priests. The original single priest was increased to 3 and then more; the number
of priests required for sacrifice increased over time from 4 to 16 (Stutley, 1980:
80). But the distinct Veda texts did not simply correspond to the number of
roles; more likely the divisions emerged as rival lineages spun off, concerned
more with the proto-intellectual activities of memorizing and teaching a par-
ticular text than with the ritual itself. The old Rigvedic guild had split, and
each sect propagandized for its own primacy (Krishna, 1991: 73, 93).
Further splits occurred. The Yagurveda had at least two versions, White
and Black; the latter included prose discussions of the rituals, indicating that
it belonged to the group which pioneered in creating the Brahmanas, shifting
from a liturgical to a more intellectual orientation.^8 Yet another group became
organized as proprietors of the Atharvaveda, a collection of magical rites and
charms originating outside the Rigvedic camp. They seem to have been a
coalition of magicians from the indigenous non-Aryan population, first coa-
lescing into a rival guild; then they adopted Aryan gods and ritual forms and
became players in the ritual politics and ideological fractionation of the main-
stream. Orthodox Vedists looked askance at the Atharvaveda and did not
accept it among the “four Vedas” until late, when the whole enterprise was in
the syncretism of a weakening base.
The competing sects emulated one another over the generations. All of them
added the same kinds of texts to their original samhitas (canonical collections):
prose Brahmanas, discussing the practical and theological significance of the
rites (before 800 b.c.e., perhaps continuing later); Aranyakas, comprising
liturgies for individual Brahmans to carry out in retirement; and finally Upan-
ishads, recording the discussions of reforming sages who emerged after about
700.^9 It is apparent that the priest guilds were no longer engaged mainly, or
even primarily, in carrying out public rituals. The addition of lengthy texts to
the samhitas implies that a great deal of time was now being spent in discussion
and education. Something like an intellectual community was becoming a focus
of attention in its own right. Socially, the Brahmans were becoming a landown-
ing class, engaged in other occupations besides priestcraft. What they retained
in common was the mark of having studied the Vedas, and the right to teach
them. The Brahmans shifted from a priest class to an educational status group.
The very nature of ritual activity shifted. The Vedas were no longer so much
liturgies which priests used in great public ceremonies as texts which pious
Brahmans recited daily in private.
After about 500 b.c.e.—the time when the old tribal kingdoms were rapidly
consolidating under the geopolitical dominance of the Ganges states—the
period of splits and rivalries among the Vedic schools ends. A reversal sets in,
with all the sects eventually merging into a common front of Vedic education.
In the Upanishads, students typically mention that they have learned all of the
194 • (^) Intellectual Communities: Asian Paths