlike the metric Rigvedic composition, and their content included forms of medical sorcery. The Atharvaveda editions now known are a combination of their compositions.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> | [[Frits Staal]] states that the text may be a compilation of poetry and knowledge that developed in two different regions of ancient India, the Kuru region in northern India and the Pancalas region of eastern India.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> The former was home to Paippalāda, whose name was derived from the sacred fig tree named ''Pippala'' (Sanskrit: पिप्पल). This school's compositions were in the Rigvedic style.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> The Pancalas region contributions came from composer-priests Angirasas and Bhargavas, whose style was unlike the metric Rigvedic composition, and their content included forms of medical sorcery. The Atharvaveda editions now known are a combination of their compositions.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> | ||
The core text of the Atharvaveda falls within the classical Mantra period of [[Vedic Sanskrit]], during the 2nd millennium BC - younger than the [[Rigveda]], and roughly contemporary with the [[Yajurveda]] mantras, the Rigvedic [[Khilani]], and the [[Samaveda|{{IAST|Sāmaveda}}]].<ref name="Harvard_U">{{cite web|author=[[Michael Witzel]] (1997).|title=The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools : The Social and Political Milieu. Harvard University, Harvard Oriental Series.|url=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/canon.pdf |access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> There is no absolute dating of any Vedic text including the Atharvaveda.<ref name=michaelwitzel68/> The dating for Atharvaveda is derived from the new metals and items mentioned therein; it, for example, mentions [[iron]] (as {{IAST|krsna ayas}}, literally "black metal"), and such mentions have led Michael Witzel to the estimate that the Atharvaveda hymns were compiled in the early Indian [[Iron Age India|Iron Age]], at, or slightly after, c. 1200/1000 BCE.<ref name=michaelwitzel68>Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, {{ISBN|0-631215352}}, page 68</ref>{{sfn|Witzel| | The core text of the Atharvaveda falls within the classical Mantra period of [[Vedic Sanskrit]], during the 2nd millennium BC - younger than the [[Rigveda]], and roughly contemporary with the [[Yajurveda]] mantras, the Rigvedic [[Khilani]], and the [[Samaveda|{{IAST|Sāmaveda}}]].<ref name="Harvard_U">{{cite web|author=[[Michael Witzel]] (1997).|title=The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu. Harvard University, Harvard Oriental Series.|url=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/canon.pdf |access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> There is no absolute dating of any Vedic text including the Atharvaveda.<ref name=michaelwitzel68/> The dating for Atharvaveda is derived from the new metals and items mentioned therein; it, for example, mentions [[iron]] (as {{IAST|krsna ayas}}, literally "black metal"), and such mentions have led Michael Witzel to the estimate that the Atharvaveda hymns were compiled in the early Indian [[Iron Age India|Iron Age]], at, or slightly after, c. 1200/1000 BCE.<ref name=michaelwitzel68>Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, {{ISBN|0-631215352}}, page 68</ref>{{sfn|Witzel|2001|p=6}} corresponding to the early [[Kuru kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Early Sanskritization.Origins and Development of the Kuru State. |url=http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0104/ejvs0104article.pdf |author=Michael Witzel |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220153727/http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0104/ejvs0104article.pdf |archive-date=20 February 2012 }}</ref> | ||
The priests who practised the Atharvaveda were considered to be the lowest tier of [[Brahmin | The priests who practised the Atharvaveda were considered to be the lowest tier of [[Brahmin]]s, in comparison to the priests who practised the Rigveda, Samaveda, or Yajurveda [considered by whom?].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} A stigma held by some against Atharvaveda priests is documented in [[Odisha]] well into the modern day.<ref name="Harvard_U" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Gonda|first=Jan|title=A History of Indian Literature: I.1 Vedic literature (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas)|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz|year=1975|pages=268}}</ref> | ||
==Text== | ==Text== | ||
The Atharvaveda is a collection of 20 books, with a total of 730 hymns of about 6,000 stanzas.<ref name=maurice1/> The text is, state Patrick Olivelle and other scholars, a historical collection of beliefs and rituals addressing practical issues of daily life of the Vedic society, and it is not a liturgical Yajurveda-style collection.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2014), ''Early Upanishads,'' Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195352429}}, page 8 footnote 11</ref><ref name=williamwhitney254>William Whitney, [https://archive.org/stream/journalofamerica04ameruoft#page/254/mode/2up "History of the Vedic texts"], ''Journal of the American Oriental Society,'' Vol. 4, pages 254-255</ref> | |||
The Atharvaveda is a collection of 20 books, with a total of 730 hymns of about 6,000 stanzas.<ref name=maurice1/> The text is, state Patrick Olivelle and other scholars, a historical collection of beliefs and rituals addressing practical issues of daily life of the Vedic society, and it is not a liturgical Yajurveda-style collection.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2014), Early Upanishads, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195352429}}, page 8 footnote 11</ref><ref name=williamwhitney254>William Whitney, [https://archive.org/stream/journalofamerica04ameruoft#page/254/mode/2up History of the Vedic texts], Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 4, pages 254-255</ref> | |||
===Recensions=== | ===Recensions=== | ||
The ''{{IAST|Caraṇavyuha}}'', a later era Sanskrit text, states that the Atharvaveda had nine [[shakha]]s, or schools: {{IAST|paippalāda}}, {{IAST|stauda}}, {{IAST|mauda}}, {{IAST|śaunakīya}}, {{IAST|jājala}}, {{IAST|jalada}}, {{IAST|brahmavada}}, {{IAST|devadarśa}} and {{IAST|cāraṇavaidyā}}.<ref name=brmodak15>BR Modak (1993), The Ancillary Literature of the Atharva-Veda, Rashtriya Veda Vidya Pratishthan, {{ISBN|9788121506076}}, pages 15 (footnote 8), 393-394</ref> | The ''{{IAST|Caraṇavyuha}}'', a later era Sanskrit text, states that the Atharvaveda had nine [[shakha]]s, or schools: {{IAST|paippalāda}}, {{IAST|stauda}}, {{IAST|mauda}}, {{IAST|śaunakīya}}, {{IAST|jājala}}, {{IAST|jalada}}, {{IAST|brahmavada}}, {{IAST|devadarśa}} and {{IAST|cāraṇavaidyā}}.<ref name=brmodak15>BR Modak (1993), ''The Ancillary Literature of the Atharva-Veda,'' Rashtriya Veda Vidya Pratishthan, {{ISBN|9788121506076}}, pages 15 (footnote 8), 393-394</ref> | ||
Of these, only the Shaunakiya recension, and the more recently discovered manuscripts of Paippalāda recension have survived.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> The Paippalāda edition is more ancient.<ref name=jangonda273>Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas, Vol 1, Fasc. 1, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447016032}}, pages 273-274</ref> The two recensions differ in how they are organized, as well as content.<ref name=jangonda273/> For example, the Book 10 of Paippalada recension is more detailed and observed carefully not doing a single mistake, more developed and more conspicuous in describing [[monism]], the concept of "oneness of [[Brahman]], all life forms and the world".<ref>Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas, Vol 1, Fasc. 1, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447016032}}, pages 296-297</ref> | Of these, only the Shaunakiya recension, and the more recently discovered manuscripts of Paippalāda recension have survived.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> The Paippalāda edition is more ancient.<ref name=jangonda273>Jan Gonda (1975), ''Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas,'' Vol 1, Fasc. 1, [[Otto Harrassowitz Verlag]], {{ISBN|978-3447016032}}, pages 273-274</ref> The two recensions differ in how they are organized, as well as content.<ref name=jangonda273/> For example, the Book 10 of Paippalada recension is more detailed and observed carefully not doing a single mistake, more developed and more conspicuous in describing [[monism]], the concept of "oneness of [[Brahman]], all life forms and the world".<ref>Jan Gonda (1975), ''Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas,'' Vol 1, Fasc. 1, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447016032}}, pages 296-297</ref> | ||
===Organization=== | ===Organization=== | ||
The Atharvaveda Samhita originally was organized into 18 books ({{IAST|Kāṇḍas}}), and the last two were added later.<ref name=maxmuller455/> These books are arranged neither by subject nor by authors (as is the case with the other Vedas), but by the length of the hymns.<ref name=williamwhitney254/> Each book generally has hymns of about a similar number of verses, and the surviving manuscripts label the book with the shortest hymns as Book 1, and then in an increasing order (a few manuscripts do the opposite). Most of the hymns are poetic and set to different meters, but about a sixth of the book is prose.<ref name=williamwhitney254/> | The Atharvaveda Samhita originally was organized into 18 books ({{IAST|Kāṇḍas}}), and the last two were added later.<ref name=maxmuller455/> These books are arranged neither by subject nor by authors (as is the case with the other Vedas), but by the length of the hymns.<ref name=williamwhitney254/> Each book generally has hymns of about a similar number of verses, and the surviving manuscripts label the book with the shortest hymns as Book 1, and then in an increasing order (a few manuscripts do the opposite). Most of the hymns are poetic and set to different meters, but about a sixth of the book is prose.<ref name=williamwhitney254/> | ||
Most of the hymns of Atharvaveda are unique to it, except for the one sixth of its hymns that it borrows from the [[Rigveda]], primarily from its | Most of the hymns of Atharvaveda are unique to it, except for the one sixth of its hymns that it borrows from the [[Rigveda]], primarily from its 10th mandala.<ref name=williamwhitney254/><ref name=maxmuller455>[[Max Muller]], {{Google books|cHCe48QSZaUC|The Gopatha Brahmana (in A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature)|page=455}}, Oxford University Press, pages 454-456</ref> The 19th book was a supplement of a similar nature, likely of new compositions and was added later.<ref name=williamwhitney254/> The 143 hymns of the 20th book of Atharvaveda Samhita is almost entirely borrowed from the Rigveda.<ref>Ralph Griffith, [https://archive.org/stream/hymnsoftheatharv029485mbp#page/n327/mode/2up The Hymns of the Atharva Veda], Volume 2, 2nd Edition, EJ Lazarus, pages 321-451</ref> | ||
The hymns of Atharvaveda cover a motley of topics, across its twenty books. Roughly, the first seven books focus primarily on magical poems for all sorts of healing and sorcery, and [[Michael Witzel]] states these are reminiscent of Germanic and Hittite sorcery stanzas, and may likely be the oldest section.<ref name=michaelwitzelpage76>Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, {{ISBN|0-631215352}}, page 76</ref> Books 8 to 12 are speculations of a variety of topics, while Books 13 to 18 tend to be about life cycle [[Sanskara (rite of passage)|rites of passage]] rituals.<ref name=michaelwitzelpage76/> | The hymns of Atharvaveda cover a motley of topics, across its twenty books. Roughly, the first seven books focus primarily on magical poems for all sorts of healing and sorcery, and [[Michael Witzel]] states these are reminiscent of Germanic and Hittite sorcery stanzas, and may likely be the oldest section.<ref name=michaelwitzelpage76>Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, {{ISBN|0-631215352}}, page 76</ref> Books 8 to 12 are speculations of a variety of topics, while Books 13 to 18 tend to be about life cycle [[Sanskara (rite of passage)|rites of passage]] rituals.<ref name=michaelwitzelpage76/> | ||
