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The Atharvaveda (Sanskrit: अथर्ववेद, , a tatpurusha compound of {{IAST|atharvān}}, a type of priest, and {{IAST|veda}} meaning "knowledge") is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda". According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Bhrigus and the Angirasas. Additionally, tradition ascribes parts to other rishis, such as {{IAST|Kauśīka}}, {{IAST|Vaśīṣṭha}} and {{IAST|Kashyapa}}. There are two surviving recensions ({{IAST|śākhā}}s), known as (AVS) and (AVP). The fixation of the samhita texts of these recensions likely dates to roughly 600 BCE (the "Mantra" period of Vedic Sanskrit, and the following codification in Vedic shakhas).
Status The Atharvaveda, while undoubtedly belonging to the core Vedic corpus, in some ways represents an independent parallel tradition to that of the Rigveda and Yajurveda. The Jaina and Buddha texts are considerably more hostile to the AV (they call it or Veda) than they are to the other Hindu texts. They even call it a non-Aryan Veda concocted by for human sacrifices. The Hindu texts too have taken a less than charitable view and have on occasions omitted the reference to the "{{IAST|Atharvān}}" text in the context of Vedic literature, though some attribute this to the fact that the Atharvaveda was a later addition chronologically. The Atharvan (appendices) themselves state that specific priests of the and schools should be avoided. It is even stated that women associated with may suffer from abortions. Recensions The (attributed to Shaunaka) lists nine shakhas or Schools of the Atharvaveda: Of these, only the (AVS) and the (AVP) recensions have survived. The core text is considered earlier than the , but both also contain later additions and corruptions. In places where the and the agree, it is likely the original version. Often, the two recensions in corresponding hymns have a different verse order, or either has additional verses missing from the other. Additionally, from the {{IAST|Viṣṇu}} and {{IAST|Vāyu}} Puranas (older Hindu texts on the gods, goddesses and their histories) it may be possible to glean a few more ancient schools that were not listed in the . These are: At least some of these may have evolved into the other schools mentioned in the list. , and are the five kalpa texts adduced to the tradition and not separate schools of their own. From the Puranic text we may propose the following evolutionary history of the AV recensions: | | +---- | | | +---- | | | (?) | | +---- | +---- | +---- | | | +---- | | | +---- | | (?) | +---- +---- | +---- +---- | | (?) | +---- +---- +---- | (?) +---- There are two main circum-vedic texts associated with the AV, the and the . These serve the same purpose as the of the Rigveda and are of greater value in studying the Puranic-Vedic link than the AV text itself. There are several Upanishads that are associated with the AV, but appear to be relatively late additions to the tradition. The most important amongst these are the {{IAST|munḍaka}} and the {{IAST|praṣna}} Upanishads . The former contains an important reference to {{IAST|Śaunaka}}, the founder of the Shaunakiya shakha, the latter one is associated with the shakha. Issues of note Dating From alleged internal astronomical references (AVS XI.7), it has been surmised that the Atharvanic period included the time when the Pleiades occupied the spring equinox (roughly 2200 BC). Further, tradition suggests that , one of the early collators, and , one of the late contributors associated with the Atharvanic text, lived during the reign of prince Hiranyanabha of the {{IAST|Ikshvāku}} dynasty, interpreted to mean that the core AV composition was at least complete by 1500 BC. While these approaches are not widely accepted as valid, it is clear that the core text of the AV is not particularly recent in the Vedic tradition, and falls within the classical Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit in the late 2nd millennium BC - roughly contemporary with the Yajurveda mantras, the Rigvedic Khilani, and the redaction of the {{IAST|Sāmaveda}}. The Atharvaveda is also the first Indic text to mention Iron (as , literally "black metal"), so that scholarly consensus dates the bulk of the Atharvaveda hymns to the early Indian Iron Age, corresponding to the 12th to 10th centuries BC or the early Kuru kingdom. During its oral tradition, however, the text has been corrupted by later additions considerably more than the other Vedas, and it is only from comparative philology of the two surviving recensions that we may hope to arrive at an approximation of the original reading. Editions The Shaunakiya text was edited 1960–62 by Vishva Bandhu, Hoshiarpur. The bulk of the text was edited by Leray Carr Barret from 1905 to 1940 (book 6 by Edgerton, 1915) from a single Kashmirian {{IAST|śāradā}} manuscript (now in Tübingen). This edition is outdated, since various other manuscripts were discovered in Bihar, Bengal and Orissa since. Some manuscripts are in the Orissa State Museum, but many manuscripts are in private possession, and are kept hidden by their owners. Many manuscripts were collected by Prof. Durgamohan Bhattacharya of Bengal by deceiving their owners, as told by his son Dipak Bhattacharya in 1968 (below), who describes the theft as valiant daredevilry: "... The knowledge of the villagers, in whose possession many important manuscripts remain, about their possession is often very hazy ... Prof. Bhattacharya secured a manuscript from an illiterate Brahmin on promise of return ..." (see: Zehnder (1999), p.19) Books 1–15 were edited by Durgamohan Bhattacharya (1997). There is a provisional edition of book 20 by Dipak Bhattacharya. Book 2 and 5 were edited and translated by Thomas Zehnder (1999) and Alexander Lubotsky (2002), respectively. | ||||||||
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