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Re: Rig and Yajur Upakarma in 1999

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Sadagopan • June 19, 1999 


>From: Mani Varadarajan 
>Subject: Re: Rig and Yajur Upakarma in 1999
>Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999 13:01:06 -0700 (PDT)
>To: bhakti@lists.best.com
>
>Dear BhakthAs :

I will respond to Sri mani VaradarAjan's
question on Atharva UpAkarmA here .

>I found out the answer to the upAkarma question asked
>earlier. The dosha is only for prathama (first-time) upAkarmins
>of Rg and Yajur Veda. Others can perform the upAkarma on
>their regular date, viz., August 25 for Rg, August 26
>for Yajur, and September 12 for Sama.
>
>This topic was discussed by Sri Sadagopan in a previous year:
>
>http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/aug98/0055.html
>
>Mani
>
>P.S. Why is it no panchAngam lists atharvaNa upAkarma?
*********************************************************
Atharva Vedam has upAkarmam .Among the original
nine sAkhAs of  Atharva Vedam ( navadhA atharvaNO Veda:),
only two - saunakhA and PippalAdA --are existent today .
Even those are limited to Kashmir , Benares 
and very limited section of Northern India . 
Hence , you will rarely come across reference
to Atharva upAkarmA dates in South .It is very difficult
to find younger people in big numbers familiar 
with Atharva Samhithai anywhere in India .The days 
of Chathur Vedis are long gone .Late Kaanchi PeriyavAL helped
significantly to enhance the flow of the vidyArthis undergoing
VedAdhyananam of Atharva Samhithai by locating the scholars
in the north and did Atharva Veda RakshaNam by
facilitating the instruction of the younger students 
by the older generation .  

Most of the people of Tamil Naadu and Andhra pradEsh 
are Yajus SaakhAdhyAyins . A smaller number of Saama Vedins
and Rg Vedins (dhavaithins and SmarthAs ) exist in 
the Southern part of India .The majority of Rg Vedins 
exist around the Western part of India (Kashmir , GujarAth, 
MaharAshtrA ,NarmadhA banks and closer geographical 
locations ).

In summary , Atharva UpAkarmA is not prominently 
mentioned in most of India because of the concentration
of Atharva Samhithai in very limited sections of India .
Atharva vedam is the youngest of the four Vedams 
and is connected with the development of the Tantric
System and refers frequently to manthra Japam 
to achieve material or other benefits or to ward off
inauspiciousness. In this context , UpAkarmA has
special significance in Atharva Vedam .
V.Sadagopan