The ''Srautasutra'' texts {{IAST|Vaitāna Sūtra}} and the {{IAST|Kauśika Sūtra}} are attached to the Atharvaveda Shaunaka edition, as are a supplement of Atharvan ''Prayascitthas'', two ''Pratishakhyas'', and a collection of ''Parisisthas''.<ref>Jan Gonda (1977), The Ritual Sutras, in A History of Indian Literature: Veda and Upanishads, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447018234}}, pages 543-545</ref><ref>SS Bahulkar (2003), Samskararatnamala: An Atharvanic Prayoga, in ''Pramodasindhu'' (Editors: Kalyan Kale et al, Professor Pramod Ganesh Lalye’s 75th Birthday Felicitation Volume), Mansanman Prakashan, pages 28–35</ref> For the Paippalada edition of Atharvaveda, corresponding texts were Agastya and Paithinasi Sutras but these are lost or yet to be discovered.<ref>Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, {{ISBN|0-631215352}}, pages 100-101</ref> | The ''Srautasutra'' texts {{IAST|Vaitāna Sūtra}} and the {{IAST|Kauśika Sūtra}} are attached to the Atharvaveda Shaunaka edition, as are a supplement of Atharvan ''Prayascitthas'', two ''Pratishakhyas'', and a collection of ''Parisisthas''.<ref>Jan Gonda (1977), "The Ritual Sutras," in'' A History of Indian Literature: Veda and Upanishads,'' Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447018234}}, pages 543-545</ref><ref>SS Bahulkar (2003), "Samskararatnamala: An Atharvanic Prayoga," in ''Pramodasindhu'' (Editors: Kalyan Kale et al., Professor Pramod Ganesh Lalye’s 75th Birthday Felicitation Volume), Mansanman Prakashan, pages-28–35</ref> For the Paippalada edition of Atharvaveda, corresponding texts were Agastya and Paithinasi Sutras but these are lost or yet to be discovered.<ref>Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, {{ISBN|0-631215352}}, pages 100-101</ref> | ||
==Contents== | ==Contents== | ||
The Atharvaveda is sometimes called the "[[Magic in the ancient world| | The Atharvaveda is sometimes called the "Veda of [[Magic in the ancient world|magical formulas]]",<ref name=lauriepatton38/> an epithet declared to be incorrect by many scholars.<ref name=jangonda277 /> The [[Samhita]] layer of the text likely represents a developing 2nd millennium BCE tradition of [[magico-religious]] rites to address superstitious anxiety, spells to remove maladies believed to be caused by demons, and herbs- and nature-derived [[potion]]s as medicine.<ref>{{cite book |first=Kenneth |last=Zysk |year=2012 |title=Understanding Mantras |editor-first=Harvey |editor-last=Alper |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-812080746-4 |pages=123–129 }}</ref> Many books of the Atharvaveda Samhita are dedicated to rituals without magic and to theosophy.<ref name=jangonda277/> The text, states [[Kenneth Zysk]], is one of oldest surviving record of the evolutionary practices in religious medicine and reveals the "earliest forms of folk healing of Indo-European antiquity".<ref>{{cite book |first=Kenneth |last=Zysk |year=1993 |title=Religious Medicine: The history and evolution of Indian medicine |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-156000076-1 |pages={{math|''x–xii''}} }}</ref> | ||
The Atharvaveda Samhita contains hymns many of which were charms, magic spells and incantations meant to be pronounced by the person who seeks some benefit, or more often by a sorcerer who would say it on his or her behalf.<ref name=maxmuller455/> The most frequent goal of these hymns charms and spells were long life of a loved one or recovery from some illness. In these cases, the affected would be given substances such as a plant (leaf, seed, root) and an [[amulet]].<ref name=maxmuller455/> Some magic spells were for soldiers going to war with the goal of defeating the enemy, others for anxious lovers seeking to remove rivals or to attract the lover who is less than interested, some for success at a sporting event, in economic activity, for bounty of cattle and crops, or removal of petty pest bothering a household.<ref name=maxmuller455/><ref> | The Atharvaveda Samhita contains hymns many of which were charms, magic spells and incantations meant to be pronounced by the person who seeks some benefit, or more often by a sorcerer who would say it on his or her behalf.<ref name=maxmuller455/> The most frequent goal of these hymns, charms, and spells were long life of a loved one or recovery from some illness. In these cases, the affected would be given substances such as a plant (leaf, seed, root) and an [[amulet]].<ref name=maxmuller455/> Some magic spells were for soldiers going to war with the goal of defeating the enemy, others for anxious lovers seeking to remove rivals or to attract the lover who is less than interested, some for success at a sporting event, in economic activity, for bounty of cattle and crops, or removal of petty pest bothering a household.<ref name=maxmuller455/><ref>{{cite book |editor-first=M. |editor-last=Muller |editor-link=Max Muller |orig-year=1897 |year=1987 |title=The Sacred Books of the East |volume=42 – Hymns of the Atharva Veda |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |place=Delhi, IN |isbn=81-208-0101-6 |pages=94–108 |url=https://archive.org/details/thesacredbooksoftheeastvol42_202002/page/n171 |access-date=2024-06-19 }} ''alt.'' Oxford University Press: {{Google books|voQ5AQAAMAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |translator-first=Ralph |translator-last=Griffith |year=1895 |title=Atharva Veda |volume=1 |publisher=E.J. Lazarus |place=Benares, IN |pages=344–352 |url=https://archive.org/stream/hymnsatharvaved00unkngoog#page/n368 }}</ref> Some hymns were not about magic spells and charms, but prayer qua prayer and philosophical speculations.<ref>{{cite book |translator-first=Ralph |translator-last=Griffith |year=1917 |title=The Hymns of the Atharva Veda |section=Hymn 13.4 |volume=2 |edition=2nd |publisher=E.J. Lazarus |place=Benares, IN |pages=154–158 |section-url=https://archive.org/stream/hymnsoftheatharv029485mbp#page/n327 }}</ref> | ||
The contents of the Atharvaveda contrasts with the other Vedas. The 19th century Indologist Weber summarized the contrast as follows, | The contents of the Atharvaveda contrasts with the other Vedas. The 19th century Indologist Weber summarized the contrast as follows, | ||
{{ | {{Blockquote| | ||
The spirit of the two collections [Rigveda, Atharvaveda] is indeed widely different. In the Rigveda there breathes a lively natural feeling, a warm love for nature; while in the Atharva there prevails, on the contrary, only an anxious dread of her evil spirits and their magical powers. In the Rigveda we find the people in a state of free activity and independence; in the Atharva we see it bound in the fetters of the hierarchy and superstition. | The spirit of the two collections [Rigveda, Atharvaveda] is indeed widely different. In the Rigveda there breathes a lively natural feeling, a warm love for nature; while in the Atharva there prevails, on the contrary, only an anxious dread of her evil spirits and their magical powers. In the Rigveda we find the people in a state of free activity and independence; in the Atharva we see it bound in the fetters of the hierarchy and superstition. | ||
|Albrecht Weber | |Albrecht Weber<ref>{{cite book |translator-first=Ralph |translator-last=Griffith |year=1895 |title=The Hymns of the Atharva Veda |volume=1 |publisher=E.J. Lazarus |place=Benares, IN |page={{mvar|v}} |url=https://archive.org/stream/hymnsatharvaved00unkngoog#page/n10 }}</ref>}} | ||
[[Jan Gonda]] cautions that it would be incorrect to label Atharvaveda Samhita as mere compilation of magical formulas, witchcraft and sorcery.<ref name=jangonda277/> While such verses are indeed present in the Samhita layer, a significant portion of the Samhita text are hymns for domestic rituals without magic or spells, and some are theosophical speculations such as "all Vedic gods are One".<ref name=jangonda277/><ref>William Whitney, [https://archive.org/stream/atharvavedasamhi02whituoft#page/732/mode/2up Atharvaveda Samhita 13.4], Harvard Oriental Series Vol. 8, Harvard University Press, pages 732-737</ref> Additionally, the non-Samhita layers of Atharvaveda text include a Brahmana and several influential Upanishads.<ref>[[Jan Gonda]] (1975), Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas, Vol 1, Fasc. 1, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447016032}}, pages 277-297</ref> | [[Jan Gonda]] cautions that it would be incorrect to label Atharvaveda Samhita as mere compilation of magical formulas, witchcraft and sorcery.<ref name=jangonda277/> While such verses are indeed present in the Samhita layer, a significant portion of the Samhita text are hymns for domestic rituals without magic or spells, and some are theosophical speculations such as "all Vedic gods are One".<ref name=jangonda277/><ref>William Whitney, [https://archive.org/stream/atharvavedasamhi02whituoft#page/732/mode/2up Atharvaveda Samhita 13.4], Harvard Oriental Series Vol. 8, Harvard University Press, pages 732-737</ref> Additionally, the non-Samhita layers of Atharvaveda text include a Brahmana and several influential Upanishads.<ref>[[Jan Gonda]] (1975), ''Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas,'' Vol 1, Fasc. 1, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447016032}}, pages 277-297</ref> | ||
===Samhita=== | ===Samhita=== | ||
====Surgical and medical treatment==== | ====Surgical and medical treatment==== | ||
The Atharvaveda includes mantras and verses for treating a variety of ailments. For example, the verses in hymn 4.15 of the recently discovered Paippalada version of the Atharvaveda, discuss how to deal with an open fracture, and how to wrap the wound with Rohini plant ([[Ficus]] | The Atharvaveda includes mantras and verses for treating a variety of ailments. For example, the verses in hymn 4.15 of the recently discovered Paippalada version of the Atharvaveda, discuss how to deal with an open fracture, and how to wrap the wound with Rohini plant (''[[Ficus]] infectoria'', native to India):<ref name=fritsstaal138>Frits Staal (2009), ''Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights,'' Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0143099864}}, pages 137-139</ref> | ||
{{ | {{blockquote| | ||
<poem> | <poem> | ||
Let marrow be put together with marrow, and joint together with joint, | Let marrow be put together with marrow, and joint together with joint, | ||
| Line 89: | Line 89: | ||
====Charms against fever, jaundice and diseases==== | ====Charms against fever, jaundice and diseases==== | ||
Numerous hymns of the Atharvaveda are prayers and incantations wishing a child or loved one to get over some sickness and become healthy again, along with comforting the family members. The Vedic era assumption was that diseases are caused by evil spirits, external beings or demonic forces who enter the body of a victim to cause sickness.<ref>Kenneth Zysk (2010), Medicine in the Veda: Religious Healing in the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814004}}, pages 7-9</ref> Hymn 5.21 of the Paippalāda edition of the text, for example, states, | Numerous hymns of the Atharvaveda are prayers and incantations wishing a child or loved one to get over some sickness and become healthy again, along with comforting the family members. The Vedic era assumption was that diseases are caused by evil spirits, external beings or demonic forces who enter the body of a victim to cause sickness.<ref>Kenneth Zysk (2010), ''Medicine in the Veda: Religious Healing in the Veda,'' Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814004}}, pages 7-9</ref> Hymn 5.21 of the Paippalāda edition of the text, for example, states, | ||
