A History of Sanskrit Literature c12.46

c12.46

The whole body of Vedic works composed in the Sūtra style, is according to the Indian traditional view, divided into six classes called Vedāṅgas ("members of the Veda"). These are *çikshā*, or phonetics; *chhandas*, or metre; *vyākaraṇa*, or grammar; *nirukta*, or etymology; *kalpa*, or religious practice; and *jyotisha*, or astronomy. The first four were meant as aids to the correct reciting and understanding of the sacred texts; the last two deal with religious rites or duties, and their proper seasons. They all have their origin in the exigencies of religion, and the last four furnish the beginnings or (in one case) the full development of five branches of science that flourished in the post-Vedic period. In the fourth and sixth group the name of the class has been applied to designate a particular work representing it.