A Vedic Concordance c4.s3.1

c4.s3.1

1. It is a key to the liturgical employment of the mantras.—The above-mentioned uses are plainly the direct or primary ones for which a work like this is expected to serve. The nature of the subsidiary Vedic literature (Brāhmaṇas, Sūtras, etc.), however, and its intimate relation to the fundamental texts, are such that the Concordance may also be readily put to certain indirect or secondary uses, which are scarcely less important for the systematic progress of Vedic study. First, since the Concordance gives not only the places of actual occurrence of a given mantra in the Saṃhitās, but also the places where it is cited in the subsidiary works on ritual and household custom and the like, it furnishes the key to the liturgical or ritual employment of every mantra as prescribed by the ceremonial books. I hope that the Concordance will prove to be a most effective means of advancing our knowledge of the hymns and the ceremonies in their relations to one another. The hymn or prayer, and the ceremony that accompanied it, often serve mutually each as a commentary on the other. The subtle blend of song and rite makes a full knowledge of both necessary for the understanding of either.