{{ | {{Blockquote| | ||
<poem> | <poem> | ||
Heaven our father, and Earth our mother, Agni the men-watcher, | Heaven our father, and Earth our mother, Agni the men-watcher, | ||
let them send the ten | let them send the ten days’ fever far away from us. | ||
O fever, these snowy mountains with Soma on their back have made the wind, the messenger, the healer for us, | O fever, these snowy mountains with Soma on their back have made the wind, the messenger, the healer for us, | ||
Disappear from here to the Maratas. | Disappear from here to the Maratas. | ||
| Line 104: | Line 104: | ||
O fever, avoid us with them. | O fever, avoid us with them. | ||
</poem> | </poem> | ||
|Atharvaveda 5.21|Paippalada Edition, Translated by Alexander Lubotsky<ref>Alexander Lubotsky (2002), Atharvaveda Paippalada Kanda Five, Harvard University, {{ISBN|1-888789050}}, pages 76-77</ref>}} | |Atharvaveda 5.21|Paippalada Edition, Translated by Alexander Lubotsky<ref>Alexander Lubotsky (2002), ''Atharvaveda Paippalada,'' Kanda Five, Harvard University, {{ISBN|1-888789050}}, pages 76-77</ref>}} | ||
====Remedy from medicinal herbs==== | ====Remedy from medicinal herbs==== | ||
Several hymns in the Atharvaveda such as hymn 8.7, just like the Rigveda's hymn 10.97, is a praise of medicinal herbs and plants, suggesting that speculations about the medical and health value of plants and herbs was an emerging field of knowledge in ancient India.<ref>Kenneth Zysk, Religious Medicine: The History and Evolution of Indian Medicine, Transaction, {{ISBN|978-1560000761}}, pages 238-247, 249-255</ref> The Atharvavedic hymn states (abridged), | Several hymns in the Atharvaveda such as hymn 8.7, just like the Rigveda's hymn 10.97, is a praise of medicinal herbs and plants, suggesting that speculations about the medical and health value of plants and herbs was an emerging field of knowledge in ancient India.<ref>Kenneth Zysk, ''Religious Medicine: The History and Evolution of Indian Medicine,'' Transaction, {{ISBN|978-1560000761}}, pages 238-247, 249-255</ref> The Atharvavedic hymn states (abridged), | ||
{{ | {{Blockquote| | ||
<poem> | <poem> | ||
The tawny colored, and the pale, the variegated and the red, | The tawny colored, and the pale, the variegated and the red, | ||
| Line 118: | Line 118: | ||
Therewith deliver this man here from this consumption, O ye Plants: so I prepare the remedy. | Therewith deliver this man here from this consumption, O ye Plants: so I prepare the remedy. | ||
</poem> | </poem> | ||
|Atharvaveda 8.7|Shaunakiya Edition | |Atharvaveda 8.7|Shaunakiya Edition<ref>Ralph Griffith, [https://archive.org/stream/hymnsatharvaved00unkngoog#page/n432/mode/2up ''Atharva Veda,'' Hymn VII] Vol 1, EJ Lazarus, pages 408-411</ref>}} | ||
====Spells and prayers to gain a lover, spouse==== | |||
The contents of the Atharvaveda have been studied to glean information about the social and cultural mores in the Vedic era of India.<ref>Rajbali Pandey (1969), ''Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments,'' Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803961}}, pages 162-163, Chapter 8</ref> A number of verses relate to spells for gaining a husband, or a wife, or the love of a woman,<ref>[[Max Muller]], {{Google books|voQ5AQAAMAAJ|The Sacred Books of the East, Volume 42|page=100}}, Oxford University Press, pages 99-101</ref> or to prevent any rivals from winning over one's "love interest".<ref>[[Max Muller]], {{Google books|voQ5AQAAMAAJ|The Sacred Books of the East, Volume 42|page=107}}, Oxford University Press, pages 107-108</ref> | |||
{{Blockquote| | |||
<poem> | <poem> | ||
May O Agni!, a suitor after our own heart come to us, may he come to this maiden with fortune! | May O Agni!, a suitor after our own heart come to us, may he come to this maiden with fortune! | ||
| Line 136: | Line 135: | ||
turn thou the attention of every agreeable suitor towards her! | turn thou the attention of every agreeable suitor towards her! | ||
</poem> | </poem> | ||
|Atharvaveda 2.36 | |Atharvaveda 2.36<ref>[[Max Muller]], {{Google books|voQ5AQAAMAAJ|The Sacred Books of the East, Volume 42|page=94}}, Oxford University Press, pages 94-95</ref>}} | ||
====Speculations on the nature of man, life, good and evil==== | ====Speculations on the nature of man, life, good and evil==== | ||
The Atharvaveda Samhita, as with the other Vedas, includes some hymns such as 4.1, 5.6, 10.7, 13.4, 17.1, 19.53-54, with metaphysical questions on the nature of existence, man, heaven and hell, good and evil.<ref name=willbrown18/> Hymn 10.7 of Atharvaveda, for example, asks questions such as "what is the source of cosmic order? what and where is planted this notion of faith, holy duty, truth? how is earth and sky held? is there space beyond the sky? what are seasons and where do they go? does ''Skambha'' (literally "cosmic pillar",<ref>Francesco Pellizzi (2007), Anthropology and Aesthetics, Peabody Museum Press, {{ISBN|978-0873657754}}, pages 20-25</ref> synonym for [[Brahman]]<ref name=willbrown18>[[ | The Atharvaveda Samhita, as with the other Vedas, includes some hymns such as 4.1, 5.6, 10.7, 13.4, 17.1, 19.53-54, with metaphysical questions on the nature of existence, man, heaven and hell, good and evil.<ref name=willbrown18/> Hymn 10.7 of Atharvaveda, for example, asks questions such as "what is the source of cosmic order? what and where is planted this notion of faith, holy duty, truth? how is earth and sky held? is there space beyond the sky? what are seasons and where do they go? does ''Skambha'' (literally "cosmic pillar",<ref>Francesco Pellizzi (2007), ''Anthropology and Aesthetics,'' Peabody Museum Press, {{ISBN|978-0873657754}}, pages 20-25</ref> synonym for [[Brahman]]<ref name=willbrown18>[[William Norman Brown]] (Editor: Rosane Rocher) (1978), ''India and Indology: Selected Articles,'' Motilal Banarsidass, {{oclc|5025668}}, pages 18-19 note 7, 45</ref>) penetrate everything or just somethings? does ''Skambha'' know the future? is ''Skambha'' the basis of Law, Devotion and Belief? who or what is ''Skambha''?"<ref>Ralph Griffith, [https://archive.org/stream/hymnsoftheatharv029485mbp#page/n35/mode/2up ''Atharva Veda,'' Hymn VII] Vol 2, 2nd Edition, EJ Lazarus, pages 26-34</ref> | ||
{{ | {{Blockquote|'''The wonderful structure of Man''' | ||
<poem> | <poem> | ||
(...) How many gods and which were they, | (...) How many gods and which were they, | ||
| Line 155: | Line 154: | ||
whence death? whence the immortal? | whence death? whence the immortal? | ||
</poem> | </poem> | ||
|Atharvaveda 10.2.4 - 10.2.14| Paippalāda Edition (Abridged) | |Atharvaveda 10.2.4 - 10.2.14| Paippalāda Edition (Abridged)<ref>WD Whitney, [https://archive.org/stream/atharvavedasamhi02whituoft#page/566/mode/2up ''Atharva Veda,'' Book X.2] Vol 2 Books VIII to XIX, Harvard University Press, pages 568-569</ref>}} | ||
The Atharvaveda, like other Vedic texts, states [[ | The Atharvaveda, like other Vedic texts, states [[William Norman Brown]],<ref name=willbrown18/> goes beyond the duality of heaven and hell, and speculates on the idea of ''Skambha'' or ''Brahman'' as the all pervasive monism.<ref name=willbrown18/> Good and evil, ''Sat'' and ''Asat'' (truth and untruth) are conceptualized differently in these hymns of Atharvaveda, and the Vedic thought, wherein these are not dualistic explanation of nature of creation, universe or man, rather the text transcends these and the duality therein. Order is established out of chaos, truth is established out of untruth, by a process and universal principles that transcend good and evil.<ref name=willbrown18/><ref>Barbara Holdrege (1995), ''Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture,'' State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791416402}}, pages 41-42</ref> | ||
====Prayer for peace==== | ====Prayer for peace==== | ||
Some hymns are prayer qua prayer, desiring harmony and peace. For example, | Some hymns are prayer qua prayer, desiring harmony and peace. For example, | ||
{{ | {{Blockquote| | ||
<poem> | <poem> | ||
Give us agreement with our own; with strangers give us unity | Give us agreement with our own; with strangers give us unity | ||
Do ye, O Asvins, in this place join us in sympathy and love. | Do ye, O Asvins, in this place join us in sympathy and love. | ||
May we agree in mind, agree in purpose; let us not fight against the heavenly spirit | May we agree in mind, agree in purpose; let us not fight against the heavenly spirit | ||
Around us rise no din of frequent slaughter, nor Indra's arrow fly, for day is present ! | Around us rise no din of frequent slaughter, nor Indra's arrow fly, for day is present! | ||
</poem> | </poem> | ||
|Atharvaveda 7.52 | |Atharvaveda 7.52<ref>Ralph Griffith, [https://archive.org/stream/hymnsatharvaved00unkngoog#page/n374/mode/2up Atharva Veda, Book 7] Vol 1, EJ Lazarus, page 351, Hymn LII</ref>}} | ||
===Brahmana=== | ===Brahmana=== | ||
The Atharvaveda includes Gopatha [[Brahmana]] text, that goes with Atharva [[Samhita]].<ref>Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0143099864}}, pages 80-82</ref> | The Atharvaveda includes Gopatha [[Brahmana]] text, that goes with Atharva [[Samhita]].<ref>Frits Staal (2009), ''Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights,'' Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0143099864}}, pages 80-82</ref> | ||
===Upanishads=== | ===Upanishads=== | ||
The Atharvaveda has three primary Upanishads embedded within it.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (1998), Upaniṣhads, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-282292-6}}, pages 1-17</ref> | The Atharvaveda has three primary Upanishads embedded within it.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (1998), ''Upaniṣhads,'' Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-282292-6}}, pages 1-17</ref> | ||
====Mundaka Upanishad==== | ====Mundaka Upanishad==== | ||
The [[Mundaka Upanishad]], embedded inside Atharvaveda, is a poetic-style Upanishad | The [[Mundaka Upanishad]], embedded inside the Atharvaveda, is a poetic-style Upanishad with 64 verses, written in the form of [[mantra]]s. However, these mantras are not used in rituals; rather they are used for teaching and meditation on spiritual knowledge.<ref name=maxmullerintro>Max Muller (1962), ''The Upanishads - Part II,'' Dover Publications, {{ISBN|978-0486209937}}, pages xxvi-xxvii</ref> In ancient and medieval era Indian literature and commentaries, the Mundaka Upanishad is referred to as one of the Mantra Upanishads.<ref>Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/n45/mode/2up ''Introduction to the Upanishads''], Volume XV, Oxford University Press, page xliii</ref> | ||
