Vedas

The Vedas are a collection of very old religious texts from ancient India. They are written in Vedic Sanskrit and are the earliest scriptures of Hinduism.

There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, and the Atharvaveda. Each Veda has four parts: the Samhitas with mantras, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads.

Hindus believe the Vedas are apauruṣeya, meaning they are eternal and divine. These texts have been shared by word of mouth for thousands of years. People still recite parts of the Vedas today.

Etymology and usage

The word véda in Sanskrit means "knowledge" or "wisdom". It comes from an old root word that means "to know". This idea of knowing is shared in many languages, like the Greek word for "see" and the English word "wit".

In some old poems called the Rigveda, the word veda can also mean getting wealth or property, or even a bundle of grass used in special fires.

Vedic texts

Vedic Sanskrit corpus

The term "Vedic texts" can mean two things:

1. Texts written in Vedic Sanskrit during the Vedic period in Iron Age India.
2. Any text linked to the Vedas or that builds on them.

The collection of Vedic Sanskrit texts includes:

• The Samhitas, which are collections of special poems called "mantras". There are four main Samhitas: the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda. These poems ask gods like Indra and Agni for help.

• The Brahmanas explain the meanings of special rituals.
• The Aranyakas are texts about ceremonies.
• The older Principal Upanishads are thoughtful books that explore big ideas.
• Other texts linked to the Vedas include later Upanishads and books called Sutra literature, such as Shrauta Sutras and Gryha Sutras.

Śruti and smṛti

The Vedas are called śruti, meaning "what is heard", different from other texts called smṛti, meaning "what is remembered". Well-known śrutis are the Vedas and their parts. Famous smṛtis include the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavata Purana, and the stories Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Authorship

Hindus believe the Vedas are apauruṣeyā, meaning not written by any person but seen by ancient wise people. The oldest part of the Rig Veda was created in north-western India (Punjab). Later parts were written between the Yamuna and Ganges rivers. Tradition says that Vyasa organized the Vedas into their four parts.

Chronology, transmission, and interpretation

See also: Vedic period

The Vedas are some of the oldest sacred texts. The Rigveda was mostly written in a place called Punjab in the Indian subcontinent between about 1500 and 1200 BCE. The other three Vedas were written a bit later, around 1200 to 900 BCE. These texts help us learn about life and beliefs from very long ago, during a time called the Vedic period.

The Vedas were passed down by speaking them out loud for many years. Teachers would share these texts with their students this way. This method helped keep the words exactly right. Even though the Vedas were finally written down much later, the spoken words were always considered the most correct and important.

Vedic schools or recensions

Main article: Shakha

The four Vedas were shared by many different schools, each from a different place or kingdom. These schools had their own versions of the texts and their own beliefs. Some schools believed in many gods, while others believed in just one god.

These schools memorized the Vedas using special ways of reciting to keep the texts the same. The Vedas were written down long after they were first created, and the versions we have today come from the 16th century CE.

Four Vedas

The Vedas are ancient holy books that are very important in Hinduism. They were written in a language called Vedic Sanskrit a long time ago in India. There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, and the Atharvaveda.

Each Veda has different parts. The Rigveda is the oldest and has many poems and songs. The Yajurveda has words used during special ceremonies. The Samaveda has songs taken from the Rigveda. The Atharvaveda has poems about health and everyday life. These books tell us about old Indian traditions and ceremonies.

Post-Vedic literature

Vedanga

Main article: Vedanga

Vedangas were special subjects that helped people understand the Vedas better. They started after the Vedas were written, when the old language became hard to understand. There are six main topics in Vedanga: sounds and pronunciation, poetry rhythms, grammar, word meanings, religious rituals, and studying time and the stars.

These subjects helped shape many later studies and arts. For example, the rules for rituals led to important books about right behavior in Hinduism.

Parisista

Main article: Pariśiṣṭa

Parisista means "extra information." These are additional works that give more details about rituals and explain earlier texts. They are connected to each of the four Vedas, but most of the extra works are linked to the Atharvaveda.

Upaveda

Upaveda means "applied knowledge." These are special subjects connected to the Vedas. They include skills like archery, building, music and dance, and medicine.

"Fifth" and other Vedas

Some later texts called themselves the "fifth Veda." For example, a book about drama and dance says it is the fifth scripture. It uses ideas from all four Vedas. Other texts, like devotion poems in Tamil or parts of big Hindu stories, are sometimes also called "Vedas" by some groups.

Puranas

Main article: Puranas

The Puranas are many long stories and teachings about Hindu gods and traditions. There are 18 big Puranas and 18 smaller ones, with lots of verses. They have been very important in Hindu culture and often talk about love and devotion to gods.

Vedas in Sangam literature

The Vedas are mentioned in old writings from the 5th century BCE called Sangam literature. In ancient Tamil Nadu, many people from different groups read the Vedas. A scholar named Ramachandran Nagaswamy said that Tamil Nadu was a place where everyone knew the Vedas. The Vedas are seen as very deep and wise texts, understood best by learned scholars.

Stories like the Purananuru and Paṭṭiṉappālai show that the Vedas were an important part of Tamil culture. They talk about sacred fires and chants that were part of daily life. In some places, the Vedas were called Maṛai or Vaymoli, meaning something hidden or mysterious. Poems also describe special posts used in ceremonies in villages and mention that even birds in these villages would seem to sing the Vedas. People in these villages ate simple foods like rice and vegetables, avoiding meat and poultry. Besides the Vedas, there are also important Tamil texts like the Naalayira Divya Prabandham and Tevaram, sometimes called the Tamil Veda and Dravida Veda.

Authority of the Vedas

Different groups in India have different ideas about the Vedas. Some traditions, called "orthodox" schools, see the Vedas as important guides. Others, like Buddhism and Jainism, do not see the Vedas as authorities and are called "non-orthodox" schools.

Even within Hinduism, not everyone agrees on how important the Vedas are. Some groups and thinkers have questioned or rejected them, while others still value them highly. This shows how the Vedas have been important in the history and development of Hindu thoughts and practices.

Western Indology

Further information: Sanskrit studies

People in the West began learning about an ancient language called Sanskrit in the 1600s. In the 1800s, a thinker named Arthur Schopenhauer became interested in the Vedas, especially their thoughtful parts called the Upanishads. Experts also started to notice how Vedic Sanskrit linked to the study of languages with shared roots, called Indo-European languages.

Later in the 1800s, important Vedic texts were translated into English. These translations were published in a collection called Sacred Books of the East, edited by Müller from 1879 to 1910. Another person, Ralph T. H. Griffith, also translated all four main collections of Vedic poems between 1889 and 1899.

In 2007, some very old handwritten copies of the Rigveda were chosen to be kept safe by UNESCO, on a special list called the Memory of the World Register.