Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c8.27

c8.27

The Brāhmaṇa texts are marked by a twofold subject-matter, viz. (1) *Vidhi* (Injunction) and (2) *Arthavāda*. As defined by Āpastamba, "Brāhmaṇa texts are those which are injunctive of some action (*Karmachodanā Brāhmaṇāni*) [*Yajña. Pari. Su.*, 32, 33], while their remainder is known as *Arthavāda*." *Vidhis*, again, are of two kinds: (1) *Apravṛittapravartanam*, "enjoining an act which may not be performed," and (2) *Ajñāta-jñāpanam*, "making known what is unknown." Of these, the first kind of *Vidhi* relates to rituals dealt with in the *Karmakāṇḍa* of the Veda. These *Vidhi-Vākyas* are the source of Dharma (*Vidhivākyaṁ Dharme pramāṇam*). The other kind of Vidhi, which imparts new knowledge, belongs to the Brahma-Kāṇḍa of Veda, e.g. the knowledge that "Atman alone is the only Reality that existed" (*Ātmā vā idameka evāgra āsīt* in *Ait. Ār.*, ii, 4, 1).