Introduction to the Ṛgveda Prātiśākhya by Śaunaka

1. Having made obeisance to the supreme first God, the lotus-born, - to him whom, in the lower and higher Veda (prāvare brahmaṇi), the great sages always describe as the soul and the abode of the Veda, - Śaunaka states the nature (lakṣaṇam) of the ṛk-stanzas (ṛcām).

2. Māṇḍūkeya says that the union of the earth and heaven is the air. Likewise, Mākṣavya says that it is the ether alone. Āgastya, thinking that there is an identity between the air and the ether, says that the union is the same (i.e., the ether) without omitting the air.

3.With regard to the self, Śūravīra and his son dispute about the order of speech and mind. The turning into euphonic combination they call ‘Nirbhuja’ and the pronouncing of pure syllables, ‘Pratṛṇṇa’.

4. Both (the Nirbhuja and the Pratṛṇṇa are embraced by the Ubhayamantareṇa; and so are the objects known as food, heaven and both. One should know the breath of the Saṁhitā, i.e., the letter ṣ, the strength, i.e, the letter ṇ, and the mutual sacrifice of speech and breath.

Note: Verses 2-4 give a brief summary of the Saṁhitā Upanishad which is Book 3 of the Aitareya Āraṇyaka

The Saṁhitā Upanishad gives cosmic and individual counterparts to the Sandhi rules in Ṛgveda Prātishākhya and similar parallels to the Saṁhitā, Pada and Krama recitations of Ṛgveda. The following is a table summarizing these counterparts:

Parts of Sandhi Cosmic Individual Mode of Recitation

1. Former Half Earth, Fire Speech, Semen Nirbhuja (Saṁhitā)

2. Latter Half Heaven, Sun Mind, Eye Pratṛṇṇa (Pada)

3. Saṁhitā Sky, Rain, etc. Breath, Heart Ubhayamantareṇa (Krama)

5-6. Heaviness, lightness,homogeneous (of sounds); short, long, and protacted (syllables); dropping, insertion, and modification; natural state, the unchanged Visarjanīya, and duplication; (the quality of) the svarita, udātta and anudātta accents; breath, voice, and both – all this must be understood by one studying the Vedic speech.

7.For the sake of knowledge of (all) this, I will expound, in the following, this whole treatise with regard to the Śaiśirīya text, as well as the science of meters, and the achievement of heaven and immortality.

8. He who understands the distinctions of the pada-krama, who is versed in the varṇa-krama, and knows the divisions of accent and quantity, may go and sit with the teachers.

Note: This is the last verse of the Taittirīya Prātiśākhya.

9. a, ṛ, i, u, e, o, ai, au; ḷ among the vowels (does not occur) at the beginning and end of words); the short vowels are followed by the corresponding long vowels;

Note: a, ā, ṛ, ṝ, i, ī, u, ū, e, o, …

10. ka, kha, ga, gha, ṅa; ca, cha, ja, jha, ña; ṭa, ṭha, ḍa, ḍha, ṇa; ta, tha, da, dha, na; pa, pha, ba, bha, ma;ya, ra, la, va; ha, śa, ṣa, sa, aḥ, xka, xpa, aṁ - this is the group of (all the) letters(varṇa-rāśi) and (their) order.

Note: xka refers to the Jīvāmūlīya and xpa to the Upadhmānīya