[Advaita-l] Mantrapushpam > Vedic Education

[Sarma KV]

Sri Vidyasankar,

Many thanks for explaining questions put to me also. Somehow I was not able
to check my email for the past few days.

Dear Sri Maitreya, you quoted a portion of my mail as below:
===*
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.
>

This would imply that the student has learned fist the padapāṭha before the
Saṁhitā recitation. Which is usually not the case (at least in Maharashtra).
One must also bear in mind that (as far as I know) there is no padapāṭha for
Brāhmaṇa or Āraṇyaka, but only for the Saṁhitā text.
===*

My answer is: What I said is, as Sri Vidyasankar explained, for ease of
listening and repeating the mantra-s, they are broken into small "phrases"
and uttered by the guru. The student then repeats twice the phrase uttered
by the guru. The pada at end of the phrase will get the padapaaTha rules
applied to it. Rest of the pada-s are as in samhitaa paaTha only.
So, the student would only get a glimpse of padapaaTha (without actually
knowing that it is so) but doesn't not learn padapaaTha.

-Sarma

On Mon, May 16, 2011 at 6:44 PM, Vidyasankar Sundaresan <
svidyasankar at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> >
> > I have verified the breaks he gives for this passage and indeed the break
> > occurs after around 50 words (according to my counts 44 words). If we
> > counted the syllables as Ramaji suggests, then the break would not occur
> > where Subhanu Saxena has pointed out, but much earlier.
>
> If you consult the padapATha of the rudram, I think you will find that the
> breaks are after exactly 50 pada-s, except when you get towards the end
> of the anuvAka and there are less than 50 words remaining in the passage.
>
> > This would imply that the student has learned fist the padapāṭha before
> the
> > Saṁhitā recitation. Which is usually not the case (at least in
> Maharashtra).
> > One must also bear in mind that (as far as I know) there is no padapāṭha
> for
> > Brāhmaṇa or Āraṇyaka, but only for the Saṁhitā text.
>
> Yes, the vikRti pAThas are only applicable to the saMhitA text.
>
> > > 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.)
> >
> >
> > Can you please explain what you mean by rules of swara break? I am well
> > aware of sandhi rules, but here I would appreciate a more detailed
> > explanation.
>
> This is perhaps easier explained with audio help, rather than writing out a
> full
> verbal description! We could take this offline, via a phone conversation,
> if you
> are interested. Briefly put, the teaching session does not go by 50 words
> recited
> by the teacher and then repeated by the student. Rather, the teacher
> selects
> much smaller, appropriate breaks, often only three words or so, for
> repetition
> twice by the student (typical for yajurveda - in Rgveda classes, the
> student
> typically repeats everything that is taught thrice). The recitation then
> moves
> on to a next set of three words or so, followed by a joining of the
> artificially
> introduced break within the context of teaching. In the process, sandhi and
> svara rules are applied at the point of juncture. The goal is typically to
> achive
> recitation of at least one set of 50 words in one session, although
> depending
> on the aptitude of the student(s), ithis can also vary.
>
> Regards,
> Vidyasankar
>
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