[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v1.c3.s15.8 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s15.8 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s15.8 - **Language:** English ### [v1.c3.s15.8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s15.8) 1. Chandas in the Rigveda usually denotes a ‘song of praise’ or ‘hymn.’¹ The original sense of the word, as derived from the verb \*chand\*, ‘to please,’ was probably ‘attractive spell,’ ‘magic hymn,’² which prevailed on the gods. In a very late hymn of the Rigveda,³ as well as in one of the Atharvaveda,⁴ the word is mentioned in the plural (\*chandāṃsi\*), beside Ṛc (\*ṛcaḥ\*), Sāman (\*sāmāni\*), and Yajus, and seems to retain its original meaning, not improbably with reference to the magical subject-matter of the Atharvaveda. From denoting a (metrical) hymn it comes to mean ‘metre’ in a very late verse of the Rigveda,⁵ in which the ‘Gāyatrī, the Triṣṭubh, and all (\*sarvā\*) the metres (\*chandāṃsi\*) are mentioned. In the later Saṃhitās three⁶ or seven⁷ metres are enumerated, and in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa⁸ eight. By the time of the Rigveda Prātiśākhya⁹ the metres were subjected to a detailed examination, though much earlier references are found to the number of syllables in the several metres.¹⁰ Later the word definitely denotes a Vedic text generally, as in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa.¹¹ 2. Chandas occurs in one passage of the Atharvaveda¹ in the adjectival compound bṛhac-chandas, which is used of a house, and must mean ‘having a large roof.’ Bloomfield² accepts the reading as correct, but Whitney³ considers emendation to Chadis necessary. - [Previous: v1.c3.s15.7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s15.7) - [Next: v1.c3.s15.9](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s15.9) - [Up: v1.c3.s15](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s15) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s15.8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s15.8) · Pramāṇa