The ''Mundaka Upanishad'' contains three ''Mundakams'' (parts), each with two sections.<ref name=eroerfull>Eduard Roer, [https://www.shemtaia.com/SKT/PDF/Upanishads/roermundakaeng.pdf Mundaka Upanishad]{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, pages 142-164</ref><ref name=maxmullerfull>Max Muller (1962), Manduka Upanishad, in The Upanishads - Part II, Dover Publications, {{ISBN|978-0486209937}}, pages 27-42</ref> The first Mundakam, states Roer,<ref name=eroerfull/> defines the | The ''Mundaka Upanishad'' contains three ''Mundakams'' (parts), each with two sections.<ref name=eroerfull>Eduard Roer, [https://www.shemtaia.com/SKT/PDF/Upanishads/roermundakaeng.pdf ''Mundaka Upanishad'']{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, pages 142-164</ref><ref name=maxmullerfull>Max Muller (1962), "Manduka Upanishad," in ''The Upanishads - Part II,'' Dover Publications, {{ISBN|978-0486209937}}, pages 27-42</ref> The first Mundakam, states Roer,<ref name=eroerfull/> defines the sciences of "Higher Knowledge" and "Lower Knowledge", and then asserts that the acts of oblations and pious gifts are foolish and do nothing to reduce unhappiness in the current life or the next - rather, it is knowledge that frees people. The second Mundakam describes the nature of the [[Brahman]], the [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (Self, Soul), and the path to know Brahman. The third Mundakam continues the discussion and then asserts that the state of knowing Brahman is one of freedom, fearlessness, liberation and bliss.<ref name=eroerfull/><ref name=maxmullerfull/> The ''Mundaka Upanishad'' is one of text that discuss the [[pantheism]] theory in Hindu scriptures.<ref name=geisler>Norman Geisler and William D. Watkins (2003), ''Worlds Apart: A Handbook on World Views,'' Second Edition, Wipf, {{ISBN|978-1592441266}}, pages 75-81</ref><ref>Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n391/mode/2up Mundaka Upanishad], Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, page 371-372</ref> The text, like other Upanishads, also discusses ethics.<ref name=roberthume374>Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n395/mode/2up Mundaka Upanishad], ''Thirteen Principal Upanishads,'' Oxford University Press, pages 374-376</ref> | ||
{{ | {{blockquote| | ||
Through continuous pursuit of [[Satya]] (truthfulness), [[Tapas (Sanskrit)|Tapas]] (perseverance, austerity), ''Samyajñāna'' (correct knowledge), and [[Brahmacharya]], one attains [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (Self, Soul).|Mundaka Upanishad|3.1.5<ref name=roberthume374/><ref>MP Pandit (1969), Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.5, Gleanings from the Upanishads, {{oclc|81579}}, University of Virginia Archives, pages 11-12</ref>}} | Through continuous pursuit of [[Satya]] (truthfulness), [[Tapas (Sanskrit)|Tapas]] (perseverance, austerity), ''Samyajñāna'' (correct knowledge), and [[Brahmacharya]], one attains [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (Self, Soul).|Mundaka Upanishad|3.1.5<ref name=roberthume374/><ref>MP Pandit (1969), Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.5, Gleanings from the Upanishads, {{oclc|81579}}, University of Virginia Archives, pages 11-12</ref>}} | ||
====Mandukya Upanishad==== | ====Mandukya Upanishad==== | ||
The [[Mandukya Upanishad]] is the shortest of all the [[Upanishads]], found in the Atharvaveda text.<ref name=pauldeussenfull/> The text discusses the syllable [[Om]], presents the theory of four states of consciousness, asserts the existence and nature of [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (Soul, Self).<ref name=pauldeussenfull>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814691}}, pages 605-637</ref><ref name=humefull>{{citation|first=Robert Ernest |last=Hume |title=The Thirteen Principal Upanishads| url=https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n411/mode/2up | publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1921 |pages=391–393}}</ref> | The [[Mandukya Upanishad]] is the shortest of all the [[Upanishads]], found in the Atharvaveda text.<ref name=pauldeussenfull/> The text discusses the syllable [[Om]], presents the theory of four states of consciousness, and asserts the existence and nature of the [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (Soul, Self).<ref name=pauldeussenfull>Paul Deussen, ''Sixty Upanishads of the Veda,'' Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814691}}, pages 605-637</ref><ref name=humefull>{{citation|first=Robert Ernest |last=Hume |title=The Thirteen Principal Upanishads| url=https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n411/mode/2up | publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1921 |pages=391–393}}</ref> | ||
The Mandukya Upanishad is notable for inspiring [[Gaudapada]]'s ''Karika'', a classic | The Mandukya Upanishad is notable for inspiring [[Gaudapada]]'s ''Karika'', a classic of the [[Vedanta]] school of Hinduism.<ref name=muktika>Paul Deussen, ''Sixty Upanishads of the Veda,'' Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814691}}, pages 556-557</ref> The Mandukya Upanishad is among the oft-cited texts on chronology and the philosophical relationship between Hinduism and Buddhism.<ref>Michael Comans (2000), ''The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: A Study of Gauḍapāda, Śaṅkara, Sureśvara, and Padmapāda,'' Motilal Banarsidass, pages 97-98</ref> | ||
====Prashna Upanishad==== | ====Prashna Upanishad==== | ||
The [[Prashna Upanishad]] is from the ''Paippalada'' school of Atharvavedins.<ref>Max Muller, The Upanishads, Part 2, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/n45/mode/2up Prasna Upanishad], Oxford University Press, pages xlii-xliii</ref> | The [[Prashna Upanishad]] is from the ''Paippalada'' school of Atharvavedins.<ref>Max Muller, ''The Upanishads, Part 2,'' [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/n45/mode/2up Prasna Upanishad], Oxford University Press, pages xlii-xliii</ref> | ||
The text contains six ''Prashna'' (questions), and each | The text contains six ''Prashna'' (questions), and each forms a chapter with a discussion of its answers.<ref name=roberthumefull>Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n399/mode/2up "Prasna Upanishad"], ''Thirteen Principal Upanishads,'' Oxford University Press, pages 378-390</ref><ref name=eroerfull2>Eduard Roer, [https://www.shemtaia.com/SKT/PDF/Upanishads/roerprasnaeng.pdf ''Prashna Upanishad'']{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, pages 119-141</ref> The first three questions are profound metaphysical questions but, states Eduard Roer,<ref name=eroerfull2/> they do not contain any defined philosophical answers; they are mostly embellished mythology and symbolism. The fourth section, in contrast, contains some substantial philosophy. The last two sections discuss the symbol [[Om]] and the concept of [[Moksha]].<ref name=eroerfull2/> | ||
The Prashna Upanishad is notable for its structure and sociological insights into the education process in ancient India.<ref name=charlesjohnstonfull>Charles Johnston, The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom, (1920-1931), The Mukhya Upanishads, Kshetra Books, {{ISBN|978-1495946530}} (Reprinted in 2014), [http://www.universaltheosophy.com/pdf-library/Prasna%20Upanishad_Johnston.pdf Archive of Prashna Upanishad, pages 46-51, 115-118]</ref> | The Prashna Upanishad is notable for its structure and its sociological insights into the education process in ancient India.<ref name=charlesjohnstonfull>Charles Johnston, ''The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom,'' (1920-1931), The Mukhya Upanishads, Kshetra Books, {{ISBN|978-1495946530}} (Reprinted in 2014), [http://www.universaltheosophy.com/pdf-library/Prasna%20Upanishad_Johnston.pdf Archive of ''Prashna Upanishad,'' pages 46-51, 115-118]</ref> | ||
==Manuscripts and translations== | ==Manuscripts and translations== | ||
The Shaunakiya text was published by Rudolf Roth and [[William Dwight Whitney]] in 1856, by Shankar Pandurang Pandit in the 1890s, and by Vishva Bandhu in 1960–1962. The first complete English translation was made by Ralph T.H. Griffith in 1895-96,<ref>Griffith, R.T.H. (1895-1896) [https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/av/index.htm The Hymns of the Atharva Veda]. Benares: E.J. Lazarus & Co.</ref> followed shortly by Maurice Bloomfield's translation of about one third of the hymns in 1897.<ref>Bloomfield, M. (1897) [https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe42/index.htm Hymns of the Atharva Veda]. Sacred Books of the East 42. Oxford: Clarendon Press</ref> These were followed by a | The Shaunakiya text was published by Rudolf Roth and [[William Dwight Whitney]] in 1856, by Shankar Pandurang Pandit in the 1890s, and by Vishva Bandhu in 1960–1962. The first complete English translation was made by Ralph T.H. Griffith in 1895-96,<ref>Griffith, R.T.H. (1895-1896) [https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/av/index.htm The Hymns of the Atharva Veda]. Benares: E.J. Lazarus & Co.</ref> followed shortly by Maurice Bloomfield's translation of about one third of the hymns in 1897.<ref>Bloomfield, M. (1897) [https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe42/index.htm Hymns of the Atharva Veda]. Sacred Books of the East 42. Oxford: Clarendon Press</ref> These were followed by a nearly complete translation (missing Book 20) with textual commentary by William Dwight Whitney, published in 1905, which is still cited in contemporary scholarship.<ref>Whitney, W.D. and Lanman, C.R. (ed.) (1905) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.24385/page/n7/mode/2up Atharva-Veda Saṃhitā]. Harvard Oriental Series 7-8. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University</ref><ref>Olivelle, P. (1996) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WJGL2tUm6P4C&dq=upanisads%20olivelle&pg=PR12 Upaniṣads]''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p xii</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Jamison|first1=Stephanie W.|last2=Witzel|first2=Michael|date=1992|title=Vedic Hinduism|url=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/vedica.pdf|url-status=live|page=7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031005091549/http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu:80/~witzel/vedica.pdf |archive-date=5 October 2003 }}</ref> | ||
A corrupted and badly damaged version of the {{IAST|Paippalāda}} text was edited by Leroy Carr Barret from 1905 to 1940 from a single [[Kashmir]]ian {{IAST|[[Śāradā script|Śāradā]]}} manuscript (now in [[Tübingen]]). [[Durga Mohan Bhattacharyya|Durgamohan Bhattacharyya]] discovered palm leaf manuscripts of the Paippalada recension in [[Odisha]] in 1957.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> His son Dipak Bhattacharya has published the manuscripts. Thomas Zehnder translated Book 2 of the Paippalada recension into German in 1999, and Arlo Griffiths, Alexander Lubotsky and Carlos Lopez have separately published English translations of its Books 5 through 15.<ref>Carlos Lopez (2010), Atharvaveda-Paippalāda Kāṇḍas Thirteen and Fourteen, Harvard University Press, {{ISBN|978-1888789072}}</ref> | A corrupted and badly damaged version of the {{IAST|Paippalāda}} text was edited by Leroy Carr Barret from 1905 to 1940 from a single [[Kashmir]]ian {{IAST|[[Śāradā script|Śāradā]]}} manuscript (now in [[Tübingen]]). [[Durga Mohan Bhattacharyya|Durgamohan Bhattacharyya]] discovered palm leaf manuscripts of the Paippalada recension in [[Odisha]] in 1957.<ref name=fritsstaal136/> His son Dipak Bhattacharya has published the manuscripts. Thomas Zehnder translated Book 2 of the Paippalada recension into German in 1999, and Arlo Griffiths, Alexander Lubotsky and Carlos Lopez have separately published English translations of its Books 5 through 15.<ref>Carlos Lopez (2010), Atharvaveda-Paippalāda Kāṇḍas Thirteen and Fourteen, Harvard University Press, {{ISBN|978-1888789072}}</ref> | ||
The Gopatha Brahmana was translated by Hukam Chand Patyal as a dissertation at Pune University.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Patyal|first=Hukam Chand|date=1969|title=''Gopatha Brāhmaṇa''. English Translation with Notes and Introduction|type=Diss.|chapter=|publisher=University of Poona|docket=|oclc=|url=|access-date=}}</ref> | |||
==Influence== | ==Influence== | ||
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===Medicine and health care=== | ===Medicine and health care=== | ||
