AITEREYA BRAHMANA

MS 2164
MS Short Title AITEREYA BRAHMANA
Text AITEREYA BRAHMANA, PERFORMANCE MANUAL AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RIGVEDA PANCHIKA
Description MS in Sanskrit on paper, India, ca. 1827, 99 ff. (complete), 19x32 cm, single column, (14x27 cm), 15-17 lines in Devanagari script by 2 scribes, deletions in yellow, corrections in red.
Binding India, ca. 1828, quarter leather, sewn on 4 cords, in European manner.
Context For the full text of RigVeda, see MS 2097 above.
Provenance 1. Eames Collection, Chicago, Ill., no. 1957; 2. Newberry Library, Chicago, Ill., ORMS 962 (acq.no. 152855) (ca. 1920-1994); 3. Sam Fogg cat. 17(1996):45.
Commentary The Aitareya Brahmana may have been composed around 600 BC, and is thought to be the oldest of the class of texts called Brahmana, which combine instructions for the performance of the hymns of the Vedas with symbolic and etymological interpretations of the texts. The commentary is based on the division of the text found in the Rigveda Panchika, which divides the texts of the Rigveda into 8 sections (Panchika) instead of the 10 Mandalas of the Rigveda-Samhita. The originators of this traditions were priests who considered themselves able to recite the entire Rigveda in 8 days instead of 10. The Brahmana also provide explanations of the meaning of the gestures and utensils.
Place of origin India
Dates ca. 1827