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224
AITAREYA-ARANYAKA.
FOURTH KHANDA. 1. He who knows one sacrifice above another, one day above another, one deity above the others, he is clever. Now this great uktha (the nishkevalya-sastra) is the sacrifice above another, the day above another, the deity above others!
2. This uktha is fivefold. With regard to its being performed as a Stoma (chorus), it is Trivrit, Pañkadasa, Saptadasa, Ekavimsa, and Pañkavimsa. With regard to its being performed as a Sâman (song), it is Gayatra, Rathantara, Brihat, Bhadra, and Râgana. With regard to metre, it is Gayatri, Ushnih, Brihati, Trishtubh, and Dvipada. And the explanation (given before in the Aranyaka) is that it is the head, the right wing, the left wing, the tail, and the body of the bird ?
1 The uktha is to be conceived as prâna, breath or life, and this prâna was shown to be above the other powers (devatas), speech, hearing, seeing, mind. The uktha belongs to the Mahavrata day, and that is the most important day of the Soma sacrifice. The Soma sacrifice, lastly, is above all other sacrifices.
* All these are technicalities connected with the singing and reciting of the uktha. The commentator says: The stoma is a collection of single Rik verses occurring in the trikas which have to be sung. The Trivrit stoma, as explained in the Samabrâhmana, is as follows: There are three Súktas, each consisting of three verses, the first being upásmai gâyata, S. V. Uttararkika I, 1,1=Rv. IX, 11. The Udgâtri first sings the first three verses & in each hymn. This is the first round. He then sings the three middle verses in each hymn. This is the second round. He lastly sings the last three verses in each hymn. This is the third round. This song is called Udyati.
The Pankadasa stoma is formed out of one Sakta only, consisting of three verses. In the first round he sings the first verse
a Hinkri with dative is explained as gai with accusative.
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| SR No. | 007670 |
| Book Title | Upnishad |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Max Muller |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1879 |
| Total Pages | 1835 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 35 MB |