Sāmaga
Sāmaga · sāma-ga, “one who sings the Sāman”
Grammar: masculine noun; sāman (the chanted verses of the Sāmaveda) with ga (one who sings, from the root gai): “one who sings the Sāman”.
Meaning: a chanter of the Sāmaveda, a brāhmaṇa whose part at the yajña is to sing the Sāman.
In the scriptures: Brahmā tells Nārada that while Agastya and the ṛshis held a yajña on the Gautamī, two rākshasas, the brothers Aśvattha and Pippala, came to destroy it. Aśvattha took the form of an aśvattha tree and devoured whoever touched it; Pippala, the younger, posed as a chanter of the Sāman, a Sāmaga, and devoured his disciples. “That is why even today the chanters of the Sāman among the brāhmaṇas are lacking in compassion,” the text says. Śanaiścara, son of Sūrya, slew the two at the ṛshis’ request, and among the tīrthas that arose there one is called Sāmaga; bathing and giving gifts at these tīrthas give the fruit of all yajñas (Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 48).
Related terms: Sāmaveda · Sāman · Udgātṛ · Pippala · Śanaiścara
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 48