Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals c4.20

c4.20

The udgātṛi had to learn to sing all the tunes required for the Soma ritual, and to know which particular strophe was required for each sacrifice. All the stanzas to be chanted at the Soma sacrifice were gathered into a separate collection called the Sāmaveda. All its verses except seventy-five were taken from the Rigveda, and form a special musical collection, or sacrificial liturgy, for the Soma ritual.¹ It consists of two parts called *ārchikas*. The first *ārchika* consists of stanzas, each of which was associated with a separate tune, of which there were no less than 585. The second part, or *uttarārchika*, contains the strophes which were required for use in the ritual. The complicated work of the *udgātṛi* priest thus led to the creation of a special school for young Brāhmans who wished to specialize in this branch of study. At a later date, when writing began to be used, tune books called *gānas* were prepared.