Kenneth Zysk states that the "magico-religious medicine had given way to a medical system based on empirical and rational ideas" in ancient India by around the start of Christian era, still the texts and people of India continued to revere the ancient Vedic texts.<ref name=zysk125/> Rishi Sushruta, remembered for his contributions to surgical studies, credits Atharvaveda as a foundation.<ref>Stephen Knapp (2006), The Power of the Dharma, {{ISBN|978-0595393527}}, page 63</ref> Similarly, the verse 30.21 of the Caraka Samhita, states it reverence for the Atharvaveda as follows, | Kenneth Zysk states that the "magico-religious medicine had given way to a medical system based on empirical and rational ideas" in ancient India by around the start of Christian era, still the texts and people of India continued to revere the ancient Vedic texts.<ref name=zysk125/> Rishi Sushruta, remembered for his contributions to surgical studies, credits Atharvaveda as a foundation.<ref>Stephen Knapp (2006), ''The Power of the Dharma,'' {{ISBN|978-0595393527}}, page 63</ref> Similarly, the verse 30.21 of the Caraka Samhita, states it reverence for the Atharvaveda as follows, | ||
{{ | {{Blockquote| | ||
Therefore, the physician who has inquired [in verse 30.20] about [which Veda], devotion to the Atharvaveda is ordered from among the four: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. | Therefore, the physician who has inquired [in verse 30.20] about [which Veda], devotion to the Atharvaveda is ordered from among the four: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. | ||
|Sutrasthara 30.21|Atharvaveda<ref name=zysk125>Kenneth Zysk(2012), Understanding Mantra (Editor: Harvey Alper), Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120807464}}, pages 125-126, 133</ref>}} | |Sutrasthara 30.21|Atharvaveda<ref name=zysk125>Kenneth Zysk (2012), ''Understanding Mantra'' (Editor: Harvey Alper), Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120807464}}, pages 125-126, 133</ref>}} | ||
The roots of [[Ayurveda]] – a traditional medical and health care practice in India—states Dominik Wujastyk, are in the texts called [[Caraka Samhita]] and [[Sushruta Samhita]], both of which say that doctors, when asked, should assert their allegiance and inspiration to be the [[Vedas]], especially Atharvaveda.<ref name=wujastykxxviii>Dominik Wujastyk (2003), The | The roots of [[Ayurveda]] – a traditional medical and health care practice in India—states Dominik Wujastyk, are in the texts called [[Caraka Samhita]] and [[Sushruta Samhita]], both of which say that doctors, when asked, should assert their allegiance and inspiration to be the [[Vedas]], especially Atharvaveda.<ref name=wujastykxxviii>Dominik Wujastyk (2003), ''The Roots of Ayurveda,'' Penguin Classics, {{ISBN|978-0140448245}}, pages xxviii - xxx</ref> Khare and Katiyar state that the Indian tradition directly links Ayurveda to Atharvaveda.<ref>CP Khare and CK Katiyar (2012), ''The Modern Ayurveda,'' CRC Press, {{ISBN|978-1439896327}}, page 8</ref> | ||
Wujastyk clarifies that the Vedic texts are a religious discourse and while herbal health care traditions are found in Atharvaveda, the systematic, scholarly medical literature of ancient India is first found in the Caraka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita.<ref name=wujastykxxviii/><ref>Rachel Berger (2013), Ayurveda Made Modern, Palgrave Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-0230284555}}, pages 24-25, 195 note 2</ref> Kenneth Zysk adds ''Bhela Samhita'' to this list.<ref name=zysk125/> | Wujastyk clarifies that the Vedic texts are a religious discourse and while herbal health care traditions are found in Atharvaveda, the systematic, scholarly medical literature of ancient India is first found in the Caraka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita.<ref name=wujastykxxviii/><ref>Rachel Berger (2013), ''Ayurveda Made Modern,'' Palgrave Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-0230284555}}, pages 24-25, 195 note 2</ref> Kenneth Zysk adds ''[[Bhela Samhita]]'' to this list.<ref name=zysk125/> | ||
===Literature=== | ===Literature=== | ||
The verse 11.7.24 of Atharvaveda contains the oldest known mention of the Indic literary genre the [[Purana]]s.<ref>Freda Matchett (2003), "The Puranas", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, {{ISBN|0-631215352}}, page 132</ref> | The verse 11.7.24 of Atharvaveda contains the oldest known mention of the Indic literary genre the [[Purana]]s.<ref>Freda Matchett (2003), "The Puranas", in ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, {{ISBN|0-631215352}}, page 132</ref> | ||
The 1st millennium AD [[ | The 1st millennium AD [[Buddhist]] literature included books of magico-religious mantras and spells for protection from evil influences of non-human beings such as demons and ghosts.<ref name=martinwiltshire245/><ref name=ritalanger20/> These were called ''Pirita'' (Pali: Paritta) and ''Rakkhamanta'' ("mantra for protection"), and they share premises and style of hymns found in Atharvaveda.<ref name=martinwiltshire245>Martin Wiltshire (1990), ''Ascetic Figures Before and in Early Buddhism: The Emergence of Gautama As the Buddha,'' Walter de Gruyter, {{ISBN|978-0899254678}}, pages 245-264</ref><ref name=ritalanger20>Rita Langer (2007), ''Buddhist Rituals of Death and Rebirth,'' Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415544702}}, pages 19-23</ref> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[Atharvashiras Upanishad]] | |||
* [[Ayurveda]] | * [[Ayurveda]] | ||
* [[Charaka Samhita]] | * [[Charaka Samhita]] | ||
* [[Sushruta Samhita]] | * [[Sushruta Samhita]] | ||
* [[Bhela Samhita]] | |||
* [[Upanishads]] | * [[Upanishads]] | ||
* [[Vedas]] | * [[Vedas]] | ||
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==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
{{refbegin}} | {{refbegin}} | ||
* {{citation | last =Flood | first =Gavin | year =1996 | title =An Introduction to Hinduism | publisher =Cambridge University Press | isbn =978-0-521-43878-0 | author-link =Gavin Flood | url =https:// | * {{citation | last =Flood | first =Gavin | year =1996 | title =An Introduction to Hinduism | publisher =Cambridge University Press | isbn =978-0-521-43878-0 | author-link =Gavin Flood | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=KpIWhKnYmF0C}} | ||
<!-- W --> | <!-- W --> | ||
* {{citation | last =Witzel | first =Michael | year =1997| chapter =The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu | editor-last =Witzel | editor-first =Michael | title =Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts: New Approaches to the Study of the Vedas | series =Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora; vol. 2| publisher =Harvard University Press | location =Cambridge | author-link =Michael Witzel| chapter-url =https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/canon.pdf}} | * {{citation | last =Witzel | first =Michael | year =1997| chapter =The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu | editor-last =Witzel | editor-first =Michael | title =Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts: New Approaches to the Study of the Vedas | series =Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora; vol. 2| publisher =Harvard University Press | location =Cambridge | author-link =Michael Witzel| chapter-url =https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/canon.pdf}} | ||
| Line 256: | Line 259: | ||
*William Whitney, [http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015024644596 Index verborum to the published text of the Atharvaveda Vedas], University of Michigan | *William Whitney, [http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015024644596 Index verborum to the published text of the Atharvaveda Vedas], University of Michigan | ||
*Madhav M Deshpande, [http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674009394 Recitational Permutations of the Saunakiya Atharvaveda], Harvard University Press, based on six Atharvaveda manuscripts found in Pune, India | *Madhav M Deshpande, [http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674009394 Recitational Permutations of the Saunakiya Atharvaveda], Harvard University Press, based on six Atharvaveda manuscripts found in Pune, India | ||
*[ | *[https://search.lib.umich.edu/databases/record/47699 The Kashmiri Paippalada Recension of the Atharvaveda], Images of 16th century birch-bark manuscript of Atharvaveda (University access rights required) | ||
*George Bolling and Julius Negelein, [http://jhir.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/33462 The Parisistas of the Atharvaveda], Johns Hopkins University (with downloadable PDF file) | *George Bolling and Julius Negelein, [http://jhir.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/33462 The Parisistas of the Atharvaveda], Johns Hopkins University (with downloadable PDF file) | ||
*Listen to the Audiobook version of Atharvaveda on [https://www.pocketfm.in/show/2a15936e7b2b6d1f97e65538abe6cd78cf7f5708 Pocket FM]. | *Listen to the Audiobook version of Atharvaveda on [https://www.pocketfm.in/show/2a15936e7b2b6d1f97e65538abe6cd78cf7f5708 Pocket FM] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207113812/https://www.pocketfm.in/show/2a15936e7b2b6d1f97e65538abe6cd78cf7f5708 |date=7 February 2020 }}. | ||
{{Hindudharma}} | {{Hindudharma}} | ||
{{Authority control}} | |||
[[Category:Vedas]] | [[Category:Vedas]] | ||
[[Category:Hindu texts]] | [[Category:Hindu texts]] | ||
Latest revision as of 10:11, 28 March 2026
| Atharvaveda | |
|---|---|
 Atharva-Veda Saṁhitā Manuscript | |
| Information | |
| Religion | Historical Vedic religion Hinduism |
| Language | Vedic Sanskrit |
| Period | Vedic period (c. 1200–900 BCE)[1] |
| Chapters | 20 kāṇḍas |
| Verses | 5,977 mantras[2] |
| Part of a series on |
| Hindu scriptures and texts |
|---|
 |
| Related Hindu texts |
The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist., IAST: Atharvaveda, from अथर्वन्, "priest" and वेद, "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of atharvans, the procedures for everyday life".[3] The text is the fourth Veda, and is a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism.[4][5][6]
The language of the Atharvaveda is different from Rigvedic Sanskrit, preserving pre-Vedic Indo-European archaisms.[7][6] It is a collection of 730 hymns with about 6,000 mantras, divided into 20 books.[6] About a sixth of the Atharvaveda texts adapt verses from the Rigveda, and except for Books 15 and 16, the text is mainly in verse deploying a diversity of Vedic meters.[6] Two different recensions of the text – the Paippalāda and the Śaunakīya – have survived into modern times.[8] Reliable manuscripts of the Paippalada edition were believed to have been lost, but a well-preserved version was discovered among a collection of palm leaf manuscripts in Odisha in 1957.[8]
The Atharvaveda is sometimes called the "Veda of magical formulas",[3] a description considered incorrect by other scholars.[9] In contrast to the 'hieratic religion' of the other three Vedas, the Atharvaveda is said to represent a 'popular religion', incorporating not only formulas for magic, but also the daily rituals for initiation into learning (upanayana), marriage and funerals. Royal rituals and the duties of the court priests are also included in the Atharvaveda.[10]
The Atharvaveda was likely compiled as a Veda contemporaneously with Samaveda and Yajurveda, or about 1200 BCE – 1000 BCE.[11][12] Along with the Samhita layer of text, the Atharvaveda includes a Brahmana text, and a final layer of the text that covers philosophical speculations. The latter layer of Atharvaveda text includes three primary Upanishads, influential to various schools of Hindu philosophy. These include the Mundaka Upanishad, the Mandukya Upanishad and the Prashna Upanishad.[13][14]
Etymology and nomenclature[edit | edit source]
The Veda may be named, states Monier Williams, after the mythical priest named Atharvan who was first to develop prayers to fire, offer Soma, and who composed "formulas and spells intended to counteract diseases and calamities".[15] The name Atharvaveda, states Laurie Patton, is for the text being "Veda of the Atharvāṇas".[3]
