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VEDIC LITERATURE


Vedas are the soul of Indian culture and eternal message of world welfare. The study tradition of recitation of Vedas, the oldest text of world literature, has been included as an intangible heritage by UNESCO. Study of Vedas is very essential to understand ancient Indian culture, religion, philosophy, history, society, science, economy and administration and politics. That is why Maharaja Manu has described the Vedas as the source of all knowledge of science by saying 'sarvajñānamayo hi saḥ|' (mahārāja manu)
 
Patanjali sage has described in the Mahabhashya the religion of a Brahmin to study Vedas with the six limbs.

Dr. Rishiraj Pathak had the great fortune of having learnt the recitation of the popular forms of all the four vedas through Guru Mukh Parampara. He has received recitation training from Shri Guru Gangeshwaranand Chaturveda Shodh Sansthan, Ved Mandir, Nashik, Maharashtra and Kotkasim, Rajasthan. He has had the opportunity to receive the training of the recitation of Sāman chants in Gurjara style of the Kauthuma śākhā from Shri Nandan Mishra and Dr. Lambodar Mishra. He attained the Doctor of Philosophy for his thesis subject ‘A Comprehensive Study on the Phonology, Semantics and Musicology of the Sāmavedic Accents’ (2015)
 

He has learnt the Preliminary hymns of the Śākala śākhā of the Ṛgveda in shringeri style under the apprenticeship of  Shri R. Ramesh Bhatt. 
 
He has learnt also the Śaunaka śākhā of the first canto of Atharvaveda from Shri Atmaram Pondel.
 
Dr. Pathak hails from the lineage of the Mādhyandinīya tradition of the Śukla Yajurveda, hence, has received its knowledge and instructions from the eminent Vedic Scholar, Acharya Shri Rameshwar Dayal Sharma and did ācārya in Śukla Yajurveda (with 89.75%) from Maharshi Panini Sanskrit Evam Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, Ujjain MP (2019-2021).
 
He has conducted a special study of some of these texts, which he has learnt through Guru Shishya Parampara or self cultivation. Some of the prominent ones are :
 
Sāmaveda Saṁhitā, Śukla Yajurvda Saṁhitā (Mādhyandinīya and Kāṇva), Vāsiṣṭhī Dhanurveda Saṁhitā, Pāṇinīya-śikṣā, Āpiśala-śikṣā, Candragomī-śikṣā, Yājñavalkya-śikṣā, Nāradīya-śikṣā, Gautamī-śikṣā, Lomaśī-śikṣā, Ṛk-prātiśākhyam, Vājasaneyi-prātiśakhyam, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Ārcikalakṣaṇam, Avagrahasūtram, Hitavākyam, Mātrālakṣaṇam, Pratijñāsūtram, Kātyāyana-trikaṇḍikā-snānasūtram, Bṛhaddevatā, etc.