Essay name: Atharvaveda ancillary literature (Study)
Author:
B. R. Modak
Affiliation: Savitribai Phule Pune University / Department of Sanskrit and Prakrit Languages
The essay studies the ancillary literature of the Atharva-Veda with special reference to the Parisistas. It does so by understanding the socio-cultural and philosophical aspects of ancient Indian life. The Atharvaveda addresses encompasses all practical aspects of life from health and prosperity to rituals and sorcery.
Chapter 1 - Ancillary Literature of the Atharvaveda (other than the Parisistas)
157 (of 255)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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184 1
) The Nak峁tra-kalpa
The Nak峁tra-kalpa (NK) takes its name from the fact
that it describes the ritual related to the constellations.
It is counted as the first among the seventy-two Parisistas
10 of the AV. At the outset the NK enumerates the names of
the twenty-eight constellations and mentions the R峁 families
to which they belong, the deities which preside over them and
the objects which are affected by them. Then it proceeds to
the statement of the duties of a king under each constella-
tion. It also mentions the objects mystically associated
with the various constellations and describes the rituals
which aim at securing prosperity from them. It further
mentions the portions of the day over which the constella-
tions prevail. The constellations are divided according to
(10) S膩ya峁嘺, in the introduction to his commentary on the AV
(SPP's ed. p. 27) says: In the NK there is at the out-
set the worship of the constellations. Then there is
the pacificatory ceremony for the omens. Further the
worship of Nirrti is described. Various types of
S盲ntis to serve diverse ends and based on the Mah膩s膩nti
are also explained.
This shows that our text of the NK does not represent
the Nak峁tra-kalpa known to Sayana. The latter is, in
fact, the second adhyaya of the SK where, in the beginn-
ing, the worship of the constellations is prescribed.
The occasions on which the various S盲ntis are performed
are quoted by Sayana directly from the SK (II.17.2).
The NK as is known to us is never referred to by Saya峁嘺.
