TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION From the remotest times the recitation of Vedic hymns was a very important activity. The efficacy of any rite was considered to be dependent on the perfect pronunciation of the accompanying prayer or formula. 1 The Brahmans, who were the repositories of the knowledge of the religion and who had to transmit it to later generations, concentrated their attention and efforts on the conservation of the Vedic texts. Developing techniques of accurate recitation was initially a necessity. In later times, even when writing became a common practice, it was not forgotten, nor neglected. It is still practiced in modern times. It is the profession of a few Brahmans who retain its antic form and still refuse to use the help of writing and other tools offered by modem technology. It is a very elaborate art. It includes eleven modes of recitation of the same text. One purpose of this multiplication is the conservation of the text: if a mistake is committed in one recitation, without being repeated in another, comparison between the two recitations helps to detect and to correct it. 1 Cf. George Cardona in: Morphologie. Ein internationales Handbuch zur Flexion und Wortbildung, 1. Halbband, hrsg. von G. E. Booij, Christian Lehmann, Joachim Mugdan, 2000, S. 41ff. (5. Old Indian Grammar), hier S. 42f.: 3. Background – 3.1 Preservation of sacred texts and Sanskrit: “In ¯ order to perform their rites efficaciously, the Aryas had to recite hymns of sacred works faultlessly.” Cf. Thomas Oberlies, Der Rigveda und seine Religion, 2012. S. 38: ,,Von unbedeutenden, zumeist die Lautform des Textes betreffenden Kleinigkeiten abgesehen, wurde der Wortlaut der Lieder in ¨ ¨ ber Jahrtausende unver¨ rein m¨ undlicher Uberlieferung u andert bewahrt, ehe diese fast dreieinhalbtausend Jahre nach ihrer Entstehung erstmals schriftlich aufgezeichnet wurden. Diese Treue der ¨ Uberlieferung, wie sie bei kaum einem anderen Werk anzutreffen ist, das zun¨ achst m¨ undlich weitergegeben wurde, ist nicht zuletzt dem Umstand zu danken, daß seit fr¨ uhester Zeit der Glaube bestand, nur ein in allen Einzelheiten richtig rezitierter Text k¨ onne die von ihm erwartete Wirkung zeitigen.“ Cf. Michael Witzel, Rig-Veda. Das heilige Wissen, 2007, S. 475: ,,Die rigvedischen Texte, ¨ ber auf denen unsere Ausgaben beruhen, sind m¨ undlich, ohne Kenntnis von Schrift verfaßt und u mindestens drei Jahrtausende auch so, vom Vater zum Sohn und vom Lehrer zum Sch¨ uler, in einer fr¨ uh ¨ berliefert worden. Die Vorstellung, daß nur das pr¨ formalisierten Weise u azise rezitierte Dichterwort br´ ahman die ihm einwohnende Kraft hervorbringt, Himmel und Erde zu bewegen, hat eine sonst ¨ nirgendwo beobachtete, getreue Uberlieferung bewirkt, welche die der klassischen oder biblischen ¨ bertrifft.“ Texte bei weitem u Cf. Michael Witzel, Rig-Veda. Das heilige Wissen, 2007, S. 445: ,,Die in den Gedichten formulierte dichterische Rede muß wegen der ihr inh¨ arenten Kraft genau, ohne Abweichungen rezitiert werden. Schon bei der Verwechslung eines einzigen Akzents droht dem Rezitator die Gefahr, daß er ´ T 6,3,8). Der urspr¨ seinen Kopf verliert (Indra´ satru-Legende, TS II 4,12,1, SB ungliche Verfasser, immer ein vedischer R an, ein »Besitzer des br´ ahman« (des Gedichts, man .s . i, ist damit ein brahm´ achte auf den unterschiedlichen Akzent), und sein Name muß genannt und erhalten bleiben – und ist es in der Tat bis heute.“ Cf. Paul Thieme, Gedichte aus dem Rig-Veda, 1969, S. 4f.: ,,Die einzelnen Gedichte sind zum ¨ berwiegenden Teil – Ausnahmen finden sich vornehmlich in den j¨ u ungeren Schichten – zur Rezitation oder zum gesungenen Vortrag beim feierlichen Opfer bestimmt; dementsprechend enthalten sie Anrufungen von G¨ ottern, Einladungen zum Opfermahl oder Lobpreisungen, die zur Begleitung des Mahles vorgetragen werden. Denn das Opfer, das sich allm¨ ahlich, gewissermaßen unter unseren Augen, zu immer gr¨ oßerer Kompliziertheit entwickelt, zu einem intrikaten Komplex heiliger Handlungen, dessen Studium zu einer veritablen Wissenschaft ausgebaut wird und bei dem es dann ¨ berlieferten allein auf die Genauigkeit in der Ausf¨ uhrung der einzelnen Riten und im Vortrag der u Opfergedichte ankommt, stellt urspr¨ unglich nichts anderes dar als eine stilisierte Bewirtung der ,Himmlischen‘, die als Besuch auf die Erde zum Menschen kommen, von ihm als G¨ aste empfangen und behandelt werden und ihm dann zum Dank als Gegengeschenk eine himmlische Gabe spenden.