Pratishakhya ( '), also known as Parsada ('), are Vedic-era manuals devoted to the precise and consistent pronunciation of words. These works were critical to the preservation of the Vedic texts, as well as the accurate ritual recitations and analyses of the

Veda FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

s, particularly when isolated words interact after they have been joined in ''

sandhi Sandhi ( ; , ) is any of a wide variety of sound changes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries. Examples include fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of one sound depending on nearby sounds or the grammatical function o ...

'' procedures. Each Vedic school (''parisad'', or ''parsad'') and geographic branch ('' sakha'') developed their own manuals, explaining why they have come to be called ''parsada'' or ''pratisakhya''. The manuals are parts of the

Shiksha ''Shiksha'' (, ) is a Sanskrit word, which means "instruction, lesson, learning, study of skill".Sir Monier Monier-Williams A DkSanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-Europ ...

Vedanga The Vedanga ( ', "limb of the Veda-s"; plural form: वेदाङ्गानि ') are six auxiliary disciplines of Vedic studies that developed in Vedic and post-Vedic times.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Vedanga" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia o ...

: works dealing with the

phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

aspects of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

language used in the

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

. Each Veda has a ''pratishakhya'' for each school. Many ''pratishakhyas'' have survived into the modern age, and, according to Hartmut Scharfe, all except one (''Taittiriya pratisakhya'') are based upon "recitation of isolated words". Pratishakhyas begin with word-for-word recitation, and then supply rules for the continuous recitation of texts. Though all the manuals have the same basic goal, they differ significantly in how each achieves that goal. They were composed centuries before the work of

Pāṇini (; , ) was a Sanskrit grammarian, logician, philologist, and revered scholar in ancient India during the mid-1st millennium BCE, dated variously by most scholars between the 6th–5th and 4th century BCE. The historical facts of his life ar ...

, but there is evidence in these manuals that many ''pratisakhya'' evolved and were revised over time by the respective school to their regional preferences. The few manuscripts of the ''pratisakhyas'' that have survived into the modern era are likely from the 500 to 150 BCE period. The phonetic aspects of ''Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya'' is closest to those found in the classic Sanskrit grammar work of Pāṇini.

Rig Veda

One of the Pratisakhyas treats of the phonetic aspects of the

Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

. The work is generally ascribed to

Shaunaka Shaunaka (, ) is the name applied to teachers, and to a Shakha of the Atharvaveda. It is especially the name of a celebrated Sanskrit grammarian, author of the , the , the , six Anukramaṇīs (indices) to the Rigveda, and the Vidhāna of the Rig ...

, an ancient

rishi In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "gre ...

(sage). It has been translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born British comparative philologist and oriental studies, Orientalist. He was one of the founders of the Western academic disciplines of Indology and religious s ...

. A French translation done by M. Regnier is also available, as is an English translation by Mangal Deva Shastri.

Yajur Veda

There are two treatises dealing with phonetic and related aspects of the

Yajur Veda The ''Yajurveda'' (, , from यजुस्, "worship", and वेद, "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Edito ...

. The first, commonly known as the ''Krishna (Black) Yajur Veda'', is known as ''Taittriya Pratisakhya''. Its English translation done by Professor Whitney is also available, and the same has been published in the Journal of the

American Oriental Society The American Oriental Society is a learned society that encourages basic research in the languages and literatures of the Near East and Asia. It was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned ...

. The second treatise is commonly called the ''Shukla (White) Yajur Veda'', and is known as ''Vajasaneyi Pratisakhya''. The later is believed to have been written by Katyayana. Its translation done by Weber is available.

Atharva Veda

The treatise pertaining to the phonetic and other aspects of

Atharva Veda The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda (, , from ''wikt:अथर्वन्, अथर्वन्'', "priest" and ''wikt:वेद, वेद'', "knowledge") or is the "knowledge storehouse of ''wikt:अथर्वन्, atharvans'', the proced ...

is also ascribed to the sage

Saunaka Shaunaka (, ) is the name applied to teachers, and to a Shakha of the Atharvaveda. It is especially the name of a celebrated Sanskrit grammarian, author of the , the , the , six Anukramaṇīs (indices) to the Rigveda, and the Vidhāna of the Rig ...

, and derives its name from him: the ''Saunakiya Chaturadhyayika'', which means the Book having four chapters by Saunak. Whitney has translated the work into English.

Sama Veda

The name of the pratisakhya belonging to Sama Veda is Rk Tantra. Most of the mantras in Sama Veda are either from the Rk Veda or adapted from it, though sung differently. Hence the name Rk Tantra. A critical edition of a ''Samaveda pratisakhya'' was published by Surya Kanta Shastri in 1933.S S Shastri (1933)
Rktantram: A Pratisakhya of the Samaveda
Mehar Chand Lachhman Das, Lahore

Notes

References