Sāmavidhāna Brāhmaṇa
By Swami Harshananda
Sāmavidhāna Brāhmaṇa is one of the nine Brāhmanas of the Sāmaveda available now. It has three prapāṭhakas or prakaraṇas or chapters, known respectively as Krcchra, Atikrcchra and Krcchrātikrcchra. The first two have eight anuvākas[1] each and the last one has nine. Unlike the other works of Vedic literature, this Brāhmaṇa does not deal with sacrifices at all. For the benefit of those who cannot perform Vedic sacrifices to get what they want, it prescribes several kṛcchras or rites of a magical nature using the appropriate sāmans as the mantras. Hence it looks like a fore-runner of several topics dealt with in the later dharmaśāstra and tāntrik literature. These topics can be briefed as:
Krcchra-prapāthaka[edit]
Anuvāka 1[edit]
- Creation of the world from Brahmā
- Praise of sāmans that can grant whatever we want
- Brief account of yajñas in general
Anuvāka 2[edit]
- Description of the kṛcchras of various types along with the rules to be followed.
Anuvāka 3[edit]
- Rules guiding Vedic studies
- Results of some sacrifices like Pavamāneṣṭi
Anuvāka 4[edit]
- Rite spread over seven nights[2]
- Various sāmans to be used in getting the fruits of some sacrifices like Agniṣṭoma, Atirātra and Sattrayāgas
- Sāmans to be recited to please the deities like Rudra, Viṣṇu, and Vināyaka.
- Sāmans recited for attaining mokṣa
Anuvāka 5[edit]
- Some prāyaścittas or expiations including the sāmans to be chanted
Anuvākas 6, 7 and 8[edit]
Some more expiations for sins like accepting prohibited gifts, killing a cow, selling things which should not be sold, evil dreams and so on.
Atikrcchra Prapāthaka[edit]
Anuvāka 1[edit]
- Sāmans to be employed for attaining long life
- Purification of oneself
- Going to Brahmaloka after death
- Gaining good health
Anuvākas 2 to 8[edit]
These prescribe the japa of various sāmans for:
- Destruction of sins
- For easy and safe delivery of babies
- For getting a good son
- For eliminating the evil effects brought about by malignant spirits
- For removing the effects of poisons
- For safe pilgrimage
- For attaining fame or any other desire
- Etc.
Krcchrātikrcchra Prapāthaka[edit]
All the nine anuvākas deal with the similar topics such as:
- Sāmans to be used for attaining wealth
- How to perform vāstuhoma
- How to discover hidden wealth
- Means of getting a vision of any deity
- Means of controlling the minds of others
- Sādhana for obtaining mokṣa or liberation
Impression of Sāmavidhāna Brāhmaṇa[edit]
The work traces the paramparā[3] of teaching thus:
Commentaries on Sāmavidhāna Brāhmaṇa[edit]
It has two commentaries:
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore