The later sam.hita ̄s, in their oral form, reflected rudimentary patterns of
agriculture and made reference to the area between the Jumna and the
Ganges (the R.g Vedamade no reference to the Ganges) and are generally
dated to the tenth–eighth centuries BCE. These sam.hita ̄sinclude the Sa ̄ma
Veda, verses preserved by priests known as udgatr.s(and possibly including
women) whose chanting apparently represented the beginnings of Indian
music insofar as their chants were “sung” and included several tones, perhaps
representing levels of the cosmos.
Yet another sam.hita ̄was the Yajur Veda. These stanzas were preserved by
adhvaryupriests more in the form of prose than poetry. These priests
preserved the details and techniques of the ritual; hence, their prose was
more explanatory in nature – for example, because these were the priests
involved in dismembering animals for sacrifice, they retained information
about anatomy. This collection of material may have been the latest to be
preserved.
A fourth sam.hita ̄was the Atharva Veda. These were retained by those
bra ̄hman.apriests who presided over the rituals at large, but also retained the
chants and incantations for specific private rituals. In this collection, for
example, were intimations of “domestic” rituals and rites for marriage and
funeral. The Atharva Vedawas especially concerned with spells and rituals
with “magical” intent; the exorcizing of spirits, cursing of enemies; and
the ensuring of prosperity or success in love, battle, commerce, and other
arenas. Many of the hymns and rituals are thought to reflect a more
“popular” or “folk” form of religion.^25
A second generation of oral materials, and, eventually, texts are those
known as the Bra ̄hman.asgenerally dated around the ninth–seventh centuries
BCE. These were the “elaborations,” provided by each school of priests, which
served as commentaries. They were more likely to answer questions about
why and how rituals were to be done. They embodied the sacred sound of
the ritual and provided the rules (vidhi) for ritual. They included cosmo-
logical speculations from each school and expositions on the meanings and
aims of ritual acts.
A third generation of reflections and texts, known as the A ̄ran.yakas,
represented a transitional period when the complex ritual system was
beginning to change. The A ̄ran.yakas(or “forest texts”) emerged around
the eighth–sixth centuries BCE. They represented an attempt to reflect on
the inner significance of the elaborate rituals. Teachers (gurus) and their
disciples (s ́isyas) were now thinking about rituals and internalizing their
significance. The symbolism of the rituals became more critical than ritual
performance itself and the attempt to make homologizations became a
fundamental strategy to make “new” things seem consistent with the older
“tradition.”
Sources of Indian Religion 27