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d complete Pr&tife&khyas, like that be .*^ng to the arst PrfttiSakliya, i. 58., m^^^g - woidd seem to affect passages of tlie BraLiim^ ,&c.: and the Commentator adds, ^^^ Most of these Praishas, however, are taken for instance. tbewords^Tr^,,,^,,^, ^^ . ^ -Cerent for the Y^nr-veda wh< .1. pbAtii^Akhtas; 128 we here take the word 4&kh&3 (branches) in the sense of different traditionary texts of the four Vedas, Madhusiidana's words do not require any alteration ; they would become obscure if, as has been proposed^ we took ^khft either in the sense of ^* a school " or of " a portion of the Veda." The word b&khk is used, however, by some writers in so vague a manner that we need not wonder if its meaning has sometimes been misapprehended. *^ Tra* ditional text (recension) of the Yeda " is perhaps the nearest approach to its real meaning. The word is sometimes applied to the three original Sanhit&s, the Rig-veda-sanhitft, Yajur-veda-sanhit&, and S&ma-veda-sanhit&\ in their relation to one an- other, and without any reference to subordinate 6&kh&s tRrrer: hU^i^i nfiM4 ^vhrrrw t^^^Tirr >f^iWT- ^ There are two kinds of diksh&y a general and one which has regard to particulars. It is trae that the authority of the general Sikshft is estahlished^ on account of its belonging to the Vedangas; but in order to remove all doubt as to the authority of the particular ^ikshas, published by Katy&yana and others, which determine the pronunciation of each sentence and each word, it is clear that it is not different from the other, inasmuch as both are one by their common character of 6iksha, although they are spoken of separately. ' It is said of Sayana that he wrote commentaries on each of the iSakhSs of the Bich, Yajnsh and Sftma. Ekaika could hardly mean ^^ one from among the ^&kh&s of each Veda." 122 pbatisAkhtas. preme Being, As there are three of the ceremonial, the Veda is, i\ formance of the sacrifices, dividci Rig- Veda, Yajur-Veda, and S^ma-' monial of the Hotri priests is poi Rig-Veda; that of the Adhvaryu Yajur-Veda; that of the XJdg&tri S&ma-Veda. The duties of the Bra of him for whom the sacrifice is ofl • tained in these three Vedas. The tiot used for solemn sacrifices, an from the others, as it teaches oi iservative, or imprecatory rites, there are several 6&kh&s, and tl. from various readings." ^ Afte^^^ observe that " the rules of pr^ which apply to all the Vedas i explained by P&nini, but that ^ apply to the S&kh&s of each "^ by other sages under the titl 1 AccordiDg to Madhosiidana, t -which he can only mean the U peculiarities of the iSakh^ If the late origin of the Upanis' show txaces of Tarioas readin to various 6akhas. This i- his Commentary on the ^ ^iyi4>atha8amprad&yo <^ yadyapi sakhabhedah ' taddeiianiy^ibhi^ ^h Ind. Stud. i. 76. See also S 1030. p. 95.) r X 5 124 pbAtisIkhtas; belonging to each of them. They may be^ called the original branches or the three stems of the Veda-tree, each of them branching off again in a number of other ^kh&s* The ^* branches/' as Eumftrila says, have all the same root, revelation (Sruti), and they bear all the same fruit, the sacrifice (karma). If otherwise, they would be different trees, not different branches.^ In the same acceptation the word is used for instance by Apastamba, where he is giving rules as to the time and place where the Veda ought not to be read. He says there (SS.m. Siitra, 3. 44, 45,) that it ought not to be rehearsed where music or Sftma- hymns are performed, and he adds, that S&ma* hjrmns ought not to be practised in the neighbour- hood of another h&kh&j that is, as the conunentator observes^ of another Veda.