At the dawn of time, the Vedas emerged as the inhalations and exhalations of the Lord Paramatma. At the end of the Age or World, the maharishis, in accordance with the directions of Lord Brahma obtained the Vedas and other Holy Scriptures. They could do so, due to the power of their tapas. They taught these to their disciples, and over generations, several branches of the Vedas developed. However, a large number of these scriptures were destroyed; and only a few of them available to us.
Amongst these is the Taittariya branch of Krishna-Yajur-Veda, which is popular in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Its branches are Samhitha, Brahmanam, Aranyaka, and the Upanishads. Maharishi Atreya provided the text for the Samhitha. The Siksha Sastra explains the structure and architecture of the Vedas and the various transformations of the words. As it explains the qualities and character of the Vedas, it is called Lakshana. It has two important texts, namely the Prathisakhya and the Vyasasiksha. These two provide guidance and training.
The prathisakhya in the Lakshana book provides details about the long and short syllables (Guru and Laghu). It spares no pains to stress the fact that the learner should invariably know about these syllables. In the absence of this knowledge, it is impossible to study the natural order of syllables and their transitions or transformed forms. In the absence of knowledge about these transformations or transitions of the syllables, the student can never achieve the competence to become a teacher.
Those who fail to teach would not be able to recollect the Vedas. As such, instruction is an important facet, in the learning of the Vedas. It is essential to obtain the knowledge in the Lakshana from the master. Another benefit of learning this knowledge is that it enables the learner to attain theBrahmaloka. Furthermore, the want of such knowledge would prevent the student from obtaining any outcome from the study of the Vedas. Thus, the knowledge of Lakshana provides excellent results and its ignorance results in failure.
In general, the Paniniya siksha provides this knowledge. If that is so, then why should one exclusively study the vedangs and the prathisakhyas? This is a frequently asked question among several students of Veda.
The Paniniya and other grammar text books provide the necessary information to obtain help, and this can be easily understood by the layman. They encompass most of the principles from almost all the scriptures. In order to have explicit knowledge in a specific field, one has to refer to the prathisakhya books. Although these books contain some generalised rules, they address a number of principles and provide an in-depth knowledge about them. As such, it is mandatory to read these prathisakhya.
The fundamentalcharacteristicsof the Taittariya branch are appended below.
It describes the form of swaras, ranging from udatha and their emergence. The differences in the tonal utterances of these swaras are defined as being of seven types, namely , kshaipram, nityam, pratihatam, abhinihatham, plaslishtam, padavritham, and thairovyanjana.
The sixteenth chapter is exclusively dedicated to the answara.
The time periods related to pauses are also described. These are determined as tri-matra period for Rigvirama, dual -matra for pada-virama, uni - matra for vivruthi virama, and half-matra for synonymous words or vivrtuthi virama. Many people do not know the duration of the pause, for thevivruthi viramam.
Vivruthi:
It is the gap between two syllables which cannot be combined. It is an opening. The samana – pada vivruthi, which denotes equal words, is an important vivruthi. If the first and last letters of two words are the same, they are categorised as samana-pada, and can be combined easily. Such conjunction is termed as samana-pada vivruthi.
All the important aspects of this branch have to be learned from a master.
The System of Expression or Pronunciation:
The man who carries a pot filled with milk on his head will walk carefully and with concentration. He takes all possible measures to protect it. Similarly, the student of the Vedas should learn with the utmost concentration, steadily and with the correct pronunciation of the words. In the absence of these features, mispronunciation can occur. Such mispronunciation results in bad outcomes.
In ancient times, Viswarupa, the son of Twashta Prajapathi, was the official purohit to the deities. He used to serve the havirs to not only the deities, but also the demons. He served the deities directly and the demons clandestinely. The king of the deities, Indra, came to know of this, and in a fit of rage beheaded Viswarupa with hisVajrayudha. In retaliation, Twashta prajapathi performed a homa to obtain a son, with the prowess to kill Indra. However, he mispronounced the mantras, during the homa, and obtained a son who be killed by Indra. This story indicates that the mispronunciation of mantras leads to a bad end. A mantra, per se, transforms itself into a weapon that punishes the person who pronounced it incorrectly.
Om kara:
The student of the Vedasmust chant Om, before commencing the study of the Vedas, and also when the study is over. The chanting of the Pranav or Om protects the Vedas. The scriptures warn that if Om is not chanted, thenthe Vedas would be extinguished.
Letters and their characteristics:
Each letter has eight characteristics.
Sound: What will be the sound of the letter?
Place: From which place will the sound of the letter emerge?
Karanam: Which organ produces the sound?
Effort: What is the effort to be made, in order to pronounce the letter?
Time period: For how much time a letter is to be pronounced?
Swaram: What is the pitch at which the letter is to be pronounced?
Deity: Who is the presiding deity of the letter?
Category: To which category or jathidoes the letter belong?
The prathisakhya describes three elements, namely the place, effort, and organ. The vyasasiksha provides detailed information about the remaining elements. The Paniniya Siksha also provides information about the place, organ, and effort required to pronounce a letter.
The Order of the Alphabets:
The process that indicates the sound, place, and organs to pronounce the letters, is known as the order of the alphabets. This alphabetical order is of five types.
Sudha varna karma
Swara varna karma
Mathrika varna karma
Anga varna karma
Varna sara varna karma
Advantages:
The scholar who has knowledge about the alphabetical orders and swara-matra is considered to be competent to teach the Vedas. He is a master of the Vedas, in the hierarchy of great masters like Maharishi Vyasa. He will definitely attain the plane of Brahma, where the other great masters reside.
The jnani who has clear knowledge about the sounds of letters, as stipulated in the Sastras will proceed to Heaven. Such a jnani receives all the fortunes and all his desires will be fulfilled. According to Maharishi Kaiyata, such a jnani would prosper on earth, with endless fortunes.
The different statuses in the Lakshana:
The scholar with mastery over samhitha, pada, karma, jata, and vikruthi is considered a mediocre scholar. However, a scholar who has mastered the lakshana with the support of prathisakhya and other grammar texts is deemed to be an eminent scholar. Therefore, the lakshya and lakshna books play a cardinal role in the study of the Vedas.
Jaya Guru Datta