शौनक-शाखा
- सायणभाष्यसहिता संहिता वास्तविकी। लोकेऽधुना शैनकपैप्पलादादिभिर् अधीयमाना तत ईषद् भिन्ना रूढेति (vulgate इति) प्रोच्यते।
- केन्द्राणि
Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Avadh region in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh. Only Gujarat has maintained the oral traditions, and the shakha has been resuscitated in recent times in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and in Andhra Pradesh.
- Fragmentary Gopatha Brahmana (extant and published), no accents. Mundaka Upanishad
पैप्पलाद-शाखा
The kashmirian manuscripts of raghuvIrra are lacunose relative to the more pristine kali~Ngan manuscripts. - MT
Followers are currently found in parts of Orissa and adjacent areas of Bihar and West Bengal and recite the Samhita in ekasruti (monotone syllable). Epigraphic and literary evidence shows that they once thrived in Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and parts of Gujarat, East Bengal and in Tamil Nadu as well.
Source: The Vedas: Literature of Ancient India
- पैप्पलादश्रुतेर् उत्कलप्राप्तिस् तु काश्मीरात् प्रत्यागच्छद्भिर् औत्कलच्छात्रैर् इति।
recited by Utkala Brahmins as samhita patha only. otherwise, two manuscripts survive: Kashmiri (mostly edited) and Oriya (partly edited, by Dipak Bhattacharya and others, unaccented)
ब्राह्मणम्
- lost,similar to that of Gopatha Brahmana
- Prashna Upanishad, Sharabha Upanishad etc
शाखान्तरम्
स्तौदायनशाखा Staudayana According to Majjhima Nikaya, followers of this shakha lived in Koshala (central and eastern Uttar Pradesh). The shakha is completely lost. … Devadarshi Atharvaveda: According to literary evidence, followers of this Shakha once lived in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Other AV shakhas said to have been prevalent in that region were Shaulkayani and Munjakeshi. The shakha is completely lost. … Charanavaidya and Jajala Atharvaveda: Perhaps existed in Gujarat, Central India and adjacent parts of Rajasthan. According to the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, the Samhita of the Charanavaidya shakha had 6026 mantras.
Mauda Atharvaveda: According to some scholars, they existed in Kashmir
Source: The Vedas: Literature of Ancient India
Stauda , Mauda, Jajala, Jalada, Kuntapa, Brahmavada, Devadarsa and Charanavaidya shakahas - extinct - ST
प्राचीनता
सारः
The floating mass of grihya, shAnta and yAtu material most likely collected and given shape by the clans of bhrigus/atharvans and angirases - this post dates shrauta standardization in kuru panchala realms.The floating mass of grihya, shAnta and yAtu material most likely collected and given shape by the clans of bhrigus/atharvans and angirases - this post dates shrauta standardization in kuru panchala realms.
शब्द-व्युत्पत्तिः
The word atharvan itself has the Iranian cognate āθravan which really semantically equivalent to brAhmaNa. Just like brAhmaNa is supposed to possess brahmavarchas, acquisition of glorious khvarena makes one an āθravan. Connection Iranian ātar most likely is correct, as it was atharvan who discovers fire under water and deposits on a lotus leaf (something alluded in Rig Veda itself). Any connection to atharvan and angirasa collection of mantras appear to be a later development. …
अन्यत्र मन्त्रानुकृतिः
If you examine the contents of AV, you can see broad divisions like this
- grihya ritual proper (lot of AV mantras make their way into mantrapAThas of grihya sutras. AV has superior reading in general);
- witchcraft/sorcery - domain of angirasa and
- bheshajAni/shAnti - domain of atharvan.
Most likely mantras associated with these practices predate RV itself - AV healing charm has an exact Germanic stanza. The yAtuvidya/sorcery is at least of Indo-Iranian provenance - Yasna 12.4 has the zoroastrian reject yAtus and their associates.
तैत्तिरीयोल्लेखाः
Taittiriya samhita in ashvamedha mantras has this: In the long list of svAhAkAras, it has R^igbhyassvAhA, yajurbhyassvAhA, sAmebhyassvAhA and angirobhyassvAhA.
Taittiriya brAhmaNa 3.12.8.2 has this passage: It enumerates R^iks, yajushes, sAmans and continues with atharvAngirasas, itihAsa puraNas and the vidyas of sarpa and deva janas.
Taittiriya Upanishad of yajurveda in brahmAnandavalli (8.3.1) on manomaya kosha has yajur as the head, R^iks and sAmans as the wings and atharvAngirasa as the tail. This establishes taittiriya upanishad is aware of all the 4 veda.