India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c10.s3.t1.7

c10.s3.t1.7

(1) *Śākala*. Pāṇini knew the *Pada-pāṭha* of the Ṛigveda arranged by Śākalya (I.1.16). He also refers to students studying the *Prokta* work of Śākalya (*Śākalād-vā*, IV.3.128). The Śākalas formed an important School of the Ṛigveda. The present recension of the *Ṛik Saṁhitā* is that of the Śākalas, and belongs specially to that branch of this School which bears the name of the Śaiśirīyas. The *Ṛik Prātiśākhya* proclaims its affiliation to the Śaiśirīya Śākhā in its introductory verses. Pāṇini refers to the Śaiśirīyas in the *Gaṇa-pāṭha* to IV.2.138. According to Weber, tradition makes the Śākalas intimately connected with the Śunakas, and to Śaunaka in particular a number of accessory works of the Ṛigveda are attributed (*Hist. of Ind. Lit.* p. 33). Pāṇini mentions the *antevāsins* of both these schools, Śākālas and Śunakas, under the compound word *Śākala-Śunakāḥ* (*Kārta-Kaujapādi gaṇa*, VI.2.37), indicating their intimate relationship as offshoots of the same school.