“ am u . ab. . • The most complicated formula is the ghana-p¯ a.. it comes with its two forms. which may be pre. bc.11 . ¯ -p¯ • For example. ini. until the last and first pair are reached respectively: ab.. the jat a. the executant groups words by pairs and proceeds word after word: ab. It is called krama-p¯ a.. As each word appears twice. yz.100. tha “recitation in the form of meshes”.११ Gods engendered the goddess Speech. It presents the text in the form it takes when words are bound together according to the rules of phonetic euphonic combination (sam a-p¯ a. tha “continuous recitation”. tha “flag-recitation?” joins the first and last pair of the stanza. takes it again with the addition of a third word. yz. ´ akalya.. . May this amiable Speech. hit¯ • It is followed by a recitation where a pause is marked after each word. and so on. combined and free. reverses it. pa´ ¯ rjam s¯ a no mandres an¯ a dhenur v¯ ag asm¯ an upa sus tutaitu || 8. repeats it in reverse order.2 TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION • One mode of recitation is taken as basic. This recitation is the sum of the previous two. goes to the next pair. who is tentatively placed in the 5th century BC. duh¯ . In their turn these three modes of recitation have been taken as the basis for other modes in which the pairs are repeated with an inversion. and then goes on to the next pair. tha “dense recitation” which takes a pair. देव वाचमजनय देवाां िवपाः पशवो वदि । ु गानप ु स ुत सा नो मेषमूज हाना धेनवा ु ैत ु ॥ ८.. These names are known to P¯ an . bc. bc. bc cb bcd dcb bcd. This suppresses the euphonic combinations and restores the original form of the words. ab.11: Sam a . cb. . am¯ . . repeats them in their original order. inian. • In the next recitation. a cow giving her milk of force and vitality. This recitation is called sam . • The dhvaja-p¯ a.11 .a P¯ an a. Example drawn from R . ˙ v¯ ˙ vi´ dev¯ ım acamajanayanta dev¯ ast¯ am svar¯ up¯ ah savo vadanti | . reverses the sequence of the three words.100. tha. bc. ba. . hit¯ dev¯ ım acam ajanayanta dev¯ as t¯ am svar¯ up¯ ah savo vadanti | . dhi) of Sanskrit. successively at the end of a pair and at the beginning of the next one. come to us. tha “recitation step by step”. cd.. xy. up to the end of a stanza: ab.100. vi´ . the The fixation of the recitation word by word is ascribed to G¯ argya and S¯ recitation pair by pair to B¯ abhravya and G¯ alava. v¯ . gveda 8. We have also other reasons to think that this fixation was anterior to the famous grammarian. then the second and the one before last. It is called pada-p¯ a. and so on up to the end of the stanza: ab ba abc cba abc. takes a pair of words from the krama-p¯ then in the original order. even after some grammatical components inside the word. . well-praised. . tha “recitation word by word”. Creatures of all forms speak her. pa´ ˙ duh¯ s¯ a no mandres urjam an¯ a dhenurv¯ agasm¯ anupa sus tutaitu || 8..१००.. The phonetic combinations are carried out inside each pair. .. in: Karine Chemla (ed. die uns Labung und Nahrung spendet. | t¯ . which is the most ancient Indian text. . | pa´ . su-stut¯ a | sus tutaitu | sus tuteti su-stut¯ a | aitu | etv ity etu | . One can infer their efficiency from the fact that the R . History of Text (Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science. 138.a Ghana: These techniques have been applied to the sacred text of Veda only. Ancient Sanskrit Mathematics: An Oral Tradition and a Written Literature. has been preserved without variant readings. gveda. 