136 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
verses, which are common to the three Vedas, their texts are not, identical. Nor is the order in which the verses stand in the three Vedas the same as may be seen from the following table :
Yajur Veda Rig Veda Sama Veda Atharva Veda
1 1 3 1
2 2 5 4
3 3 6 3
4 4 4 2
5 5 7 9
6 8 - 10
7 9 - 11
8 10 - 14
9 7 - 13
10 11 - 12
11 12 - 5
12 13 - 6
13 14 - 7
14 6 - 8
15 15 - 15
16† 16 - 16†
17 - - -
18 - - -
19 - - -
20 - - -
21 - - -
22 - - -
The point is that if the Purusha Sukta had been an old, hoary text, sanctified by ancient tradition, could the other Vedas have taken such a liberty with it? Could they have changed it and chopped it as they have done?
The place of the Purusha Sukta in the hymns of the different Vedas is also very significant. In the Rig Veda it occurs in the miscellaneous part and in the Atharva Veda it occurs in what is known as the supplementary part. If it was the earliest composition of the Rig Veda, why should it have been placed in such inconsequential
*Means that these Verses are not to be found. †Means that they are not identical.