The jarAbodhIya sAmans

shakti was the son of maitrAvaruNi vasiShTha. The sons of shakti were the shAktya-s like parAshara and gauravIti. They were performing a yAga in which pashu-puroDAshas were offered. For this purpose the R^iShi gaurivIti shAktya had shot a deer. Just then garuDa came flying onto his quarry from above. He took aim with his arrow to shoot tArkShya suparNa. suparNa told him: “O R^iShi do not shoot me. I will help you to fulfill what desire you might have.” gaurivIti asked him: “so what do you think is my desire?” garuDa said: “You love the daughter of asita dhAmnya; I will convey you to her. asita dhAmnya was a jealous father who did not want his daughter’s lover to get to her. He had a palace in atmosphere, where the asuras safe-guarded his daughter. garuDA daily awakened gaurivIti with the jarAbodhIya sAman, hid the R^iShi in a rolled up leaf and bore him to his lover. He made her pregnant and a son was born to her. The asuras saw the child of their sister and said this is a rakSha and tearing him threw him away. gaurivIti wished to revive him and used the jarAbodhIya sAman to revive him. The revived boy was the R^ishi saMkR^iti the founder of the eponymous gotra amongst the vasiShThas.

The jarAbodhIya is a dyad of sAmans composed on the R^ik 1.27.10* of shunaHshepa Ajigarti, the son of the fallen bhArgava. These sAmans are a laud to rudra. Both are seven-fold sAmans. The stobha in the first one is au ho vA occurring in the second last bhakti. The second has 2 stobha-s ovA and iDA occurring the first and last bhAktis. That stobha iDA is supposed to protect and increase his cattle. Shown above is an analysis of the sAmans, as recited by kauthuma shAkAdhyAyins from thanjAvur who had served as the udgAtar and his assistance in recent soma sacrifices. One can note that in the 1st jarAbodhIya jArA opens in a low tonal series but the duplicated bodha2 with the pre~Nka moves to the high tone. In the second sAman the whole bhakti jarAbodhovA is in the low tonal series. The nidhana of the first one is a high tone, while in the second one we notice the descending tone series ‘345’ typical of many saman musical cadences.