Volume 1 - Sanskrit Web

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cxlvi General Introduction, Part II. : in part by Whitney
several hymns within any given book. It is clear that the subject has
not been at all considered ; nor is it at all probable that any regard has
been had to the authorship, real
value whatever respecting the " rishis ").
or claimed (we have no tradition of any
Probably only chance or arbitrary
choice of the arranger dictated the internal ordering of
each book.
LOn this subject there is indeed little that is positive to be said ; but (in
order to avoid repetition) I think it best to say that little for each grand
division in its proper place under that division : see pages cliv, clvii,
and clx.J
LDistribution of hymns according to length in the three grand divisions
Tables i
and 2 and 3. — The distribution of the hymns according to their
length throughout the books of the three grand divisions is shown by
Whitney's tables i, 2, and 3, preceding. The numbers rest on the numerations
of the Berlin edition, and due reference to the differences of numeration
of the Bombay edition is made below at p. cxlvii. A vertical column
is devoted to each book and in that column is shown how many hymns of
I verse, of 2 or 3 or 4 and so on up to 89 verses, there are in that book,
by the number horizontally opposite the number of verses indicated in
the column headed by the word "contains." To facilitate the summation
of the number of hymns and verses in the Atharva-Veda, the last column
but one on the right gives the number of hymns of i vs., of 2 vss. and so
on, in the division concerned, and the last
column on the right gives the
total number of verses contained in the hymns of i vs., of 2 vss. and so
on (the total in each line being, of course, an exact multiple of the number
preceding in the same line). Accordingly we may read, for example,
the sixth line of table i as follows : "Book vii. contains 10 hymns of 3
verses and book vi. contains 122. The sum of hymns of 3 verses in the
division is 132, and the sum of verses in those hymns is 396. "J
LTables i and 2 and 3 for divisions I. and II. and III. — These ought
properly to come in at this point ; but as their form and contents are
such that it is desirable to have them stand on two pages that face
each other, they have been put (out of their proper place) on pages cxliv
and cxlv.J'
LGrouping of the hymns of book xix. according to length. — Table 4. —
Apart from the two hymns, 22 (of 21 verseis) and 23 (of 30), which are in
divers ways of very exceptional character, it
appears that every hymn of
this book, if judged simply by its verse-total length, would fall into the
first grand division, as being of less than 20 verses. ^ This fact is of critical
interest, and is
in keeping with the character of book xix. as an aftergleaning,
and in particular an after-gleaning of such material as would
properly fall into the first grand division (cf. p. 895, ^ 2). The table:
'
[_And so would hymns 22 and 23, if judged by their actual length.