TRACING VEDIC DIALECTS - People.fas.harvard.edu

Consequently, the "area," for example, of the Taitt. school should be
regarded as its s p h e r e of i n f l u e n c e, with a centre and a (more or less
wide) margin surrounding it. It is important to remember, in this context,
that the Brahmins travelled all over Northern India, cf. the Kuru-Pañcāla
Brahmins at Janaka's court, or Uddālaka in the Madra country.
§ 4.2. PARAMETER OF TIME
By this parameter, the development of Vedic Sanskrit in time is intended, i.e
the slow change in the phonology and the grammatical forms of Vedic. The
(slow) accumulation of text masses, and that of the relative chronology of
texts, both of which are useful as additional arguments, are not included
under this heading, as they cannot be established with the same degree of
certainty. As they are, however, valuable for counter-checking the evidence,
they are introduced here, be it in a brief form.
§ 4.2.1. The criterion of text formation
This criterion has been used very little so far in Vedic studies, outside of the
ŚB (and AB). However, even a very brief look at the texts, which will be
classified below as the level 3, the Yajurveda Saṃhitās, teaches that a number
of safe conclusions can be made from a brief comparison of the contents of
these texts.
All YV Saṃhitās follow a similar pattern: those (KṛṢṇa YV) texts which
mix Mantras and Brāhmaṇas usually start with the Mantras of the New and
Full Moon and of the Soma rituals. One can, therefore, ask whether this is
not the oldest core of YV ritual. Interestingly, the Brāhmaṇa portions dealing
with these two rituals in the Saṃhitās are found only as appendices to the
treatment of other rituals. 38
The mantras of these texts are partly derived from the RV, i.e., before the
redaction of this text; many variants, similar to those found in AV and SV,
are found (see Oldenberg, Prolegomena). Other mantras, especially the short
prose sentences which accompany every action in the ritual, are "new," i.e.,
post-Ṛgvedic, at least in the form they are recorded in the YV. However, they
resemble each other closely enough in all schools allow to suppose a common
38 I will treat this in detail in: The Veda in Kashmir, forthc.; for the time being, see author,
Das Kaṭha Āraṇyaka, diss. Erlangen 1972, introd.; cf. already Oldenberg, Prolegomena on
the smnall Mantra Saṃhitās dealing with the New and Full Moon sacrifice, The Soma
ritual, the Agnicayana, etc. in TS, MS.
18