238... . vi´ .TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION Die G¨ otter erzeugten die G¨ ottin Rede. 137 – 157. These techniques have ensured the conservation of the form of the text. pp. upa . ¯: Jat . . . diese reden die Tiere in allen Gestalten. Historx of Science. | vi´ svar¯ up¯ ah pa´ s avah | vi´ s var¯ u p¯ a iti vi´ s va-r¯ u p¯ a h | pa´ s avo vadanti | vadant¯ ı ti vadanti| . | dev¯ . . v¯ . here p. . Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat. | vadanti | ¯ ¯ | etu || s¯ a | nah | mandr¯ a | is am | u rjam | duh¯ a n¯ a dhenu| v¯ a k | asm¯ a n | upa | su-stut¯ a|a . Vol. Diese wohlt¨ onende Milchkuh.). 2005). Krama: dev¯ ım acam | v¯ acam ajanayanta | ajanayanta dev¯ ah as t¯ am | t¯ am svar¯ up¯ ah . die Rede soll wohlgepriesen zu uns kommen! Karl-Friedrich Geldner 3 Pada: dev¯ ım | v¯ acam ajanayanta | dev¯ ah am | vi´ sva-r¯ up¯ ah savah . as we have . the r . here p. or number prevails. g-Veda itself. pp. might have had in its original context. further.” . Key in this process were the Yajurvedins. Essays in Vedic Interpretation. She quotes with approval Paul Thieme’s comment that a “mantra has an effect . hit¯ specialists in ritual action. in interaction with the indigenous peoples. but more importantly by the concern to preserve the correct phonetic form of the individual mantras and by the formal requirements of the ritual in which these mantras. more sedentary environment of the Doab that made possible the flourishing of Brahminism. cs. p. what counts for mantras is not meaning.. not the meaning that the verse.d .. the yajuses. and then only in limited contexts. Such specialists were responsible for the elaboration of the Vedic tradition in its Indian context..). are actually incorporated into the sacrificial performance.. the category of s¯ David Carpenter. that a shift of emphasis from content to form. 24. and in the new. “It is the Yajurveda that remains the base of the cult and which undoubtedly determined the entire evolution of literary Vedism. Emphasis on form is a basic feature of ancient Indian civilization and accounts for much of its emphasis on explicit statements. Origins.” He concludes that the employment of the Rgveda in the great ritual does not conform to what one ordinarily expects of citations. The Mastery of Speech. Mantras. from the insight expressed in a verse to the correctness of the verse’s pronunciation. a degree of limitation and closure. canonical constraint is exercised not only by closure of the different Sam as as regards their material content (which. can be seen in the later parts of the R . tha was designed tion. and in other cases long recitations in which a superficial fit of meter. a. .4 TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION . and number have been satisfied. hit¯ seen. were to be employed.. specifically in the concept of mantra. Canonicity and Control in the Vedas. or the hymn to which it belongs. Rituals. once the elementary conditions relative . namely. New Delhi 2008.. “the content of the fragments [of devoted to the place of the R . The redactors of the Vedic Sam as appear then to have been less litterateurs than .. It is through this Veda that the notion of br¯ ahman utra. was fixed. attribution of deity. As Renou has noted. Anxiety. Insights.” 2 It was precisely this correct recitation that S¯ to guarantee. Patton (Ed. Discovering the Vedas. Ellison Banks Findly has argued. that is conditioned less through its content than its form. lat alone social contexts. chosen for reasons that are extrinsic to their content and their reference as hymns.. alas 1 and 10. g-Veda in the s the R g-Veda ] recited is relatively unimportant. The bulk of the selections concern in some cases verses used purely for show . As Louis Renou has observed. 205: “. Frits Staal. 2 Cf. This is apparent from the way in which the r . and s¯ amans. a form that must be safeguarded through scrupulously correct recita´ akalya’s padap¯ a. but form. for instance. g-Veda. Albany/NY 1994. name of deity. in: Laurie L. it is the formal fit of a specific verse at a given moment in the ritual that matters. its scientific creativity and many of its other strenghts. for the Veda as a whole remains somewhat fluid). Only a minority of the mantras are adapted to a particular act.. which appears most frequently in the latest portions of the collection. 