Broader question manuscripts of Samhitas

[Harry Spier]

Dear list members,

Firstly many thanks to everyone who sent me answers to my question about the
differences between the oral version of the satarudriya I have and the text
in Weber's edition.  But the answers have got me wondering about a broader
question.  When the european editions of the samhitas were being prepared in
the latter part of the 19th century what exactly were the manuscripts of the
samhitas they used, who made them, why were they made and for whom?

1) Would it be the case:

A) A Vedashala would produce (or be commission to be produced) a manuscript
of their particular samhita, verify its correctness and then use it within
the Vedashala either for teaching or for some other purpose.

or

B) The manuscript would be produced (or be commissioned to be produced) by a
pandit who was not a vedic priest or by someone else outside the Vedashala
or by a religious institute for some other reason than to be used in
training Vaidikas.  If this is the case then what would it be used for? (Do
most manuscripts of samhitas consist of the samhita and a commentary or the
samhita on its own?).

or

C) Something different than the above.

2) Would the scribes be:
   a) Vaidik priests who knew the samhita orally.
   b) Learned Pandits who could discuss the text or commentary.
   c) Trained copyists but not necessarily trained scholars.

Mant thanks,



Harry Spier
371 Brickman Rd.
Hurleyville, New York
USA 12747

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Get more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com