A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s10.1

v1.c8.s10.1

In one of the Upaniṣads we are told that there are two kinds of knowledge, a higher and a lower. The higher is that which teaches us to know the imperishable Brahman, but the lower consists of "*Ṛgveda*, *Yajurveda*, *Sāmaveda*, *Atharvaveda*, *phonetics*, *ritual*, *grammar*, *etymology*, *metrics* and *astronomy*."¹ This is the oldest enumeration of the so-called *six Vedāṅgas*, *i.e.* the six "limbs" or supplementary sciences of the Veda.² Originally this meant neither special books nor special schools, but only subjects of instruction, which had to be learned in the Vedic schools themselves, in order to understand the Vedic texts. The beginnings of the Vedāṅgas may therefore already be sought in the Brāhmaṇas and Āraṇyakas, where along with the explanations of the sacrificial ritual we also occasionally find discussions on matters of phonetics, grammar, etymology, metrics and astronomy. In the course of time, however, these subjects were treated more and more systematically, and separate special schools, though still within the Vedic schools, arose for each of the six supplementary sciences of the Veda. These then evolved special school texts, "manuals," the Sūtras, composed in a peculiar prose style intended for memorization.