19 – 34. to meter. Authority. in Man . cs of the R . In other words. in an article ´rauta rituals. and Canon. Joachim Mugdan. here p. There can be no doubt that the preservation of and proper ritual application of these texts played a major role in prompting the attention Indian scholars paid to language. Background – 3.). History of Text (Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science. a language also ¯ used in other elevated contexts. The execution of rites accompanied by the recitation of appropriate texts resulted in the acquisition of merit. the Aryas 3 had to recite hymns of sacred works faultlessly. Siks akaran . giving instruction in the pronunciation required to recite the (s . The same property was attributed to the correct use of Sanskrit: this too produced merit.a ´ . texts concerning phonetics ´iks ¯ ) were composed. The ¯ ˙ .TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION Sanskrit speakers were aware from earliest known times not only of their identity as ¯ rya but also of their language as a vehicle of a people who referred to themselves as a ¯ culture that set them apart from non-Aryas they encountered in the subcontinent. Ancient Sanskrit Mathematics: An Oral Tradition and a Written Literature. Halbband. a) are ancillaries associated with Vedic texts. At the same time. hier S. Accordingly. in: Karine Chemla (ed. hrsg. S. 41ff. ta) Aryas used this language in ritual contexts and this was the ritually pure (samskr language in which the sacred texts of their culture were composed. pp.” . In order to perform their rites efficaciously. from early on the ¯ Aryas spoke vernaculars in their everyday life. 5 3 Cf. Old Indian Grammar).a ¯ and grammar (vy¯ Vedic texts properly. Booij. 42f. (5. 137 – 157. George Cardona in: Morphologie. 1.1 Preservation of sacred texts and Sanskrit. Vol. 2005). 2000. Historx of Science. Christian Lehmann. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat. von G.: 3. 238. 138: “The efficacy of any rite was considered to be dependent on the perfect pronunciation of the accompanying prayer or formula. E. Ein internationales Handbuch zur Flexion und Wortbildung. ha. perhaps overlapping the end period of the Harappan civilization which existed during the period 2500-1900 BC. as he calls them. Padap¯ at . The poetry was meant to be recited at ritual performances. the euphonic rules of sandhi. at a semi-educated guess). or ‘internal’ words. tha involved listening . Sh¯ akalya. F. at least to a large extent.: “The Padap¯ a. the term ‘p¯ ada’ was orig. in which each word of the Padap¯ at .6 TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION The real precursor of grammar in the realm of the Veda is the Padap¯ at . 3 – 25. p.ha is clearly presupposed by P¯ an .ha: / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / . which must have been composed not long after these (the R kpadap¯ at . and next with the following pada. To facilitate preservation and recitation of the Rigveda. and the Origins of Science in India. a “ / ” denotes a juncture where sandhi does not apply and the reciter may pause to breathe. the three . inally applied to the individual words which constituted the Vedic Sam a. hit¯ modes of recitation may be defined as follows: Sam ap¯ at . hit¯ definition of the term ‘p¯ ada’ is ‘applicable to complete noun-forms and verb-forms and also to prefixes and indeclinables where a case-affix is placed and ended’ (p.” and scientist. Ritual. 4 created a segmented version known as Padap¯ atha (Jha. the analysis of the Padap¯ at . various recitation devices were developed. that it is first linked (through sandhi) with the preceeding pada. C. hit¯ . tha). but also.000 B.ha is used not only of words. 