[Advaita-l] Mantrapushpam > Vedic Education

[Sarma KV]

It is always "pada-s" (word) and NOT "paada-s" (quarter-of-a-verse.)
The words are to be pronounced exactly as done in the pada-paatha (in case
of a group of words, the last one will have the exact form as in
padapaatha.) The swara also has certain rules when a sandhi is broken.

When a praSna (a chapter, with the mantra-s grouped as anuvaaka-s; for
example, KY vEda taittirIya samhita first kaanDa has 8 praSna-s) is
initiated, groups of pada-s are recited by the guru with proper breaks
(following correct grammar rules for sandhi break and swara break.) After
10-12 such sessions the student will be able to recite the mantra-s with
supervision from the guru, each group of 50 pada-s. Every such group of 50
pada-s, is chanted 10 times under supervision by the guru. After 10-12 such
sessions, he will be able to memorize the entire pancaaSat groupings
correctly, as also the sequence for the entire praSna. The re-joining of
'phrases' broken for ease of recitation happens almost effortlessly. In case
of any doubts, the teacher helps.

In braahmaNam, instead of 50 pada-s, it will be 10 vaakya-s
(phrase/sentence.) In the case of last grouping of the anuvaaka, the count
of words may be sometimes less than 50, sometimes more.

-Sarma

On Wed, May 11, 2011 at 1:02 AM, (Maitreya) Borayin Larios <
shrimaitreya at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Venkatesh Murthy,
>
> Thanks for your imput. I am well aware that some mantras are very long and
> that pādas of these can be long. But as far as I am aware the pañcāśat
> breaks are meant for the advanced recitation. After a few rounds of
> memorizing smaller units, gradually they increase the size of the text to
> be
> recited. Ultimately students have to chant the whole chapter (anuvaka) by
> heart, so that the length here would only be a problem if the students had
> to memorize the 50 pādas from the beginning (which is not the case).
> My doubts regarding the count of the 50 words are regarding the mūla
> recitation, which is of course with the words clustered by sandhi. Students
> are not aware of the of the individual words, until they learn padapātha.
> If you have learned the Veda by counting words, could you please explain
> how
> this is done?
>
> Best,
> Maitreya Larios
> --
> विद्या ददाति विनयं विनयाद्याति पात्रताम् ।
> पात्रत्वाद्धनमाप्नोति धनाद्धर्मं ततः सुखम् ॥
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>
> > From: Venkatesh Murthy <vmurthy36 at gmail.com>
> > To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta <
> > advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
> > Date: Tue, 10 May 2011 21:10:36 +0530
> > Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Mantrapushpam > Vedic Education
> > Namaste
> >
> > Krishnayajur Veda mantras can be very long like a paragraph. If we
> > take 50 Padas of very long mantras it will become very difficult for
> > students. It is 50 words only not Padas.
> >
> > On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 9:01 PM, (Maitreya) Borayin Larios
> > <shrimaitreya at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Dear List members,
> > >
> > > I very recently joined the list. So I want to breifly introduce myself.
> > My
> > > name is Maitreya B. Larios. I am a PhD student in classical indology
> from
> > > the University of Heidelberg, Germany. I'm currently doing my research
> on
> > > the current state of the Vedic tradition in Maharashtra, particularly
> > > looking at the Vedic schools (vedapāṭhaśālās) in this state. I visited
> > > around 25 of these schools during my fieldwork in 2009 and have been
> > working
> > > on the subject since then.
> > >
> > > If Subhanu Saxena is still active on this list? In a post he made some
> > time
> > > ago on Vedic learning, he described the method of recitation as per
> > > theTaittirīyaśākhā, and wrote the following:
> > >
> > > *Also to aid memorisation, there is usually a break every 50 words*,
> > *where
> > > there will be a pause in recitation as if it were the end of a
> sentence.
> > At
> > > the end of the section concerned, the phrases at the breaks are
> repeated,
> > > and the phrase at the final break is then followed by the number of
> words
> > > that exist till the end of the section.  Finally, at the end of a
> kanda,
> > the
> > > 1st words of each anuvaka are repeated, as an aid to memorise the
> > sequence
> > > of anuvakas*
> > >
> > >
> > > I have a technical question. If my memory doesn't fail me according to
> > the
> > > vaidikas I visited in Maharashtra, the "break" he is describing is
> > > technically called "pañcāśat" (Skt for 50), but instead of "words", my
> > > informants say it refers to 50 pādas (quarter of a verse) and not to
> > words.
> > > We must remember that in the saṁhitā text the words are joined by
> sandhi,
> > so
> > > that it becomes difficult for the pupil to count the individual
> > > words.The pādas,
> > > on the other hand, are relatively easy to count and are not dependent
> on
> > the
> > > break of sandhi. So my question is, whether the described "break" also
> > > refers to the pañcāśat of pādas, or if he could elucidate how they
> count
> > the
> > > words if their are joined by sandhi?
> > >
> > > I am very much interested in obtaining detailed descriptions from
> members
> > of
> > > the list who have learned the veda in the traditional method on how
> they
> > > received instruction (or eventually teach themselves). For instance, I
> > have
> > > observed that the ṛgvedins initially repeat the pāda (or a fraction of
> > > it)three times after the guru, instead of two like the yajurvedins.
> > >
> > > If Subhanu Saxena is still active on the list, I would really
> appreciate
> > if
> > > he responded to this issue. Any other contributions on the topic are
> most
> > > welcomed.
> > >
> > > Thank you.
> > > Best,
> > > Maitreya Larios
> > > ---
> > > विद्या ददाति विनयं विनयाद्याति पात्रताम् ।
> > > पात्रत्वाद्धनमाप्नोति धनाद्धर्मं ततः सुखम् ॥
> >
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