PREFACE.

the Ûhagâna The "Song of Reasoning," a collection of melodies for ritual use and the Ûhyagâna The "Esoteric Song," melodies intended for secret or forest study, of Part II. This Part is less disjointed than Part I., and is generally arranged in triplets whose first verse is often the repetition of a verse that has occurred in Part I.

There is no clue to the date of the compilation of the Sâmaveda The "Veda of Melodies," the third of the four sacred Hindu scriptures Hymns, nor has the compiler's name been handed down to us. Such a manual was unnecessary in the early times when the Âryans The Indo-European people who migrated into northern India first came into India, but was required for guidance and use in the complicated ritual elaborated by the invaders after their expansion and settlement in their new homes.

There are three recensions Revised or variant versions of a text of the text of the Sâmaveda-sanhitâ The "Collection" or continuous text of the Sâmaveda, the Kauthuma Shâkhâ Literally "branch," referring to a specific school or tradition of Vedic study or recension is current in Guzerat, the Jaiminîya in the Carnatic, and the Rânâyanîya in the Mahratta country. A translation, by Dr. Stevenson, of the Rânâyanîya recension—or, rather, a free version of Sâyaṇa's paraphrase—was edited by Professor Wilson in 1842; in 1848 Professor Benfey of Göttingen brought out an excellent edition of the same text with a metrical translation, a complete glossary, and explanatory notes; and in 1874—1878 Pandit Satyavrata Sâmaṣramî of Calcutta published in the Bibliotheca Indica A collection of oriental works published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal a most meritorious edition of the Sanhitâ according to the same recension, with Sâyaṇa's Commentary, portions of the Song-books, and other illustrative matter. I have followed Benfey's text, and have made much use of his glossary and notes. Pandit Satyavrata Sâmaṣramî's edition also has been of the greatest service to me. To Mr. Venis, Principal of the