The oldest name of the text, according to its own verse 10.7.20, was Atharvangirasah, a compound of "Atharvan" and "Angiras", both Vedic scholars.[16] Each scholar called the text after itself, such as Saunakiya Samhita, meaning the "compiled text of Saunakiya".[16] The "Atharvan" and "Angiras" names, states Maurice Bloomfield,[16] imply different things, with the former considered auspicious while the latter implying hostile sorcery practices. Over time, the positive auspicious side came to be celebrated and the name Atharva Veda became widespread.[16] The latter name Angiras which is linked to Agni and priests in the Vedas, states George Brown, may also be related to Indo-European Angirôs found in an Aramaic text from Nippur.[17]
Michael Witzel states the etymology of Atharvan is Proto Indo-Iranian *atharwan "[ancient] priest, sorcerer", and it is cognate to Avestan āθrauuan "priest" and possibly related to Tocharian *athr, "superior force".[18]
The Atharvaveda is also occasionally referred to as Bhrgvangirasah and Brahmaveda, after Bhrigu and Brahma, respectively.[16]
Dating and historical context[edit | edit source]
The Atharvaveda is dated by Flood at ca. 900 BCE,[19] while Michael Witzel gives a dating at, or slightly after, c. 1200/1000 BCE.[20]
The ancient Indian tradition initially recognized only three Vedas.[8][21] The Rigveda, the verse 3.12.9.1 of Taittiriya Brahmana, the verse 5.32-33 of Aitareya Brahmana and other Vedic era texts mention only three Vedas.[5] The acceptance of the Atharvanas hymns and traditional folk practices was slow, and it was accepted as another Veda much later than the first three, by both orthodox and heterodox traditions of Indian philosophies. The early Buddhist Nikaya texts, for example, do not recognize Atharvaveda as the fourth Veda, and make references to only three Vedas.[22][23] Olson states that the ultimate acceptance of Atharvaveda as the fourth Veda probably came in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BCE.[21] However, notes Max Muller, the hymns of Atharvaveda existed by the time Chandogya Upanishad was completed (~700 BCE), but were then referred to as "hymns of Atharvangirasah".[24]
Frits Staal states that the text may be a compilation of poetry and knowledge that developed in two different regions of ancient India, the Kuru region in northern India and the Pancalas region of eastern India.[8] The former was home to Paippalāda, whose name was derived from the sacred fig tree named Pippala (Sanskrit: पिप्पल). This school's compositions were in the Rigvedic style.[8] The Pancalas region contributions came from composer-priests Angirasas and Bhargavas, whose style was unlike the metric Rigvedic composition, and their content included forms of medical sorcery. The Atharvaveda editions now known are a combination of their compositions.[8]
The core text of the Atharvaveda falls within the classical Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit, during the 2nd millennium BC - younger than the Rigveda, and roughly contemporary with the Yajurveda mantras, the Rigvedic Khilani, and the Sāmaveda.[25] There is no absolute dating of any Vedic text including the Atharvaveda.[26] The dating for Atharvaveda is derived from the new metals and items mentioned therein; it, for example, mentions iron (as krsna ayas, literally "black metal"), and such mentions have led Michael Witzel to the estimate that the Atharvaveda hymns were compiled in the early Indian Iron Age, at, or slightly after, c. 1200/1000 BCE.[26][20] corresponding to the early Kuru kingdom.[27]
The priests who practised the Atharvaveda were considered to be the lowest tier of Brahmins, in comparison to the priests who practised the Rigveda, Samaveda, or Yajurveda [considered by whom?].[citation needed] A stigma held by some against Atharvaveda priests is documented in Odisha well into the modern day.[25][28]
Text[edit | edit source]
The Atharvaveda is a collection of 20 books, with a total of 730 hymns of about 6,000 stanzas.[6] The text is, state Patrick Olivelle and other scholars, a historical collection of beliefs and rituals addressing practical issues of daily life of the Vedic society, and it is not a liturgical Yajurveda-style collection.[29][30]
Recensions[edit | edit source]
The Caraṇavyuha, a later era Sanskrit text, states that the Atharvaveda had nine shakhas, or schools: paippalāda, stauda, mauda, śaunakīya, jājala, jalada, brahmavada, devadarśa and cāraṇavaidyā.[31]
Of these, only the Shaunakiya recension, and the more recently discovered manuscripts of Paippalāda recension have survived.[8] The Paippalāda edition is more ancient.[32] The two recensions differ in how they are organized, as well as content.[32] For example, the Book 10 of Paippalada recension is more detailed and observed carefully not doing a single mistake, more developed and more conspicuous in describing monism, the concept of "oneness of Brahman, all life forms and the world".[33]
Organization[edit | edit source]
The Atharvaveda Samhita originally was organized into 18 books (Kāṇḍas), and the last two were added later.[34] These books are arranged neither by subject nor by authors (as is the case with the other Vedas), but by the length of the hymns.[30] Each book generally has hymns of about a similar number of verses, and the surviving manuscripts label the book with the shortest hymns as Book 1, and then in an increasing order (a few manuscripts do the opposite). Most of the hymns are poetic and set to different meters, but about a sixth of the book is prose.[30]
Most of the hymns of Atharvaveda are unique to it, except for the one sixth of its hymns that it borrows from the Rigveda, primarily from its 10th mandala.[30][34] The 19th book was a supplement of a similar nature, likely of new compositions and was added later.[30] The 143 hymns of the 20th book of Atharvaveda Samhita is almost entirely borrowed from the Rigveda.[35]
The hymns of Atharvaveda cover a motley of topics, across its twenty books. Roughly, the first seven books focus primarily on magical poems for all sorts of healing and sorcery, and Michael Witzel states these are reminiscent of Germanic and Hittite sorcery stanzas, and may likely be the oldest section.[36] Books 8 to 12 are speculations of a variety of topics, while Books 13 to 18 tend to be about life cycle rites of passage rituals.[36]
The Srautasutra texts Vaitāna Sūtra and the Kauśika Sūtra are attached to the Atharvaveda Shaunaka edition, as are a supplement of Atharvan Prayascitthas, two Pratishakhyas, and a collection of Parisisthas.[37][38] For the Paippalada edition of Atharvaveda, corresponding texts were Agastya and Paithinasi Sutras but these are lost or yet to be discovered.[39]
Contents[edit | edit source]
The Atharvaveda is sometimes called the "Veda of magical formulas",[3] an epithet declared to be incorrect by many scholars.[9] The Samhita layer of the text likely represents a developing 2nd millennium BCE tradition of magico-religious rites to address superstitious anxiety, spells to remove maladies believed to be caused by demons, and herbs- and nature-derived potions as medicine.[40] Many books of the Atharvaveda Samhita are dedicated to rituals without magic and to theosophy.[9] The text, states Kenneth Zysk, is one of oldest surviving record of the evolutionary practices in religious medicine and reveals the "earliest forms of folk healing of Indo-European antiquity".[41]
The Atharvaveda Samhita contains hymns many of which were charms, magic spells and incantations meant to be pronounced by the person who seeks some benefit, or more often by a sorcerer who would say it on his or her behalf.[34] The most frequent goal of these hymns, charms, and spells were long life of a loved one or recovery from some illness. In these cases, the affected would be given substances such as a plant (leaf, seed, root) and an amulet.[34] Some magic spells were for soldiers going to war with the goal of defeating the enemy, others for anxious lovers seeking to remove rivals or to attract the lover who is less than interested, some for success at a sporting event, in economic activity, for bounty of cattle and crops, or removal of petty pest bothering a household.[34][42][43] Some hymns were not about magic spells and charms, but prayer qua prayer and philosophical speculations.[44]
The contents of the Atharvaveda contrasts with the other Vedas. The 19th century Indologist Weber summarized the contrast as follows,
The spirit of the two collections [Rigveda, Atharvaveda] is indeed widely different. In the Rigveda there breathes a lively natural feeling, a warm love for nature; while in the Atharva there prevails, on the contrary, only an anxious dread of her evil spirits and their magical powers. In the Rigveda we find the people in a state of free activity and independence; in the Atharva we see it bound in the fetters of the hierarchy and superstition.
— Albrecht Weber[45]
Jan Gonda cautions that it would be incorrect to label Atharvaveda Samhita as mere compilation of magical formulas, witchcraft and sorcery.[9] While such verses are indeed present in the Samhita layer, a significant portion of the Samhita text are hymns for domestic rituals without magic or spells, and some are theosophical speculations such as "all Vedic gods are One".[9][46] Additionally, the non-Samhita layers of Atharvaveda text include a Brahmana and several influential Upanishads.[47]
Samhita[edit | edit source]
Surgical and medical treatment[edit | edit source]
The Atharvaveda includes mantras and verses for treating a variety of ailments. For example, the verses in hymn 4.15 of the recently discovered Paippalada version of the Atharvaveda, discuss how to deal with an open fracture, and how to wrap the wound with Rohini plant (Ficus infectoria, native to India):[48]
Let marrow be put together with marrow, and joint together with joint,
together what of the flesh fallen apart, together sinew and together your bone.
Let marrow come together with marrow, let bone grow over together with bone.
We put together your sinew with sinew, let skin grow with skin.— Atharvaveda 4.15, Paippalada Edition[48]
Charms against fever, jaundice and diseases[edit | edit source]
Numerous hymns of the Atharvaveda are prayers and incantations wishing a child or loved one to get over some sickness and become healthy again, along with comforting the family members. The Vedic era assumption was that diseases are caused by evil spirits, external beings or demonic forces who enter the body of a victim to cause sickness.[49] Hymn 5.21 of the Paippalāda edition of the text, for example, states,
Heaven our father, and Earth our mother, Agni the men-watcher,
let them send the ten days’ fever far away from us.
O fever, these snowy mountains with Soma on their back have made the wind, the messenger, the healer for us,
Disappear from here to the Maratas.
Neither the women desire you, nor the men whosoever,
Neither a small one, nor a grown-up weeps here from desire of fever.
Do not harm our grown-up men, do not harm our grown-up women,
Do not harm our boys, do not harm our girls.
You who simultaneously discharge the balasa, cough, udraja, terrible are your missiles,
O fever, avoid us with them.— Atharvaveda 5.21, Paippalada Edition, Translated by Alexander Lubotsky[50]
Remedy from medicinal herbs[edit | edit source]
Several hymns in the Atharvaveda such as hymn 8.7, just like the Rigveda's hymn 10.97, is a praise of medicinal herbs and plants, suggesting that speculations about the medical and health value of plants and herbs was an emerging field of knowledge in ancient India.[51] The Atharvavedic hymn states (abridged),
The tawny colored, and the pale, the variegated and the red,
the dusky tinted, and the black – all Plants we summon hitherward.
I speak to Healing Herbs spreading, and bushy, to creepers, and to those whose sheath is single,
I call for thee the fibrous, and the reed like, and branching plants, dear to Vishwa Devas, powerful, giving life to men.
