Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c9.10

c9.10

The principle by which the Saṁhitā text was thus constituted suggested in its turn other devices for its own conservation against changes or corruptions in time. These devices came later. The text of the Saṁhitā was originally presented in the form called *Nirbhuja-Saṁhitā*. It was followed by the formation of a new text of the Saṁhitā called the *Pratṛiṇṇa Saṁhitā* in which every single word is shown in its independent and phonetically unmodified form and compounds are separated into their elements. This is technically called the *Pada-pāṭha*, "Word-text." To make assurance doubly sure, a second device was resorted to in what is called the *Krama-pāṭha*, "Step-text," where every word of the *Pada-pāṭha* appears twice to be pronounced both after the preceding, and before, the following one. Thus *a b c d* as representing the first four words would be read as *ab, bc, cd*. The full scheme of Vedic recitation ultimately developed various forms as means of preserving the purity of the original Vedic texts. The *Saṁhitā* and *Pada* or *krama pāṭhas* are classed under *Prakṛiti*, while the other *Pāṭhas* come under what is called *Vikṛiti* and are of eight kinds, viz. ; (1) *Jaṭā*, (2) *Mālā*, (3) *Śikhā*, (4) *Rekhā*, (5) *Dhvaja*, (6) *Daṇḍa*, (7) *Ratha*, and (8) *Ghana*. Of these, the primary ones are the aforesaid *Jaṭā* and *Daṇḍa*. Under *Daṇḍa* are grouped Nos. (2), (4), (5), and (7), while *Jaṭā* includes (3). In *Jaṭā-pāṭha*, the two words *a b* will be pronounced as *ab, ba, ab*, (as in *Namo Rudrebhyo Rudrebhyo Namo Namo Rudrebhyaḥ*). The *Ghana-Pāṭha* combines the features of both *Jaṭā* and *Daṇḍa* as in *ab, ba ; abc, cba, abc*.