The Atharvaveda is the fourth Veda with mantras to counteract diseases and calamities, and it also initiates the concept of Brahman. It is ascribed to the sage Atharvan (from athar ‘fire’) who instituted the worship of fire and offered soma. He is the eldest son of Brahma, the earliest teacher of the Brahmavidya and the Author of the Atharvaveda (AV). The AV had several recensions and kalpas as stated in the Skanda-purana (nagara-khanda 174.50-51). Pippalada redacted them into nine recensions and five kalpas. Out of the nine recensions, two have survived: Saunaka (Sau.) and Paippalada (Paip.). Paippalada preserves the older tradition and has better readings. Panini and his commentator Patanjali used the Paid. Recension. Paul Thieme (Panini and the veda, Allahabad, 1935: 66) shows that the citations in Patanjali’s mahabhasya are from the paippalada.
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