A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s12.9

v1.c8.s12.9

the Saṃhitā. Every Śākhā or recension of a Saṃhitā had a text-book of this nature, hence the name Prātiśākhyas, *i.e.* "text-books, each intended for a Śākhā." First of all we have a Ṛgveda-Prātiśākhya,¹ which is ascribed to *Śaunaka*, who is supposed to have been a teacher of *Āśvalāyana*. This work is in verse, and is probably a later revision of an earlier Sūtra-text: it is even called "Sūtra" in manuscripts and quotations. The Taittirīya-Prātiśākhya-sūtra,² belongs to the Taittirīya-Saṃhitā; a Vājasaneyi-Prātiśākhya-Sūtra,³ ascribed to *Kātyāyana*, belongs to the *Vājasaneyi-Saṃhitā*, and the Atharvaveda-Saṃhitā has an Atharvaveda-Prātiśākhya-sūtra,⁴ which is supposed to be of the school of the Śaunakas. There is also a Sāmaprātiśākhya,⁵ and the Puṣpasūtra⁶ is a kind of Prātiśākhya to the Uttaragāna of the Sāmaveda. A further work dealing with the manner of singing the Sāmans at the sacrifice, is the Pañcavidha-sūtra.⁷