14 Linguistic analysis and modes of Rigvedic recitation The ten sections of the original ‘text’ of the Rigveda known as Rigveda Sam a were . Kramap¯ at . The units were marked by two types of pauses: danda (longer duration) and avagraha (shorter duration). tha involved continuous speech patterns with all the morphophone. the first great linguist in human history.. To preserve the oral composition accurately. According to Abhyankar and Shukla (1986).ha: / 1 2/ 2 3/ 3 4/ 4 5/ .d . composed probably for mnemotechnic reasons. tha was the work of a great scholar ´ akalya. the three-way accentual system (rising. 1989). within words between the nominal stem and inflexional or derivational suffixes.. One reason is that in Sanskrit. 233). Jha has shown in a series of articless that the notion of pada.. the Sam ap¯ a. apply not only between words that are in juxtaposition. tha essentially involved morphophonemic segmentation. 4 Cf. V. a pre-Paninian grammarian. hit¯ mic sandhi transformations. 77f. ini’s . P¯ an . hit¯ composed orally over a period of many centuries. However. The Padap¯ a.. F. ini. The Padap¯ at . but in such a manner.ha is often inconsistent and haphazard. hit¯ after this). hit¯ to the srotriya (recitation instructor) and reproducing the metrically arranged syllables. but also of nominal stems.ha is recited twice. ha denotes a mode of recitation.ha around 1. N. 2008. 1987). kpadap¯ .. Staal. hit¯ . here p. . 11 and p. known as ‘clever’ (vidagdha) S¯ . the word-forword analysis of the continuous (sam a) text of each of the Vedic Sam as (called . The original ‘text’ was learned through its recitation (p¯ a. pp. Kramap¯ at .. ‘word’. as it occurs in the R at .. Discovering the Vedas. Grammar. if the words of the Sam a are denoted by numerals. where a dan . in: Journal of Indian Philosophy 10 (1982). The Sam ap¯ a. In other words.ha: 1 2 3 4 5 . Staal. falling and continuous) was accompanied by a highly developed programme of hand gestures and offerings using a variety of utensils (Dharmadhikari. tha. the order of the P¯ • in the vikruti called ‘jat adas is /abbaab/ bccbbc/ cddccd . The P¯ adakara (Padap¯ a. the arrangement is /ab/bc/cd/de/. the other derived from /r/ of a noun form (Jha. . . 1970. 5 Cf. 90). More striking is the creation of Kramap¯ a. an avagraha represents the intervention by the length of time required to pronounce a consonant (ardhatnatra) between two phonological units’ (p. F. The two words taken together form a sub-unit called varga. dhvaja (flag). p. tha. perhaps it was created first for S¯ amaveda. danda (staff). ‘danda represents intervention by the length of time required to pronounce a short vowel (ekamatra) between the two finished words. 213 – 221. hit¯ vikrutis is alive in present-day India. tha does not provide semantic paraphrase of the Sam a text. In the Kramap¯ a. Linguistic and Cognitive Aspects of the Orality-Literacy Complex in Ancient India. The Padap¯ a. According to the distinguished Sanskrit scholar. No. hit¯ P¯ ada: to t/ savitu / varen ımahi / dhiva / ya / na/prachodayat // . 1987). As for the chronology of the creation of Padap¯ a. around 1000 BC. while ¯ ’ (braid). 574). p. Patel. and the pashas in several . in: Language & Communication. tha of a hemistich involves several vargas. . . 318f. Devasthali (1978. the first one consisting of the two initial words. rekha (row). c. and so on. Still more complicated were the vikrutis known as mala (garland). yam . Staal. shikha (topknot).10) 5 : Sam a: tatsaviturvaren ımahi / dhiyo yo na prachodayat // . 16. tha creator) did not pay attention to morphologically conditioned changes. The Kramap¯ a.62. G. ‘rather it gives . Vol. Sh¯ akalya’s understanding of Rigvedic phonology is indicated by his analysis of the two different sources of final /h/: one derived from /r/ of a verb form. whereas. bhargo devasya dh¯ . tha known as ‘vikruti’ were created. 000) argues that. the following illustrates the three types of recitation of the G¯ ayatr¯ ı mantra from the Rigveda (3. yam . tha which involves recitation of the words of a hemistich (ardharca) taken two at a time. Padap¯ a. Kramap¯ a. 315 – 329. tha. l. / bhargo devasya dh¯ Krama: tatsavitu / savituvaren yam / varen yam bhargo hhargo devasya / devasya dh¯ ımahi / dh¯ ımahiti . The process continues until the last word of the hemistich is covered up. here p. in a chainlike manner. and the succeeding ones having the last word of the preceding varga coupled with the word following it. The tradition of Vedic recitation in the Sam a. 13). the sequence is /abbaabccbaabc / bccbbcddcbbed / cddccdeedccde/. P. several derivatives of the Padap¯ a. and • in the vikruti ‘ghana’ (bell). concluded with parigraha (repetition of a word with /iti/ interposed). 