Palaniappan:

vāram recitation refers to the recitation of mantras by multiple people in turns. vāra-, perhaps derived from √vr̥- also has the meanings of 'day of the week' (turn of the day?), again and again (vāraṁ-vāraṁ, vāraṁ vāreṇa) and occasion (related to Hindi bār-, bāri 'turn' [CDIAL 11547]) etc.

Interestingly, Dravidian cāri/sāri [DEDR 2464] shows similar semantics of turn, time, occasion etc., although, I don't believe these two words are related.

Suresh.

Atlanta, GA.

On Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 11:22 AM, <palaniappa@aol.com> wrote:

Michael,

I am intrigued by the term 'vāram recitation'. Can you describe this mode of recitation? In the Cilappatikāram, the term 'vāram pāṭal', i.e., singing vāram is used. It is also mentioned in Tolkāppiyam Poruḷatikāram 653. V. P. K. Sundaram, the late musicologist, explains vāram as two akṣaras per unit time. I am curious how the term is used in the context of Vedic recitation.

Thanks

Regards,

Palaniappan