(Devanagari: परिशिष्ट, "supplement, appendix, remainder") are Sanskrit supplementary texts appended to another fixed, more ancient text – typically the Vedic literature – that aim to "tell what remains to be told". These have style of sutras, but less concise. According to Max Mueller, the parisista of the Vedas, "may be considered the very last outskirts of Vedic literature, but they are Vedic in character, and it would be difficult to account for their origin at any time except the expiring moments of the Vedic age."
Within the early Sanskrit texts, 18 parisishtas are mentioned, but numerous more have survived into the modern era, likely composed later. Parisista exists for each of the four Vedas. However, only the literature associated with the Atharvaveda is extensive and 74 parisishtas are known, some in the form of dialogues. The Vedic parisistas generally present rituals, ceremonies, nature of hymns, and opinions of other scholars about certain aspects of the primary text. The Atharvaveda parisishtas include omens in addition, and sections of it have survived in very corrupted form that is difficult to elucidate or interpret.Maejima Miki and Yano Michio (2010), A Study on the Athervaveda Parisista 50-57 with Special Reference to the Kurmavibhaga, Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, Vol. 58, No. 3, pages 1126-1129
Rigveda The is a very late text associated with the Rigveda canon. It is a short text of three chapters expanding on domestic rites such as the daily sandhyopāsana and rites of passage such as marriage and śrāddha.Modak 1993, p.189
The Bahvricha parisishta and Sankayana parisishta are also attached to the Rigveda.
Samaveda The ,Also known as the ascribed to Gobhilaputra, is a concise metrical text of two chapters, with 113 and 95 verses respectively. Its subjects are covered in a manner clear to those who understand Vedic Sanskrit. The first chapter deals with physical aspects of sacred cosmic rituals e.g. names of the 37 types of sacred fires, the rules and measurements for the firewood, preparation of the holy site and the timings of each cosmic activity. The second chapter deals mainly with major domestic rites such as matrimony or Shrāddha (communication with ancestral beings). Noteworthy are injunctions such as that a girl should be given away in marriage before she attains puberty.Modak 1993, p.190
A second short text, the also known as the Karmapradīpika has roughly similar coverage.Modak 1993, p.201
Yajurveda
(White) The , ascribed to , consist of 18 works enumerated self-referentially in the fifth of the series (the ):(II.4): Kashikar 1994, p.6; Modak 1993, p.190 Six other works of parisista character are also traditionally ascribed to , including a work of identical name () but different contents. How many of these 24 are actually due to is dubious; in all probability, they were composed by different authors at different times, with the and the being among the latest as they mention the others.Kashikar 1994, p.8; Chakrabarti(2004), pp.92-94
ScopeKashikar 1994,p.7-8 Books Form and language of the I(3), (4), (5), (8), (9), II, , rituals (1), (2), (7), (10), (11), (12), (16), (18), and (14), (15), rituals (6), {13), (17)
(Black) The Yajurveda has 3 parisistas: The , which is also found as the second praśna of the , specifies the duties of the priest in haviryajñas other than the (New and Full Moon sacrifice). The . The .
Atharvaveda For the Atharvaveda, there are 79 works, collected as 72 distinctly named parisistas.Modak 1993, p.191
Book Coverage 1 Lore of the constellations 2-19 Royal ceremonies 20-33 Ritual 34-36 Magic 37-40 Ritual 41-44 Religious observances 45-46 Ritual 47-48 Phonetics and Lexicography 49 Vedic conspectus (the ) 50-72 Omens
Notes
References BR Modak, The Ancillary Literature of the Atharva-Veda, New Delhi, Rashtriya Veda Vidya Pratishthan, 1993, CG Kashikar, A Survey of the , Poona, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (Post-Graduate and Research Dept. Series #38), 1994