2008.a / deedde/. pp.. ratha (chariot).1996. tha. • In Kramap¯ a. p. dh¯ ımahi // dhivo ya / yo na / na prachodayat / prachodayaditi prachodayat // 7 In addition to the three p¯ athas for recitation.TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION According to Jha (1987).4. pp. hit¯ word isolates of the continuous text which is purely formal analysis’ (Jha. words within one and the same varga only are combined by sandhi rules. Staal (1986. tha. The concept patha played a crucial role in the way the original text was segmented and reorganized for recitation and oral learning. which constitutes well-defined rules. The text was decomposed and arranged in different ways known as pathas and vikrutis. in particular. Veda-Vikruti-Lakshana-Samgraha. p. 13). To maintain oral learning and storage. the process involved subsyllabic segmentation. the first truly gifted linguist whom Panini recognized as a worthy predecessor The creation of padapatha required a mastery of morphophonemics in Vedic Sanskrit. which in my view was the beginning of speech science. that is the changes that take place when the sounds at the edges of the adjoining morphemes are joined. For our purpose. bc. was taken as a timing unit. According to Abhyankar and Shukla’s (1986. who is an acknowledged authority on the topic: samhita samhita pada pada krama krama v¯ ajes asahirbhava . in general. danda represents intervention by the length of time required to pronounce a short vowel (ekamatra – ‘one matra’) between the two finished words. the arrangement is ab. Panini’s definition of pada included complete nounforms and verb-forms as well as prefixes and suffixes. The terms pada and patha warrant a brief explanation. and linguistics. Of particular importance are the methods of recitation and the different types of text and metrical arrangements (Patel. and the scholarly and philosophical works following them. The creation of the kramapatha is a much more complicated process. the process of speech production was studied. u / s¯ वाजेष ु । सासिहः । सासिहभव The derivatives of the padapatha and kramapatha were called vikrutis. V. The continuous text known at samhitapatha was transformed into a segmented text known as padapatha by Shakalya. p. According to Jha (1987. Devasthali’s 1978 monograph. duration. u s¯ वाजेष ु सासिहभव वाजेष ु । सासिहः । भव v¯ ajes asahi: / bhava / . which constituted the Vedic samhita text. we will take a simple example from an article on kramapatha by Devasthali (1978. u / s¯ v¯ ajes asahi: / s¯ asahirbhava / . The word vikruti means “deformation”. Thebest authoritative source for the different types of vikruti with formation rules and illustrations is K. whereas. 575). The units were marked by two types of pauses: danda (longer duration) and avagraha (shorter duration). In the kramapatha. were composed orally and for centuries transmitted as such. the duration of which can be shortened or lengthened to create melodic meters. the term patha was created to deal with the level which connects matras to grammar and meaning. that is. and their synthesis. 233) A Dictionary of Sanskrit Grammar the term pada was originally applied to the individual words. The subsyllabic unit. which were also performed orally for recitation.8 TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION The earliest literary creations of India. which involved morphemic. 