Pratishakhyas

Pratishakhya (Sanskrit: प्रातिशाख्य prātiśākhya), also known as Parsada (pārṣada), are Vedic-era manuals devoted to the precise and consistent pronunciation of words.

[1] These works were critical to the preservation of the Vedic texts, as well as the accurate ritual recitations and analyses of the Vedas, particularly when isolated words interact after they have been joined in sandhi procedures.

Each Vedic school (parisad, or parsad) and geographic branch (sakha) developed their own manuals, explaining why they have come to be called parsada or pratisakhya.

Many pratishakhyas have survived into the modern age, and, according to Hartmut Scharfe, all except one (Taittiriya pratisakhya) are based upon "recitation of isolated words".

[3] They were composed centuries before the work of Pāṇini, but there is evidence in these manuals that many pratisakhya evolved and were revised over time by the respective school to their regional preferences.

The treatise pertaining to the phonetic and other aspects of Atharva Veda is also ascribed to the sage Saunaka, and derives its name from him: the Saunakiya Chaturadhyayika, which means the Book having four chapters by Saunak.