Dear Indologists, 

I recently came in possession of vol. 4 of Dipak Bhattacharya’s edition of the Paippalāda-saṁhitā of the Atharvaveda (Kolkata : The Asiatic Society, 2016), as far as I know not yet announced on this list. 

It contains not only the first critical edition of the remaining kāṇḍas, 19 and 20, of the Paippalāda-saṁhitā (other kāṇḍas in vols. 1-3, Kolkata, Asiatic Society, 1997, 2008, 2011) but also a detailed, erudite introduction on the importance and implications of the Paippalāda-saṁhitā for the cultural history – I would say, an alternative, pre-Manu or non-Manu cultural history – of Vedism and of early Brahmanism and Hinduism. 

The observations of Prof. Bhattacharya, whom I felicitate with this important achievement, confirm, I believe, my statement on the emerging canonical śākhās of the Veda:  

“The early development of the last of the major Vedic divisions to become independent, the Atharvavedic branches – which, unlike their Yajurvedic and Sāmavedic predecessors, do not get a chance to develop completely before they are almost entirely swept away by new ecological and religious developments – lays in between these two, and shows not only evidence of a largely agricultural environment, but also of a general resource crunch: Brahmins who have given up an earlier semi-nomadic life-style in favour of a more settled one are experiencing increased difficulties to find stable niches for survival.”

(p. 180 of “From Fuzzy-Edged ‘Family-Veda’ to the Canonical Śākhas of the Catur-Veda: Structures and Tangible Traces.” In: Vedic Śākhās: Past, Present, Future. Proceedings of the Fifth International Vedic Workshop, Bucharest 2011, ed. by J.E.M. Houben, J. Rotaru and M. Witzel, p. 159-192. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University, 2016.)

Best wishes to all for 2018 !

Jan Houben