* More frequently, however, 6ftkh& is used to signify the various editions, or, more properly, the various traditions, that branched off from each of the three original branches of the Veda. In this latter sense hkkhk seems sometimes synonymous with charana. But there was originally an important difference ia the meaning of these two terms. ^rr^ 7RT ^r^^l The first S&tra is paraphrased bj the Minavas, ir. 123., ^HH^PITpT^pft 'TPfWtcl ^IRTT^I PRixiSAKHrAS* 125 In order to appreciate the difference between ^khk and charana, it need only be remembered that we find ^^ 6&kh&m adhite/' *^he reads a certain recension of the Veda," but never ^^charanam adhite," still less "pa- rishadam adhtte," "he reads a Charana or a Parishad." Hence it is clear that ^khk means originally a lite- rary work, and that Charana does not. K 6d,kh& is sometimes used in the sense of charana or sect, this is because in India the 6&kh&3 existed in reality not as written books, but only in the tradition of the Charanas, each member of a Charana representing what, in our modern times, we should call the copy of a book. The Brahmans themselves were fully aware of this difference between bdkhk and charana. In a Y&rttika to PSLnini, iv. 1. 63., we find charana explained by Sakhadhyetri, &c., " the readers of a 6llkh&." In a passage of Jagaddhara's Commentary on MUlattmH- dhava, Charana is said to mean "a number of men who are pledged to the reading of a certain kkkhk of the Vedaj and who have in this manner become one body." ^ P&nini * speaks of Charanas as constituting a multitude, that is to say, as comprising a number of followers. In Apastamba's S&may£U'.h&rika-siitras, where rules are given as to the relative age of persons who ought to be saluted, the Ch&ranas or members of the same Charana are mentioned immediately after the Paurafi&khyam, or town acquaintances ; and in Cf. Zur Litteratuft p. 57 • pan. iv. 2. 46. ^^c^i^ y^nk^ ^^ ^b^j^t^- ;aiid the Srotriya-Brabmans.1 lie K&thaka and Kampaka as the Charanas of the Kathas and rttika to iv. 1. 63., womeTi are ging to a Charana; for Kathl ter of a Brahman who belongs reads the SlLkhH, of the Kathas.; always a portion of the Smti, ide law books. But followers of • ht well, in the course of tinae, , which, as it -was binding on their d naturally go by the name of at this actually took place may be a to P&n. iv. 3. 120., -where it is iay be used not only for the ssusred. ibr the laws of the Kathas. Xhus JO were called by the name of the they were the exclusive property certain 6lLkh&s, and even more Eirmas or family-laws, isted of a Sanhitd. as well as a ^ents in later times, differences in mns, as well as discrepancies in light lead to the establishment of ided as they were on sacred texts Ives.' g&kh&s of this kind, which Commentator says tbat "^H^maiftrf* "arr- )h&rana, therefore, means a member of I Altertbumsk. i. 640.> takes Ch&ra,a in the ts. BO named stm in Western India. jrakedibhSshya s FRiTISAKHYAS; 127 diflfered through the various readings of the l^ruti, were considered by the Brahmans as eternal 64kh&s, and the Charanas, to which they belonged, were not supposed to have been founded by human authors.^. It will be seen hereafter that iJie Brahmans ad mitted another class of ^kh^, which were founded on S&tras^ and derived their names from historical personages. They were confessedly of a later date. But although, after a careful examination of these passages, we cannot doubt that there was an ori** ginal difference between ^hd. and charana, it is not the less certain that these two words were frequently used synonymously*; in the same way as we may speak of the Jews when we mean the Old Testament^ or of the Koran when we mean the Mohammedans. ** Any portion of oral tradition consisting of Mantras and Brfth- manas is called a 6&kh^ and it i clear that differences of dther the Mantras or Br&hmanas will necessarily lead, in the Veda, to a variety of subordinate ^kh&s." * ^V|€|^^4I^144I^^ S^rrf^:! "The various ^akhas which arise from various readings are eternal.** VfPIT '^^if^l Mah&deva's Commentary on the Hiran3raketi siitra. s Cf. l^irukta, i. IT., where ^^^^^TPft ^^ explained by njaiiiaifKi^'u ^^ P^- • 4. 3. ^RH^r: j(p^\ pan. vi. 3.86. 128 fbItisAkhyas. After Having established the difference between kk- khft and charana, we have still to inquire how both dif- fer from parishad, in order to determine the meaning of P&rshada, another title which is frequently applied to the Pr&tififtkhyas. Here it is important to observe that although every Pr&ti6ftkhya may be called a PHrshada^, i. e.