The conquering strength, the power and might, which ye, victorious plants possess,
Therewith deliver this man here from this consumption, O ye Plants: so I prepare the remedy.— Atharvaveda 8.7, Shaunakiya Edition[52]
Spells and prayers to gain a lover, spouse[edit | edit source]
The contents of the Atharvaveda have been studied to glean information about the social and cultural mores in the Vedic era of India.[53] A number of verses relate to spells for gaining a husband, or a wife, or the love of a woman,[54] or to prevent any rivals from winning over one's "love interest".[55]
May O Agni!, a suitor after our own heart come to us, may he come to this maiden with fortune!
May she be agreeable to suitors, charming at festivals, promptly obtain happiness through a husband!
As this comfortable cave, O Indra!, furnishing a safe abode hath become pleasing to all life,
thus may this woman be a favourite of fortune, beloved, not at odds with her husband!
Do thou ascend the full, inexhaustible ship of fortune;
upon this bring, hither the suitor who shall be agreeable to thee!
Bring hither by thy shouts, O lord of wealth, the suitor, bend his mind towards her;
turn thou the attention of every agreeable suitor towards her!— Atharvaveda 2.36[56]
Speculations on the nature of man, life, good and evil[edit | edit source]
The Atharvaveda Samhita, as with the other Vedas, includes some hymns such as 4.1, 5.6, 10.7, 13.4, 17.1, 19.53-54, with metaphysical questions on the nature of existence, man, heaven and hell, good and evil.[57] Hymn 10.7 of Atharvaveda, for example, asks questions such as "what is the source of cosmic order? what and where is planted this notion of faith, holy duty, truth? how is earth and sky held? is there space beyond the sky? what are seasons and where do they go? does Skambha (literally "cosmic pillar",[58] synonym for Brahman[57]) penetrate everything or just somethings? does Skambha know the future? is Skambha the basis of Law, Devotion and Belief? who or what is Skambha?"[59]
The wonderful structure of Man
(...) How many gods and which were they,
who gathered the breast, the neck bones of man?
how many disposed the two teats? who the two collar bones?
how many gathered the shoulder bones? how many the ribs?
Who brought together his two arms, saying, "he must perform heroism?"
(...) Which was the god who produced his brain, his forehead, his hindhead?
(...) Whence now in man come mishap, ruin, perdition, misery?
accomplishment, success, non-failure? whence thought?
What one god set sacrifice in man here?
who set in him truth? who untruth?
whence death? whence the immortal?— Atharvaveda 10.2.4 - 10.2.14, Paippalāda Edition (Abridged)[60]
The Atharvaveda, like other Vedic texts, states William Norman Brown,[57] goes beyond the duality of heaven and hell, and speculates on the idea of Skambha or Brahman as the all pervasive monism.[57] Good and evil, Sat and Asat (truth and untruth) are conceptualized differently in these hymns of Atharvaveda, and the Vedic thought, wherein these are not dualistic explanation of nature of creation, universe or man, rather the text transcends these and the duality therein. Order is established out of chaos, truth is established out of untruth, by a process and universal principles that transcend good and evil.[57][61]
Prayer for peace[edit | edit source]
Some hymns are prayer qua prayer, desiring harmony and peace. For example,
Give us agreement with our own; with strangers give us unity
Do ye, O Asvins, in this place join us in sympathy and love.
May we agree in mind, agree in purpose; let us not fight against the heavenly spirit
Around us rise no din of frequent slaughter, nor Indra's arrow fly, for day is present!— Atharvaveda 7.52[62]
Brahmana[edit | edit source]
The Atharvaveda includes Gopatha Brahmana text, that goes with Atharva Samhita.[63]
Upanishads[edit | edit source]
The Atharvaveda has three primary Upanishads embedded within it.[64]
Mundaka Upanishad[edit | edit source]
The Mundaka Upanishad, embedded inside the Atharvaveda, is a poetic-style Upanishad with 64 verses, written in the form of mantras. However, these mantras are not used in rituals; rather they are used for teaching and meditation on spiritual knowledge.[65] In ancient and medieval era Indian literature and commentaries, the Mundaka Upanishad is referred to as one of the Mantra Upanishads.[66]
The Mundaka Upanishad contains three Mundakams (parts), each with two sections.[67][68] The first Mundakam, states Roer,[67] defines the sciences of "Higher Knowledge" and "Lower Knowledge", and then asserts that the acts of oblations and pious gifts are foolish and do nothing to reduce unhappiness in the current life or the next - rather, it is knowledge that frees people. The second Mundakam describes the nature of the Brahman, the Atman (Self, Soul), and the path to know Brahman. The third Mundakam continues the discussion and then asserts that the state of knowing Brahman is one of freedom, fearlessness, liberation and bliss.[67][68] The Mundaka Upanishad is one of text that discuss the pantheism theory in Hindu scriptures.[69][70] The text, like other Upanishads, also discusses ethics.[71]
Through continuous pursuit of Satya (truthfulness), Tapas (perseverance, austerity), Samyajñāna (correct knowledge), and Brahmacharya, one attains Atman (Self, Soul).
Mandukya Upanishad[edit | edit source]
The Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest of all the Upanishads, found in the Atharvaveda text.[73] The text discusses the syllable Om, presents the theory of four states of consciousness, and asserts the existence and nature of the Atman (Soul, Self).[73][74]
The Mandukya Upanishad is notable for inspiring Gaudapada's Karika, a classic of the Vedanta school of Hinduism.[75] The Mandukya Upanishad is among the oft-cited texts on chronology and the philosophical relationship between Hinduism and Buddhism.[76]
Prashna Upanishad[edit | edit source]
The Prashna Upanishad is from the Paippalada school of Atharvavedins.[77]
The text contains six Prashna (questions), and each forms a chapter with a discussion of its answers.[78][79] The first three questions are profound metaphysical questions but, states Eduard Roer,[79] they do not contain any defined philosophical answers; they are mostly embellished mythology and symbolism. The fourth section, in contrast, contains some substantial philosophy. The last two sections discuss the symbol Om and the concept of Moksha.[79]
The Prashna Upanishad is notable for its structure and its sociological insights into the education process in ancient India.[80]
Manuscripts and translations[edit | edit source]
The Shaunakiya text was published by Rudolf Roth and William Dwight Whitney in 1856, by Shankar Pandurang Pandit in the 1890s, and by Vishva Bandhu in 1960–1962. The first complete English translation was made by Ralph T.H. Griffith in 1895-96,[81] followed shortly by Maurice Bloomfield's translation of about one third of the hymns in 1897.[82] These were followed by a nearly complete translation (missing Book 20) with textual commentary by William Dwight Whitney, published in 1905, which is still cited in contemporary scholarship.[83][84][85]
A corrupted and badly damaged version of the Paippalāda text was edited by Leroy Carr Barret from 1905 to 1940 from a single Kashmirian Śāradā manuscript (now in Tübingen). Durgamohan Bhattacharyya discovered palm leaf manuscripts of the Paippalada recension in Odisha in 1957.[8] His son Dipak Bhattacharya has published the manuscripts. Thomas Zehnder translated Book 2 of the Paippalada recension into German in 1999, and Arlo Griffiths, Alexander Lubotsky and Carlos Lopez have separately published English translations of its Books 5 through 15.[86]
The Gopatha Brahmana was translated by Hukam Chand Patyal as a dissertation at Pune University.[87]
Influence[edit | edit source]
Medicine and health care[edit | edit source]
Kenneth Zysk states that the "magico-religious medicine had given way to a medical system based on empirical and rational ideas" in ancient India by around the start of Christian era, still the texts and people of India continued to revere the ancient Vedic texts.[88] Rishi Sushruta, remembered for his contributions to surgical studies, credits Atharvaveda as a foundation.[89] Similarly, the verse 30.21 of the Caraka Samhita, states it reverence for the Atharvaveda as follows,
Therefore, the physician who has inquired [in verse 30.20] about [which Veda], devotion to the Atharvaveda is ordered from among the four: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.
— Sutrasthara 30.21, Atharvaveda[88]
The roots of Ayurveda – a traditional medical and health care practice in India—states Dominik Wujastyk, are in the texts called Caraka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita, both of which say that doctors, when asked, should assert their allegiance and inspiration to be the Vedas, especially Atharvaveda.[90] Khare and Katiyar state that the Indian tradition directly links Ayurveda to Atharvaveda.[91]
Wujastyk clarifies that the Vedic texts are a religious discourse and while herbal health care traditions are found in Atharvaveda, the systematic, scholarly medical literature of ancient India is first found in the Caraka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita.[90][92] Kenneth Zysk adds Bhela Samhita to this list.[88]
Literature[edit | edit source]
The verse 11.7.24 of Atharvaveda contains the oldest known mention of the Indic literary genre the Puranas.[93]
The 1st millennium AD Buddhist literature included books of magico-religious mantras and spells for protection from evil influences of non-human beings such as demons and ghosts.[94][95] These were called Pirita (Pali: Paritta) and Rakkhamanta ("mantra for protection"), and they share premises and style of hymns found in Atharvaveda.[94][95]
See also[edit | edit source]
- Atharvashiras Upanishad
- Ayurveda
- Charaka Samhita
- Sushruta Samhita
- Bhela Samhita
- Upanishads
- Vedas
- Merseburg charms
- Zagovory
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Flood 1996, p. 37; Witzel 2001.
- ↑ "Construction of the Vedas". VedicGranth.Org. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Laurie Patton (2004), "Veda and Upanishad," in The Hindu World (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, ISBN 0-415215277, page 38
- ↑ Carl Olson (2007), The Many Colors of Hinduism, Rutgers University Press, ISBN 978-0813540689, pages 13–14
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Laurie Patton (1994), Authority, Anxiety, and Canon: Essays in Vedic Interpretation, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791419380, page 57
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Maurice Bloomfield, The Atharvaveda, Harvard University Press, pages 1-2
- ↑ Parpola 2015, p. 131.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143099864, pages 136-137
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas, Vol 1, Fasc. 1, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447016032, pages 277–280, Quote: "It would be incorrect to describe the Atharvaveda Samhita as a collection of magical formulas".
- ↑ Parpola, Asko (2015), "The Atharvaveda and the Vrātyas", The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization, Oxford University Press, Chapter 12, ISBN 978-0-19-022692-3
- ↑ Witzel 2001, pp. 5–6.
- ↑ M. S. Valiathan. The Legacy of Caraka. Orient Blackswan. p. 22.
- ↑ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814691, pages 605–609
- ↑ Max Muller, The Upanishads, Part 2, "Prasna Upanishad," Oxford University Press, pages xlii–xliii
- ↑ Monier Monier Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Entry for Atharvan, page 17
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Maurice Bloomfield, The Atharvaveda, Harvard University Press, pages 7–10
- ↑ Brown, George William (1 January 1921). "Note on Angarôs, in Montgomery's 'Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur'". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 41: 159–160. doi:10.2307/593717. JSTOR 593717.; For the text Brown refers to, see: Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur, By James Alan Montgomery, p. PA196, at Google Books, pages 196, 195–200
- ↑ Michael Witzel (2003), "Linguistic Evidence for Cultural Exchange in Prehistoric Western Central Asia" Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 129, page 38
- ↑ Flood 1996, p. 37.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Witzel 2001, p. 6.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Carl Olson (2007), The Many Colors of Hinduism, Rutgers University Press, ISBN 978-0813540689, page 13
- ↑ Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origin, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143099864, page 135
- ↑ Alex Wayman (1997), Untying the Knots in Buddhism, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120813212, pages 52-53
- ↑ Max Muller, "Chandogya Upanishad" 3.4.1 Oxford University Press, page 39
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Michael Witzel (1997). "The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu. Harvard University, Harvard Oriental Series" (PDF). Retrieved 30 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ 26.0 26.1 Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, ISBN 0-631215352, page 68
- ↑ Michael Witzel. "Early Sanskritization.Origins and Development of the Kuru State" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2012.