1996). matra. . Abhyankar and G. syllabic. rearrangement of these units. the Vedas. that is the continuous text that was recited. an avagraha represents the intervention by the length of time required to pronounce a consonant (ardhamatra – ‘half matra’) between two phonological units. This process is known as sandhi. and phonemic units. While matra was a basic unit of syllabic quantity. p. V. What is striking is that folk songs. The ancient Indian literature was composed on different types of metrical arrangement. The tradltion of Vedic recitation in samhitapatha. Erlbaum. p. while in the type of vikruti called jata (braid). Kramapatha. Purushottam G. and SOPER. STAAL. G. Patel. and rekha (row). F. V. 38f. Baroda. and the pathas in several vikrutis is alive in present-day India in specific areas. shika (topknot). H. lullabies. NorthHolland Publishing Company. wedding songs. V. K. N. F. 1987 Acquisition of reading and spelling in a syllabophonemic writing system. and continued patterns. Pandits recited them frequently on occasions which were the core of religiouscultural routines. 199-208. 16. G. Oriental Institute. 1978. 2004.TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION cd. the order of the padas is /abbaab/bccbbc/cddecd/deedde/ and in the vikruti ghana. P. Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. K. STAAL.). 1993 Ancient India and the current orality-literacy theory. V. M.. The practice of recitation exists in varying degrees in the various geographic-linguistic regions in present-day India. 315 – 329 PATEL. JHA. pp. Language and Speech 30. The Hague. G. P. . and SHUKLA. G. and children’s poetry in contemporary India follow the ancient metrical tradition which accentuates the aks . Journal of Indian Philosophy 3. STAAL. (bell). J. 69 – 81. Language & Communication. and DEVASTHALI. Literacy and Linguistic Analysis. V. PATEL. J. among others. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (Diamond Jubilee Volume). F. kramapatha. 1978 Vedavikrtilaksana-Samgraha. the sequence is /abbaabccbaac/bccbbcddcbbcd/cddccdeedccdev/. Amsterdam. NJ. Models of Learning and Dyslexia. Reading Acquisition in India.4. 1961 Nambudiri Veda Recitiaton. 9 ABHYANKAR. 1987 Studies in the Padap¯ athas and Vedic Philogy. Poona. 1986 The Fidelity of Oral Tradition and the Origins of Science. ara in the rising. J. (Ed. Pratibha Prakashan. J. Mouton. 1986 A Dictionary of Sanskrit Grammar. No. 1996 Linguistic and Cognitive Aspects of the Orality-Literacy Complex in Ancient India. de. were much more complicated. Vol. The vikrutis mala (garland). R. falling. Hillsdale. Delhi. 573 – 582. P. 1975 The concept of metalanguage and its Indian background. PATEL. DEVASTHALI. In Scholes. ABHYANKAR. G. 315 – 354. V. padapatha. J. ¯ -P¯ (4) Woven Recitation (Jat at . word(N-3)word(N-2). The texts were subsequently “proof-read” by comparing the different recited versions. abc. in its own specific accent. ba. Diss. XLIX.ab. word(N-1)wordN. tha (literally “dense recitation”). word2word3. Radhakrishnan. hit¯ . the second time in reverse order. word2word1.. p. etc. etc. dhvaja-p¯ a. word3word2. University of Natal. ha – संिहतापाठ) This was the normal text governed by the rules of metre and rhythm. cb.a the text were first recited in their original order. 16. word2word3. eg.org/wiki/Vedic chant . word2word3word4. p. 1995. The above system of recitation has achieved great success in protecting the text from interpolation. Chandraprakash Debipersad.. bc. modification or corruption. dcb. ha – घनपाठ) In this instance the order was as follows : ab. word2word1. (3) Step Recitation (Krama-P¯ at . . ghana-p¯ a. Prodigious energy was expended by ancient Indian culture in ensuring that these texts were transmitted from generation to generation with inordinate fidelity. identified five modes of recitation: (1) Continuous Recitation (Sam a-P¯ at . • In another form of recitation. cba. word(N-1)wordN. word4word3word2. word1word2word3. bc. tha (literally “mesh recitation”) in which every two adjacent words in . ha – पदपाठ) Each word in the text was recited separate from the compound.. • The most complex form of recitation. eight complex forms of recitation or p¯ a. Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Calcutta. word1word2. word2word3word4. being connected both with what precedes and what follows. Orality and the Sixteen Sansk¯ aras.10 TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION S. cd.. Towards this end.wikipedia. ab. . took the form: word1word2. (5) Compact Recitation (Ghana-P¯ at . thas were designed to aid memorization and verification of the sacred Vedas. tha (literally “flag recitation”) a sequence of N words were recited (and memorized) by pairing the first two and last two words and then proceeding as: word1word2.. 1958. The Cultural Heritage of India. Durban. bcd. . word3word2word1.. word3word2. cb. ha – जटापाठ) The word combinations were recited twice. bc. The recitation thus proceeded as: word1word2. then repeated in the reverse order.. etc. abc. ba. and finally repeated again in the original order.a . ha – मपाठ) Each word was recited twice. bcd. word1word2word3. ab. http://de. eg. word2word3. word1word2. Some of the forms of recitation are ¯ -p¯ • The jat a. bc. (2) Word Recitation (Pada-P¯ at . word2word3. tha. • Next is krama p¯ a. tha. A scholar proficient in recitation in this format is honored as a ghanap¯ athi. the six words in the line.d . For example. As can be seen. a – दड. ¯ (braid) p¯ Jat a.s . . tha. if we take sentence consisting of six words a-b-c-d-e-f. • Splitting them word by word is known as pada p¯ a. hit¯ full sentence. However. In Sukla Yajur Veda. c-d-d-c-c-d. a-b-b-a-a-b-c-c-b-a-a-b-c. ´ikh¯ • s a – िशखा. in sam a p¯ a. Actually. tha (पदपाठ). They are ¯ – जटा.a • m¯ al¯ a – माला. d-e-ed-d-e. • dhvaja – ज. ti (िवकृ ित) or artificial order.a a-b-b-a-a-b.a . it will be chanted as . Both pada and krama methods of chanting retain the natural order of words of the samhita p¯ a. b-c. e and f in pada p¯ a. • dan .a ¯ format becomes. In the above example. • rekh¯ a – रेखा. d-e. c. tha This is one of the most popular format of recitations and requires years of learning and practice by the student. until the whole mantra is completed. when chanted in the jat . Here the arrangement of words take the shape of a bell. the forward-reverse-forward arrangement of words resemble the way ladies braid their ¯! hair. This method enables the student not only to know individual words but also how to combine words in recitation and the changes in svara that occur as a result of such combination. tha . and so this practice of chanting is termed jat . e-f-f-e-e-f and so on.n ´ Yajur Veda which is mostly predominant in the South. ti (कृ ित) or natural. there may not be any scholars at all who might know all these vikritis. which gives the knowledge of each word to the student. d. c-d. only!) practices in the Kr Among these only jat . tha and so are known as prakr . For example. • jat . ¯ and ghana are prevalent (or.a . tha (संिहतापाठ) which is a • The basic mantra is called v¯ akya (वा) or sam . and so on. when chanted in the ghana format will be. (the Madhyandina and Kanva schools) all the eight vikritis were practiced. today. a reciter proficient in chanting in the krama format is honored as a kramavit (मिवत ्)! In addition. and are known as vikr . b-c-c-b-b-c-d-d-c-b-b-d. the group of words a-b-c-d-e-f mentioned earlier. and it will be recited as a-b. b. 11 a p¯ a. b-c-c-b-b-c. hit¯ six separate words a. they devised eight other combinations which do not follow the natural order. the second to the third and so on.TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION Our ancestors devised unique methods to protect and maintain the basic Veda mantras in its original form through various patterns and combinations of recitation. • ratha – रथ and • ghana – घन. which is mostly predominant in Banaras and in the North. tha (मपाठ). where the first word of the mantra is added to the second.a Ghana (bell) p¯ a. and e-f in krama p¯ a. hit¯ sixty words in the ghana format – a ten fold increase in this case – that gives an idea of how complex the chanting can become with larger sections of the mantras. . what was originally six words in the sam a. S. Dr. We can now appreciate the rigor a ghanapathi has to go through in his education to learn. by heart. 2007. Yegnasubramanian. evolve in to about .12 TECHNIQUES OF ORAL TRANSMISSION Please note that. Vedic Chanting – a Perfectly Formulated Oral Tradition. the thousands of mantras. to be able to recite in ghana format.