Pariśiṣṭa
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Pariśiṣṭa (Devanagari: परिशिष्ट, "supplement, appendix, remainder")[1] are Sanskrit supplementary texts appended to another fixed, more ancient text – typically the Vedic literature – that aim to "tell what remains to be told".[2] These have style of sutras, but less concise. According to Max Mueller, the parisista of the Vedas, "may be considered the very last outskirts of Vedic literature, but they are Vedic in character, and it would be difficult to account for their origin at any time except the expiring moments of the Vedic age."[3]
Within the early Sanskrit texts, 18 parisishtas are mentioned, but numerous more have survived into the modern era, likely composed later.[4] Parisista exists for each of the four Vedas. However, only the literature associated with the Atharvaveda is extensive and 74 parisishtas are known, some in the form of dialogues. The Vedic parisistas generally present rituals, ceremonies, nature of hymns, and opinions of other scholars about certain aspects of the primary text.[4] The Atharvaveda parisishtas include omens in addition, and sections of it have survived in very corrupted form that is difficult to elucidate or interpret.[5]