Talk:Sāmaga

By Swami Harshananda

sāmaga (‘one who sings the sāma’)

A sāma (or sāman) is any mantra of the Rgveda set to tune as per the rules given in works like the Nāradiyaśiksā. The Sāmaveda is full of such sāmas.

A sāmaga in general, is one who sings the sāma. All the four priests of the Sāmaveda, viz., the udgātṛ, the prastotṛ, the pratihartṛ and the subrahmaṇya, are sāmagas, though the udgātṛ is the chief

among them.

Chanting of a sāma needs specialised training.

A sāmaga should have a musical voice and a fine sense of śruti or tuning (of his voice to a basic note). He should chant in a medium tone—neither too loud not too low—uttering the words clearly and without tremour. He should know where the words have to be paused and must never make a mistake of the svara (intonation). Those who cannot chant in this way, should never attempt to learn it!

Sāmaga is also one of the names of Viṣṇu as given in the Visnusaharanāma (number 575). Śrī Kṛṣṇa declares that he is Sāmaveda among the Vedas (Bhagavad-gītā 10-22). Hence one who sings this Veda—the sāmaga—has practically identified himself with the Lord in ecstasy.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

OLD CONTENT

sāmaga (‘one who sings the sāma’) A sāma (or sāman) is any mantra of the Rgveda set to tune as per the rules given in works like the Nāradiyaśiksā. The Sāmaveda is full of such sāmas. A sāmaga in general, is one who sings the sāma. All the four priests of the Sāmaveda, viz., the udgātṛ, the prastotṛ, the pratihartṛ and the subrahmaṇya, are sāmagas, though the udgātṛ is the chief among them. Chanting of a sāma needs specialised training. A sāmaga should have a musical voice and a fine sense of śruti or tuning (of his voice to a basic note). He should chant in a medium tone—neither too loud not too low—uttering the words clearly and with¬out tremour. He should know where the words have to be paused and must never make a mistake of the svara (intonation). Those who cannot chant in this way, should never attempt to learn it! Sāmaga is also one of the names of Viṣṇu as given in the Visnusaharanāma (number 575). Śrī Kṛṣṇa declares that he is Sāmaveda among the Vedas (Bhagavad- gītā 10-22). Hence one who sings this Veda—the sāmaga—has practically identi¬fied himself with the Lord in ecstasy.