Atharvaveda

The Atharvaveda (Sanskrit: अथर्ववेदः, atharvaveda, a tatpurusha compound of atharvan, an ancient Rishi, and veda (meaning "knowledge") is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda". According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Atharvanas and the Angirasa, hence its oldest name is Ātharvāṅgirasa. In the Late Vedic Gopatha Brahmana, it is attributed to the Bhrigu and Angirasa. Additionally, tradition ascribes parts to other rishis, such as Kauśika, Vasiṣṭha and Kaśyapa. There are two surviving recensions (śākhās), known as Śaunakīya (AVS) and Paippalāda (AVP).


The Atharva Veda, while undoubtedly belonging to the core Vedic corpus, in some ways represents an independent parallel tradition to that of the Rigveda and Yajurveda. It incorporates much of early traditions of healing and magic that are paralleled in other Indo-European literatures.


The Atharva Veda is less predominant than other Vedas as it is little used in solemn (Shrauta) ritual. The largely silent Brahmán priest observes the procedures of the ritual and 'heals' it with two mantras and pouring of ghee when a mistake occurs. Though an early text its status has been ambiguous due to its magical character.


Although it is stated that the Gayatri mantra used in Atharva Veda is different from other three Vedas. A special initiation of the Gayatri is required to learn the Atharva Veda. But so far many Vedic schools are teaching the Atharva Veda without the Upanayana. Few Vidwans in Atharva Veda state that they never came across such initiations before learning Atharva Veda. Moreover we cannot find any Gayatri Mantra in Atharva Veda (Shaunaka Shaka) but we find a Mantra at the end of the 19 Canto which praises Goddess Gayatri. The Atharvaveda Parishishtas Pariśiṣṭas (appendices) state that priests of the Mauda and Jalada schools of the Atharvaveda should be avoided, or strict discipline should be followed as per the rules and regulations set by the Atharva Veda. It is even stated that women associated with Atharvan may suffer from miscarriages if they remain while the chants for warfare are uttered..
It is clear that the core text of the Atharvaveda falls within the classical Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit at the end of 2nd millennium BCE - roughly contemporary with the Yajurveda mantras, the Rigvedic Khilani, and the Sāmaveda.


The Atharvaveda is also the first Indic text to mention Iron (as śyāma ayas, literally "black metal"), so that scholarly consensus dates the bulk of the Atharvaveda hymns to the early Indian Iron Age, corresponding to the 12th to 10th centuries BC or the early Kuru kingdom.
During its oral tradition, however, the text has been corrupted considerably more than some other Vedas, and it is only from comparative philology of the two surviving recensions that we may hope to arrive at an approximation of the original reading.
Tradition suggests that Paippalāda, one of the early collators, and Vaidharbhī, one of the late contributors associated with the Atharvanic text, lived during the reign of prince Hiranyanabha of the Ikshvāku dynasty.