History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c51.116
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c51.116
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In the Agniṣṭoma there are twelve *stotras* and twelve *śastras*. The words śastra and stotra in their etymological sense mean ‘praise or laud,’ but a stotra is a laud that is sung to a melody and a śastra is a laud that is only recited (vide Śabara on Jai. VII. 2. 17). A śastra always belongs to and follows a stotra. In the prātaḥsavana the hotṛ begins his āhāva after the udgātṛ makes *hiṃkāra* in the stotra he chants and in the other two savanas the hotṛ does so after the *pratihāra* element of the stotra (Āśv. V. 10. 1–3) when the prastotṛ draws his attention by uttering the word ‘eṣā’ (this) at the time of the *prastāva* of the last verse in the stotra.²⁶⁰⁶ The ājyaśastra is the first śastra in the Agniṣṭoma and the āgnimāruta is the last. Jai. (II. 1. 13–29) establishes that when the vedic text says ‘he recites the prauga śastra’ or ‘he chants the ājya stotra,’ what is meant is not that these stotras and śastras are merely some subordinate matters in connection with the devatā of the rite, but they are really principal matters. In X. 4. 49 Jai. states that in the Agniṣṭut sacrifices there is no *ūha* of the stotras and śastras of the Agniṣṭoma, but they are sung and recited as in Agniṣṭoma. In the morning savana (pressing of soma), five stotras are chanted viz. Bahiṣpavamāna and four Ājyastotras; in the mid-day pressing five more viz. the mādhyandina pavamāna and four Pṛṣṭhastotras (vide Haug's tr. of Ait. Br. p. 193 n. 29) and in the evening pressing two stotras viz.
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the Ārbhava pavamāna and the Agniṣṭoma-sāman (viz. yajñā-yajñā vo &c.). The corresponding twelve śastras are: in the morning the Ājyaśastra (by hotṛ), Praugaśastra (by hotṛ) and three ājyaśastras (by maitrāvaruṇa, brāhmaṇācchaṃsin and acchāvāka, these three priests being called hotrakas); in the mid-day pressing the marutvatīya śastra (by hotṛ), niṣkevalya śastra (by hotṛ) and three more by the three assistants of the hotṛ; in the evening pressing the two śastras are vaiśvadevaśastra and āgnimārutaśastra (both by the hotṛ). The Bahiṣpavamāna is chanted in the Trivṛtstoma, the four ājyastotras and the mādhyandinapavamāna in the Pañcadaśastoma, the four Pṛṣṭha-stotras and the Ārbhavapavamāna in the Saptadaśastoma and the yajñāyajñīya in the Ekaviṃśastoma (vide Tāṇḍya Br. XX. 1. 1). Stoma means a group of verses and pañcadaśastoma and similar words mean that the verses (usually three) are increased to 15, 17, 21 &c. by repetition in various patterns (which are called *viṣṭuti*). There are three viṣṭutis of the pañcadaśastoma. These patterns differ in the order and number of repetitions. The prastotṛ marks the several turns, the number of verses and the order by means of small sticks a span long (called *kuśas*) cut from the udumbara tree and placed on a piece of cloth spread in the midst of the singers. Vide Lāṭ. II. 6. 1-4. For example, the first ājyastotra (Ṛg. VI. 16. 10-12 = S. V. II. 1. 1. 4, ed.
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by Benfey) is raised to fifteen verses in three *paryāyas* (turns) of five verses each. If the three verses are denoted by a, b, c then the 15 verses will be a a a b c (first paryāya), a b b b c (2nd paryāya) and a b c c c (third paryāya). Vide Tāṇḍya Br. II. 4. The 2nd viṣṭuti of the pañcadaśastoma is represented by a a a b c, a b c, a b b b c c c and the third viṣṭuti by a b c, a b b b c and a a a b c c c (vide Tāṇḍya Br. II. 5-6). The word stoma is to be distinguished from *stotra*. The latter is a chant of a certain number of verses set to a certain melody out of those mentioned in the gānas of the Sāmaveda. Stobhas are musical interjections and flourishes introduced in the sāman chants such as 'hāu', 'hāi', 'I', 'ū', 'hum' (vide Chān. Up. I. 13). Hāu and hāi are stobhas employed in the Rathantara and Vāmadevya sāmans respectively. Jai. IX. 2. 39 defines stobha as that which is in addition to the letters of the ṛk (that is being chanted) and has other varṇas than those of the ṛk (adhikaṃ ca vivarṇaṃ ca Jaiminiḥ stobha-śabdatvāt). The word sāman means, no doubt, a chant (gīti), but since stobhas are necessary to bring out the melody and help in musical appreciation they are included in the connotation of the word sāman²⁶⁰⁷ (Jai. II. 1. 36, IX. 2. 34-38). Śabara states that there are a thousand (numberless) means of adding to the charm of the melody (gīti), which only conveys certain notes produced by internal effort and which is denoted by the word sāman.
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The chant has a fixed extent and is sung on a ṛk verse. In order to effectuate that chant resort is made to change of letter (as in 'ognāyi' for 'agna' in 'agna āyāhi vītaye), to *stobha* and the other devices stated below²⁶⁰⁸. Since the ṛk verses are sung to a certain melody the ṛks are the skeleton, the notes of the melody are the flesh that clothes the bare bones, they are super-imposed over the ṛk, and the stobhas are embellishments or flourishes like the hair on one's body. This very apt and happy figure is employed by the Sāmavidhāna Brāhmaṇa to illustrate the relationship of the ṛks, the notes and the stobhas.²⁶⁰⁹ Each sāman chant is primarily connected with certain verses, e. g. when we speak of Rathantara without more the verses meant are Ṛg. VII. 32. 22-23 *abhi tvā śūra* &c. = S. V. II. 1. 1. 11 (Benfey) and S. V. vol. III. pp. 83-84 (B. I. series); and when one refers to the Vāmadevya sāman without further qualification the verses intended are Ṛg. IV. 31. 1-3 (*kayā naścitra ābhuvat*) = S. V. II. 1. 1. 12 (Benfey) and S. V. vol. III. pp. 87-89 (B. I.). These are called the own (*svakīya*) verses of the respective sāmans (vide com. on Drāhyāyaṇa II. 1. 1) and that one verse occurring in the pūrvārcika part of the Sāmaveda, which is the first in the sāman as set out in the Uttarārcika portion, is called the *yoni* of the sāman (Jai. VII. 2. 17 and Śabara thereon). But the verses that are the own verses of a sāman can be sung to another melody. Tāṇḍya XV. 10.
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1 says 'the *kavatī* verses' are the verses '*kayā naścitra* &c.' which are the svakīya verses of the Vāmadevya. When some texts say 'he chants the Rathantara on the *kavatī* verses' what is meant is that, not minding the Vāmadevya melody to which the verses '*kayā naścitra* &c.' primarily attach themselves, they are to be sung to the Rathantara melody in that particular rite. So the word sāman as applied to Rathantara, Bṛhat, Raivata and others means simply a melody and not one or more ṛk verses that are sung²⁶¹⁰ (vide Jai. IX. 2. 1-2).