The Tandya Mahabrahmana (or the Praudha Brahmana) ("great" Brahmana), also known as the Panchavimsha Brahmana from its consisting of twenty-five ''prapathaka''s (chapters)
is a
Brahmana
The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...
of the
Samaveda
The Samaveda (, from ' "song" and ' "knowledge"), is the Veda of melodies and chants. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and part of the scriptures of Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,875 verses. A ...
, belonging to both of its ''Kauthuma'' and ''Ranayaniya''
shakha
A shakha (Sanskrit ', "branch" or "limb") is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school.V. S. Apte. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 913, left column.Moni ...
s. It deals with the duties of the
udgātṛs generally, and especially of the various kinds of chants.
Contents
The work is divided into 25 ''prapathaka''s, which are further divided into 347 ''khanda''s (sections). An overview of the contents of the text is as follows:
* Prapathaka I: Collection of Yajus
* Prapathaka II-III: Vistutis
* Prapathaka IV–IX.2: Various rites (Jyotishtoma, Ukthya, Atiratra, Prakrtis of ekahas and ahinas)
* Prapathaka IX.3–IX.10: Somaprayaschittas
* Prapathaka X–XV: Dvadashaha rite
* Prapathaka XVI–XIX: One day rites
* Prapathaka XX–XXII: Ahina rites
* Prapathaka XXIII–XXV: Longer rites (known as the ''Satra''s)
External links
GRETIL etext{{cite EB1911 , wstitle= Brāhmaṇa , volume=4 , pages=379–381 , first=Hans Julius , last=Eggeling , short=1
Brahmanas