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INTRODUCTION.
xliii
1, 2 has, rigyagukså måtharvanas katváro vedåh ; I, 4, rigyaguhsâ mâtharvarûpah suryah; II, 1 (=Nrisimhottaratapani Up: 3; Atharvasikha Up. I), rigbhih rigvedah, yagurbhir yagurvedah, sâmabhih så mavedah, atharvanair mantrair atharvavedah; in V, 9 it falls into the broader style of reference, rikah, yagûmshi, sâmâni, atharvânam, angirasam, sâkhâh, purânâni, kalpân, gåthåh, nârâsamsih, leading up finally to pranavam, the Om which embraces all (sarvam). But in V, 2 we have rigmayam yagurmayam såmamayam brahmamayam amritamayam, where brahmamayam obviously refers to the brahmavidya, the holy science, not to the fourth Veda, the Brahmaveda ! And thus the Brahmavidya Up. 5 ff. recounts the merits of the traividya, culminating in the Om, without reference to the Atharvan. It seems clear that even the Atharvan Upanishads as a class are engaged neither in defending the Atharvan from attack, nor in securing for it any degree of prominence. Other references to the Atharvan occur in Atharvasiras I, rig aham yagur aham sâmâ sham atharvangiraso - ham; Muktika Up. 12–14, rigveda, yaguh, så man, åtharvana ; ibid. 1, atharvavedagatânâm... Upanishadâm; Maha Up. 3, gâyatram khanda rigvedah, traish/ubham khando yagurvedah, gågatam khandah så mavedah, ânushtubham khando-tharvavedah. Cf. also KQlika Up. 10, 13, 14.
On turning to the Grihya-sūtras it would be natural to anticipate a closer degree of intimacy with the Atharvan,
and hence a more frequent and less formulaic The AV.
in the reference to its writings. For the subjectGribya- matter of these texts is itself, broadly speaksâtras.
ing, Atharvanic, besides being dashed strongly with many elements of vidhâna or sorcery-practice, i.e. Atharvanic features in the narrower sense and by distinction ? Many verses quoted in the Grihya-sätras are
1 The Lipanishads do not designate the fourth Veda as Brahmaveda, unless we trust certain doubtful variants and addenda, reported by Weber, Ind. Stud. I, 301, note. The earliest occurrence of Brahmaveda is at Sânkh. Grih. I, 16, 13 (see above, p. xxvii).
? Cf., e.g. the use of roots, Pâr. I, 13, ; Sankh. I, 19, 1; 33, 1; the battlecharm, Åsv. JII, 12 (cf. p. 117 ff. of this vclume); the bhaishagyani, * remcdial charms,' Åsv. III, 6, 3 ff.; Par. I, 16, 24 ff.; III, 6; Hir. II, 7;
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