Shakala Shakha

Shakala Shaka (Sanskrit:शाकल शाखा); IAST:Śākala Śākhā), is the only surviving shakha (from skt. śākhā f. "branch" or "recension") of the Rigveda. The Śākala tradition is mainly followed in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The Mahābhāṣya of Patanjali refers to 21 śākhās of the rigveda; however, according to Śaunaka's Caraṇa-vyuha there are five śākhās for the Rigveda, the Śākala, Bāṣkala, Aśvalayana, Śaṅkhāyana, and Māṇḍukāyana of which only the Śākala and Bāṣkala and very few of the Aśvalayana are now extant. The only complete recension of this text known today is of the Śākala School.^[1] As far as the Rigveda is concerned only Śākala Śākhā is preserved out of 21 which existed at one time. There is a claim that Śaṅkhāyana Śākhā is still known to a few Vedapathis in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat but this is not certain.^[2]

The main saṃhitā for Śākala Sākhā is the Śākala Saṃhitā and the corresponding brahmana is Aitareya Brāhmaṇa. The main Upanishad of the Śākala Śākhā is Aitareya Upaniṣad. The Shrauta Sutra for Śākala Shākhā is Āśvalāyaṇa Śrauta Sūtra and the Grihya Sutra is Āśvalāyana Gr̥ya Sūtra. The Aranyaka of Śākala Śākhā is Aitareya Āraṇyaka.^{[3][1][4][1][5][6]}

Shiksha

Śikṣā as a term for phonetics, is first used in Taittirīya Upaniṣad, which gives its various components which include Varna (individual sounds) and Svara (accent). The Pratishakhyas are among the earlier texts of Shiksha. Pratiśākhya literally means " belonging to each śākhā". In the Rigveda the Pratishakhya available today is ascribed to Shaunaka. This is also known as Śākala Pratiśākhya and belongs to Śaiśirīya Śākhā, a branch of "Śākala Śākhā".^[7]

Prominent people

The major āchāryas who belonged to the Śākala Śākhā included:

• Padmanabha Tirtha (samadhi 1324 CE), a Hindu Dvaita philosopher, dialectician, the direct disciple of Madhvacharya and the acharya who is known for spreading Tattvavada outside the Tulunadu region.
• Jayatirtha (1345 – 1388) - a Hindu Dvaita philosopher, dialectician, polemicist and the 6th peetha of Madhvacharya Peetha.^[8]
• Eknath (1533–1599) - a Hindu Vaishnava saint, scholar, and religious poet of the Varkari Sampradaya^[9]
• Samarth Ramdas (1608–1681) - a Hindu Vaishnava saint and devotee of Lord Rama.^[10]
• Mahipati (1715 - 1790), an 18th century Hindu Vaishnava Varkari saint.
• Manik Prabhu (1817 - 1865) - a Hindu Advaita saint, philosopher, poet and guru of Dattatreya tradition.
• Satyadhyana Tirtha (1872 - 1942) - a Hindu Dvaita philosopher-saint, scholar, yogi, mystic, theologian and the 38th peetadhipathi of Uttaradi Math.^[11]

References

1. Dalal 2014, p. 18.
2. Kireet Joshi (1991). The Veda and Indian Culture: An Introductory Essay. Motilal Banarsidass Publications. p. 91. ISBN 9788120808898.
3. Dalal 2014, p. 61.
4. Laurie L. Patton (27 June 2005). Bringing the Gods to Mind: Mantra and Ritual in Early Indian Sacrifice. University of California Press. p. 200. ISBN 9780520930889. Retrieved 27 June 2005.
5. Hermann Oldenberg, trans., Max Müller, ed. Sacred Books of the East Vol. XXIX, "The Grihya-sûtras, rules of Vedic domestic ceremonies", part 1, Oxford, The Clarendon press 1886
6. Hermann Oldenberg, trans., Max Müller, trans. Sacred Books of the East Vol. XXX, "The Grihya-sûtras, rules of Vedic domestic ceremonies", part 2, Oxford, The Clarendon press 1892
7. Dalal 2014, p. 75.
8. Hebbar 2005, p. 227.
9. Novetzke, Christian Lee (2013). Religion and Public Memory: A Cultural History of Saint Namdev in India. Columbia University Press. pp. 141–142. ISBN 978-0-23151-256-5.
10. Date, V. H. (1975). Spiritual treasure of Saint Rāmadāsa (1st ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 1. ISBN 9780842608053.
11. Sharma 2000, p. 198.

Bibliography

• Dalal, Roshen (2014). The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism's Sacred Texts. Penguin UK. ISBN 9788184757637.
• Hebbar, B.N (2005). The Sri-Krsna Temple at Udupi: The History and Spiritual Center of the Madhvite Sect of Hinduism. Bharatiya Granth Nikethan. ISBN 81-89211-04-8.
• Sharma, B. N. Krishnamurti (2000). A History of the Dvaita School of Vedānta and Its Literature, Vol 1. 3rd Edition. Motilal Banarsidass (2008 Reprint). ISBN 978-8120815759.