A History of Sanskrit Literature c11.69

c11.69

The Upanishads of the *Sāmaveda* start from the *sāman* or chant, just as those of the *Rigveda* from the *uktha* or hymn recited by the *Hotṛi* priest, in order, by interpreting it allegorically, to arrive at a knowledge of the Ātman or Brahma. The fact that the Upanishads have the same basis, which is, moreover, largely treated in a similar manner, leads to the conclusion that the various Vedic schools found a common body of oral tradition which they shaped into dogmatic texts-books or Upanishads in their own way.