- ↑ Gonda, Jan (1975). A History of Indian Literature: I.1 Vedic literature (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas). Otto Harrassowitz. p. 268.
- ↑ Patrick Olivelle (2014), Early Upanishads, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195352429, page 8 footnote 11
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 William Whitney, "History of the Vedic texts", Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 4, pages 254-255
- ↑ BR Modak (1993), The Ancillary Literature of the Atharva-Veda, Rashtriya Veda Vidya Pratishthan, ISBN 9788121506076, pages 15 (footnote 8), 393-394
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas, Vol 1, Fasc. 1, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447016032, pages 273-274
- ↑ Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas, Vol 1, Fasc. 1, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447016032, pages 296-297
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 34.4 Max Muller, The Gopatha Brahmana (in A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature), p. 455, at Google Books, Oxford University Press, pages 454-456
- ↑ Ralph Griffith, The Hymns of the Atharva Veda, Volume 2, 2nd Edition, EJ Lazarus, pages 321-451
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, ISBN 0-631215352, page 76
- ↑ Jan Gonda (1977), "The Ritual Sutras," in A History of Indian Literature: Veda and Upanishads, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447018234, pages 543-545
- ↑ SS Bahulkar (2003), "Samskararatnamala: An Atharvanic Prayoga," in Pramodasindhu (Editors: Kalyan Kale et al., Professor Pramod Ganesh Lalye’s 75th Birthday Felicitation Volume), Mansanman Prakashan, pages-28–35
- ↑ Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, ISBN 0-631215352, pages 100-101
- ↑ Zysk, Kenneth (2012). Alper, Harvey (ed.). Understanding Mantras. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 123–129. ISBN 978-812080746-4.
- ↑ Zysk, Kenneth (1993). Religious Medicine: The history and evolution of Indian medicine. Routledge. pp. x–xii. ISBN 978-156000076-1.
- ↑ Muller, M., ed. (1987) [1897]. The Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 42 – Hymns of the Atharva Veda. Delhi, IN: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 94–108. ISBN 81-208-0101-6. Retrieved 19 June 2024. alt. Oxford University Press: Atharvaveda at Google Books
- ↑ Atharva Veda. Vol. 1. Translated by Griffith, Ralph. Benares, IN: E.J. Lazarus. 1895. pp. 344–352.
- ↑ "Hymn 13.4". The Hymns of the Atharva Veda. Vol. 2. Translated by Griffith, Ralph (2nd ed.). Benares, IN: E.J. Lazarus. 1917. pp. 154–158.
- ↑ The Hymns of the Atharva Veda. Vol. 1. Translated by Griffith, Ralph. Benares, IN: E.J. Lazarus. 1895. p. Template:Mvar.
- ↑ William Whitney, Atharvaveda Samhita 13.4, Harvard Oriental Series Vol. 8, Harvard University Press, pages 732-737
- ↑ Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas, Vol 1, Fasc. 1, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447016032, pages 277-297
- ↑ 48.0 48.1 Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143099864, pages 137-139
- ↑ Kenneth Zysk (2010), Medicine in the Veda: Religious Healing in the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814004, pages 7-9
- ↑ Alexander Lubotsky (2002), Atharvaveda Paippalada, Kanda Five, Harvard University, ISBN 1-888789050, pages 76-77
- ↑ Kenneth Zysk, Religious Medicine: The History and Evolution of Indian Medicine, Transaction, ISBN 978-1560000761, pages 238-247, 249-255
- ↑ Ralph Griffith, Atharva Veda, Hymn VII Vol 1, EJ Lazarus, pages 408-411
- ↑ Rajbali Pandey (1969), Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120803961, pages 162-163, Chapter 8
- ↑ Max Muller, The Sacred Books of the East, Volume 42, p. 100, at Google Books, Oxford University Press, pages 99-101
- ↑ Max Muller, The Sacred Books of the East, Volume 42, p. 107, at Google Books, Oxford University Press, pages 107-108
- ↑ Max Muller, The Sacred Books of the East, Volume 42, p. 94, at Google Books, Oxford University Press, pages 94-95
- ↑ 57.0 57.1 57.2 57.3 57.4 William Norman Brown (Editor: Rosane Rocher) (1978), India and Indology: Selected Articles, Motilal Banarsidass, OCLC 5025668, pages 18-19 note 7, 45
- ↑ Francesco Pellizzi (2007), Anthropology and Aesthetics, Peabody Museum Press, ISBN 978-0873657754, pages 20-25
- ↑ Ralph Griffith, Atharva Veda, Hymn VII Vol 2, 2nd Edition, EJ Lazarus, pages 26-34
- ↑ WD Whitney, Atharva Veda, Book X.2 Vol 2 Books VIII to XIX, Harvard University Press, pages 568-569
- ↑ Barbara Holdrege (1995), Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791416402, pages 41-42
- ↑ Ralph Griffith, Atharva Veda, Book 7 Vol 1, EJ Lazarus, page 351, Hymn LII
- ↑ Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143099864, pages 80-82
- ↑ Patrick Olivelle (1998), Upaniṣhads, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-282292-6, pages 1-17
- ↑ Max Muller (1962), The Upanishads - Part II, Dover Publications, ISBN 978-0486209937, pages xxvi-xxvii
- ↑ Max Muller, Introduction to the Upanishads, Volume XV, Oxford University Press, page xliii
- ↑ 67.0 67.1 67.2 Eduard Roer, Mundaka Upanishad[permanent dead link] Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, pages 142-164
- ↑ 68.0 68.1 Max Muller (1962), "Manduka Upanishad," in The Upanishads - Part II, Dover Publications, ISBN 978-0486209937, pages 27-42
- ↑ Norman Geisler and William D. Watkins (2003), Worlds Apart: A Handbook on World Views, Second Edition, Wipf, ISBN 978-1592441266, pages 75-81
- ↑ Robert Hume, Mundaka Upanishad, Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, page 371-372
- ↑ 71.0 71.1 Robert Hume, Mundaka Upanishad, Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 374-376
- ↑ MP Pandit (1969), Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.5, Gleanings from the Upanishads, OCLC 81579, University of Virginia Archives, pages 11-12
- ↑ 73.0 73.1 Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814691, pages 605-637
- ↑ Hume, Robert Ernest (1921), The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pp. 391–393
- ↑ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814691, pages 556-557
- ↑ Michael Comans (2000), The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: A Study of Gauḍapāda, Śaṅkara, Sureśvara, and Padmapāda, Motilal Banarsidass, pages 97-98
- ↑ Max Muller, The Upanishads, Part 2, Prasna Upanishad, Oxford University Press, pages xlii-xliii
- ↑ Robert Hume, "Prasna Upanishad", Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 378-390
- ↑ 79.0 79.1 79.2 Eduard Roer, Prashna Upanishad[permanent dead link] Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, pages 119-141
- ↑ Charles Johnston, The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom, (1920-1931), The Mukhya Upanishads, Kshetra Books, ISBN 978-1495946530 (Reprinted in 2014), Archive of Prashna Upanishad, pages 46-51, 115-118
- ↑ Griffith, R.T.H. (1895-1896) The Hymns of the Atharva Veda. Benares: E.J. Lazarus & Co.
- ↑ Bloomfield, M. (1897) Hymns of the Atharva Veda. Sacred Books of the East 42. Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ↑ Whitney, W.D. and Lanman, C.R. (ed.) (1905) Atharva-Veda Saṃhitā. Harvard Oriental Series 7-8. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
- ↑ Olivelle, P. (1996) Upaniṣads. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p xii
- ↑ Jamison, Stephanie W.; Witzel, Michael (1992). "Vedic Hinduism" (PDF). p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 October 2003.
- ↑ Carlos Lopez (2010), Atharvaveda-Paippalāda Kāṇḍas Thirteen and Fourteen, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-1888789072
- ↑ Patyal, Hukam Chand (1969). Gopatha Brāhmaṇa. English Translation with Notes and Introduction (Diss.). University of Poona.
- ↑ 88.0 88.1 88.2 88.3 Kenneth Zysk (2012), Understanding Mantra (Editor: Harvey Alper), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120807464, pages 125-126, 133
- ↑ Stephen Knapp (2006), The Power of the Dharma, ISBN 978-0595393527, page 63
- ↑ 90.0 90.1 Dominik Wujastyk (2003), The Roots of Ayurveda, Penguin Classics, ISBN 978-0140448245, pages xxviii - xxx
- ↑ CP Khare and CK Katiyar (2012), The Modern Ayurveda, CRC Press, ISBN 978-1439896327, page 8
- ↑ Rachel Berger (2013), Ayurveda Made Modern, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-0230284555, pages 24-25, 195 note 2
- ↑ Freda Matchett (2003), "The Puranas", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, ISBN 0-631215352, page 132
- ↑ 94.0 94.1 Martin Wiltshire (1990), Ascetic Figures Before and in Early Buddhism: The Emergence of Gautama As the Buddha, Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-0899254678, pages 245-264
- ↑ 95.0 95.1 Rita Langer (2007), Buddhist Rituals of Death and Rebirth, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415544702, pages 19-23
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Flood, Gavin (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-43878-0
- Witzel, Michael (1997), "The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu" (PDF), in Witzel, Michael (ed.), Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts: New Approaches to the Study of the Vedas, Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora; vol. 2, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
- Witzel, Michael (2001), "Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts" (PDF), Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies, 7 (3): 1–115
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Alexander Lubotsky, Atharvaveda-Paippalada, Kanda Five, Harvard College (2002).
- Thomas Zehnder, Atharvaveda-Paippalada, Buch 2, Idstein (1999).
- Dipak Bhattacharya, Paippalada-Samhita of the Atharvaveda, Volume 2, The Asiatic Society (2007).
External links[edit | edit source]
- Ralph Griffith, The Hymns of the Atharvaveda 1895-96, full text
- Maurice Bloomfield, Hymns of the Atharva-veda, Sacred Books of the East, v. 42 (1897), selection
- Śaunaka Recension, "Atharva Veda Saṁhitā" [Sanskrit]. Published at Titus Project. Accessed, 14 April 2014.
- William Whitney, Index verborum to the published text of the Atharvaveda Vedas, University of Michigan
- Madhav M Deshpande, Recitational Permutations of the Saunakiya Atharvaveda, Harvard University Press, based on six Atharvaveda manuscripts found in Pune, India
- The Kashmiri Paippalada Recension of the Atharvaveda, Images of 16th century birch-bark manuscript of Atharvaveda (University access rights required)
- George Bolling and Julius Negelein, The Parisistas of the Atharvaveda, Johns Hopkins University (with downloadable PDF file)
- Listen to the Audiobook version of Atharvaveda on Pocket FM Archived 7 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
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