How A Teenage Vedic Scholar Created History at Kashi

The ancient city of Kashi saw a celebration that combined an unbroken, timeless history of Hindu thought and the idea of limitless human potential  from the 12th of October to 30th November this year. 

Devvrat Mahesh Rekhe, a brilliant Vedic scholar from Maharashtra, completed the ‘Dandakrama Parayana’ of the ‘Madhyandina Recension’ of the ‘Shukla Yajur Veda’, chanting nearly 2000 mantras of the Veda, continuously over a duration of 50 days. 

The chanting was done solely out of memory, the culmination of years of gruelling scholarship by Rekhe in the tradition of the Gurukul system of education. 

The event was graced by the presence of the renowned Sanskrit scholar, Padm Shri Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, other eminent scholars and saints from Kashi and other parts of the nation. As the concluding parts were chanted, emotional jubilation arose in the hall and appreciation came from all corners including the Hon’ble Prime Minister. 

Dandakrama Parayana and Methods of Vedic Chanting

The Vedic corpus of Samhitas (commonly known simply as the Vedas) contain aspects of vocabulary and grammar and more importantly, annotation or swaras. 

A Vedic mantra needs to be chanted as per rules of Grammar (Vyakarana), Metres (Chhanda) and Phonetics (Siksha), three of the six Vedangas of limbs of Vedic Sanskrita. In order to preserve the Vedas orally in all its integral aspects, methods of chanting were devised, utilising various methodologies of permuting words in the mantras, acting as a form of encryption during vocal transmission. 

In his words, Swami Chandrasekharananda Saraswati ‘Mahaperiya’ describes the process as, “Our forefathers devised a number of methods to preserve the unwritten Vedas in their original form, to safeguard their tonal and verbal purity. They laid down rules to make sure that not a syllable was changed in chanting, not a svara was altered. In this way they ensured that the full benefits were derived from intoning the mantras. The words are braided together, so to speak, and recited back and forth.”

There exist eight methods of Vedic Chanting at the present, two simple or ‘prakrita’ ie. samhita and pada and six artificial or ‘vikrita’ which are elucidated in the following verse, 

‘jata mala sikha rekha dhvajo dando ratho ghanah

 astau vikrtayah proktah kramapurva maharsibhih’

The six artificial methods are in increasing order of complexity; jata, mala, sikha, rekha, dhwaja, danda, ratha and ghana. Due to the natural utility of the danda style of chanting for Rigveda and Shukla Yajurveda, the style was chosen by Rekhe in his Parayana. 

Dandakrama or danda style usually involves the permutation of 1-2, 2-3, 3-2, 2-3-4, 4-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6 and so on. This yields nearly 25 Lakh combinations or padas, which were recited by Rekhe. 

A Feat Par Excellence

A successful ‘parayana’ has certain rules for it to be considered successful. In the case of Rekhe, the first one was that the whole text was to be recited from memory alone. Rekhe did not have access to the text either during the recitation or recess. The mind of the reciter has to juggle between all possible permutations of the mantras/padas while maintaining the correct annotation (swaras) and reproducing the mantras from memory. 

The recitation is equally brutal in terms of its unforgiving nature. Rekhe was not allowed to commit even a single error during the recitation, either in prose or annotations/phonetics. Committing an error would mean a failed attempt and would require going back to the beginning of the text to restart. In this manner, Rekhe continuously chanted the Veda for nearly 4-5 hours a day across 50 days, completing the feat. 

As modern history is a witness, there have been only three feats of such a nature. The parayana was last completed by Narayana Shastri at Nasik, nearly 200 years ago, in a span of 100 days while one of the Rigveda was collectively done at Ayodhya in a span of 300 days last year. This is the only solo parayana in the past century by a scholar. 

Transmitting the Vedas and Dharma 

Vedas form the fundamental bedrock of Hinduism and Dharma. Since ancient times, a Hindu has been referred to in the classic sense as one who believed in the authority of the Vedas. As per scriptures, Vedas were heard by sages or rishis in deep meditation as primordial manifestation of the eternal purusha or God, are the breath of the divine and were transmitted through oral tradition and families which were compiled at some point of time into the four texts we know today by Veda Vyasa. 

‘Vedo khilo dharmamulam’ or Vedas are the source of Dharma. The texts are a rich treatise of the sacred and the profane. From chants eulogising deities and having usage in rituals and healing to enunciating the supreme truths of existence, Vedic scholarship has sustained Hinduism over at least the past five millennia. The unadulterated transmission of these mantras and later compiled texts over millenias of history has been possible only through the endeavour of scholars like Rekhe and similar dedicated families and individuals. 

The Vedic literature also provides valuable lessons in the material world. From moral precepts for an ideal society and family life to ideals for the individual, wisdom of the ages has been preserved well through the texts. Scientific and mathematical knowledge including the earliest discovery of geometrical constructions, theorems including the one commonly known today as Pythagorean and elaborate architectural rules have been preserved through Vedic sutras. Our very understanding of Hindu history and philosophy through the ages despite being ravaged by natural calamities and repeated invasions is due to individuals like Rekhe and the efforts that the dandakrama represents.  

Celebrating Human Potential

As the society and human race become charmed with the ideas of automation and augmentation, endeavours like the one by Rekhe reinforce the belief in infinite human potential and intelligence in this age of AI. Vedic chanting benefits the intellect by 

improving memory, concentration, and cognitive performance through stress reduction and direct effects on the mind and brain. Training in permutation based recitations and memorizations of the kind of traditional Vedic scholarship leads to increased brain density and improved focus, memory and intellect. 

The Hindu tradition is replete with such practices that celebrate the human mind. From simple parayanas to complex and to ‘Avadhanas’ or the art of concentration on simultaneous tasks, the ancient Hindu tradition has cultivated the path from the human to the divine and maximising the intellectual potential of the individual. 

Propagating the Creed

What Rekhe has accomplished needs replication and support throughout the Hindu consciousness. Patanjali in his Mahabhasya records 21 Sakhas of the Rgveda, 100 of the Yajurveda, 1000 of the Samaveda and 9 of the Atharvaveda. A large number of the Sakhas listed by Patanjali have disappeared today. While being an oral tradition, there is hardly any scope of restoration of the recensions, the present traditions and existing structures need nurturing and conservation. 

Men like Rekhe are the product of both society and homes. Rekhe’s father trained him while his mother became a prime motivating force for the feat. Similar values need to be inculcated in the upcoming generations so that more geniuses in the field of Vedic scholarship or otherwise spring up to carry forward this rich legacy. Support is also needed for the crumbling Veda Pathashala and Gurukul infrastructure with time being of essence. It is thus that the holy land may regain and achieve new heights of material and spiritual glory.