2002-05-30 Published by Hinduism Today Gathered by Staff Reporter

TRIVANDRUM,MAY 30: The ancient Jaiminiya Sama Vedic tradition, a Sanskrit chanting system practiced in the South Indian state of Kerala long ago, is on the verge of extinction. There are only a few
scholars alive today who are qualified to teach the recitation of the Vedas in this obscure method, and they reside only in certain parts of Kerala and at Thiruvaiyuru in Tamil Nadu's Tanjavur district. Of these experts there are said to be only five who can chant in this system perfectly without error, and they are all in their late seventies. These five masters are the teachers at a new Veda Vidya Peetham, a school established by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to pass on Vedic knowledge to children in the Panjal village of Kerala's
Thrissur district.Classes at the new school are taught in the oral tradition, as they have been from ancient times. According to the school secretary, their aim is to creat the "atmosphere of the age-old gurukul tradition," and no corporal punishment is used. On the school grounds are a main building, library and residential
accommodations for students. At present, less than ten children attend. Commenting on the new peetham, his Holiness, Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakodipeetham, Jagat Guru Jayendra Saraswathi said, "I am
proud of Kerala for two things: One, it is the land of Adi Sankara. The other is that it is the home of the rare Jaiminiya Sama Veda tradition, still preserved today for our country."