Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s20.33

v1.c3.s20.33

number; but 27 appears as their number in the list which is found in the Taittirīya Saṃhitā²² and elsewhere.²³ The number 28 is much less well attested: in one passage of the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa²⁴ Abhijit is practically marked as a new comer, though in a later book,²⁵ in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā,²⁶ and in the Atharvaveda list,²⁷ it has found acceptance. It is perfectly possible that 28 is the earlier number, and that Abhijit dropped out because it was faint, or too far north, or because 27 was a more mystic (3 × 3 × 3) number: it is significant that the Chinese Sieou and the Arabic Manāzil are 28 in number.²⁸ Weber,²⁹ however, believes that 27 is the older number in India.