The Paippalada Samhita of the Atharvaveda: A critical edition, translation, and study of books 13 and 14

The Atharvaveda, the second oldest Indian text, is known to have existed in nine sakha-s or schools. From the nine sakha-s of the Atharvaveda, two sam&dotbelow;hita-s---Paippalada and Saunaka---have been transmitted and preserved until the present. The two sam&dotbelow;hita-s share about 75% of their content, and each contains material that is not found in the other. While both sam&dotbelow;hita-s share much sorcery, speculative, and gr&dotbelow;hya 'domestic' ritual material, the Paippalada Sam&dotbelow;hita, in addition, contains material that focuses on the royal consecration ritual. The Paippalada Sam&dotbelow;hita thus provides a glimpse into the political and social conditions as well as the religious developments of the post R&dotbelow;gvedic Period not offered by the Saunaka Sam&dotbelow;hita.; This thesis presents the first critical edition, as well as the first translation and study, of the thirteenth and fourteenth books of the Paippalada Sam&dotbelow;hita of the Atharvaveda. The editor has adopted the method of textual criticism detailed by Paul Maas (1958) and has incorporated recent advances in the understanding of the transmission of oral and written texts in South Asia. In preparing the critical edition, two crucial, and often ignored, sources of error in the transmission of Vedic and Sanskrit texts have been studied: (1) the influence of local languages on the pronunciation and recitation of Vedic and Sanskrit; and (2) the influence of the historical development of the scripts used in the written transmission. For the present edition, this means the influence of Kashmiri and Oriya upon the pronunciation of Vedic, as well as the historical development of Indian scripts, paying special attention to the history of Sarada, the local script of Kashmir, and Oriya, the local script of Orissa, as well as the development of the Early Nagari script in the post-Gupta period.; In preparing the critical edition, five manuscripts have been used, including facsimiles of two palm-leaf manuscripts obtained by D. M. Bhattacharya in the 1950's and recently used by Dipak Bhattacharya for his edition of 1997 books 1--15. In the introduction, the recent edition of Bhattacharya, which was published while the present thesis was in progress, is discussed critically.; The translation that accompanies the edition aims to be as literal as possible, while providing a clear understanding of the material contained in the Paippalada Sam&dotbelow;hita. The notes provide information on grammatical and philological points, problems of paleography, and oral transmission. The notes aim also to provide specialists and non-specialists alike with information relevant to an understanding of Vedic and Hindu religion and culture.