History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.131

v7.c90.131

The epic and purāṇic texts indicate that Veda was thought to be originally one, but was arranged into four groups, that the four groups of texts were entrusted for preservation and propagation to four different disciples of Vyāsa. The Ṛgveda has two arrangements, one into *maṇḍalas* and *sūktas* and the other into *aṣṭakas*, *adhyāyas* and *vargas*. The Taittirīyasaṁhitā and Atharvaveda are arranged into *kāṇḍas*. Not a word is said in any of these accounts to which Pargiter refers about picking up hymns already existing or their being arranged in mandalas or adhyāyas or kāṇḍas by Vyāsa. Further, the reason assigned for the supposed deliberate suppression of the name of the arranger of the Veda is quite flimsy, not to say ridiculous. Every hymn of the Ṛgveda or every mantra has a ṛṣi who by the ancient Indian tradition was not the *author* (as Pargiter puts it) but only the *seer*. It is clear from Brāhmaṇa texts, Upaniṣads and smṛtis that from very ¹³⁹³ ancient times it was a very strict principle that no one should teach or repeat in japa or employ a mantra in a sacrifice without knowing the ṛṣi, the metre, the deity and the use (viniyoga) of it and dire consequences were declared to follow for him who was remiss in these matters. Hymns and mantras were arranged in different groups for different religious rites and solemn sacrifices or for other purposes (such as śāntis). It is not necessary to remember who arranged the required mantras for rites, sacrifices and other purposes. The Brāhmaṇa texts and śrauta sūtras prescribe the manner of the employment of the same mantras for various purposes and the Anukramaṇīs contain the names of the seers, metres and the deities of hymns and individual mantras also As every mantra of the Veda was supposed to be only seen by a sage and as eternal, the mere compilation of them in one or more series or the mere arrangement of mantras or hymns in different groups for different purposes did not at all affect or interfere with the eternality of mantras or hymns. Pargiter's so-called reason for suppressing the name of the arranger of the Veda is simply no reason at all.