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The Vedas are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. They are the oldest scriptural texts of Hinduism. Today, Vedic texts are revered by Hindus around the world. Their verses are recited at prayers, religious functions and other auspicious occasions. In modern times, Vedic studies are crucial in the understanding of Indo-European linguistics, as well as ancient Indian history.
According to strict orthodox Hindu interpretation the Vedas are apaurusheya ("not human compositions"), being supposed to have been directly revealed, and thus are called śruti ("what is heard"). Hinduism, sometimes known as Sanatana Dharma ("Eternal Law"), refers to this belief in the ageless nature of the wisdom it embodies.
Philosophies and sects that developed in the Indian subcontinent have taken differing positions on the Vedas. Schools of Indian philosophy which cite the Vedas as their scriptural authority are classified as "orthodox" (āstika). Two other Indian philosophies, Buddhism and Jainism, did not accept the authority of the Vedas and evolved into separate religions. In Indian philosophy these groups are referred to as "heterodox" or "non-Vedic" (nāstika) schools.[3]
The Vedas are arguably the oldest surviving scriptures that are still used. Most Indologists agree that an oral tradition existed long before they were written down by the second century BC. The oldest surviving manuscripts are dated in the 11th century BC. Radhakrishnan and Moore sum up the prevailing academic view by saying:
"The Vedic Period is dimmed by obscurity, but it may be placed approximately between 2500 and 600 B.C."[4]
As used by these authors, the term "Vedic Period" includes the long period of gradual pre-literary cultural developments which eventually gave rise to written texts. Gavin Flood refers to the "more sober chronology" of 1500 to 1200 BC proposed by Max Müller for the earliest portions of the texts.[5]
However, dating for the Vedas has become intertwined, for more than a hundred years, with various other controversial elements such as the Aryan Invasion Theory, the Out of India theory and the historicity of the Mahabharata among others.
Vedic texts are tradionally categorized into four classes: the Saṃhitās, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads.
This group of texts is called shruti (Sanskrit: śruti; "the heard"). Since post-Vedic times it has been considered to be revealed wisdom, as distinct from other texts, collectively known as smriti (Sanskrit: smṛti; "the remembered"), that is texts that are considered to be of human origin. This system of categorization was developed by Max Müller and, while it is subject to some debate, it is still widely used. As Axel Michaels explains:
These classifications, which date back to Max Müller, are often not tenable for linguistic and formal reasons: There is not only one collection at any one time, but rather several handed down in separate Vedic schools; Upanişads ... are sometimes not to be distinguished from Āraṇyakas ("forest books"); Brāhmaṇas contain older strata of language attributed to the Saṃhitās; there are various dialects and locally prominent traditions of the Vedic schools. Nevertheless, it is advisable to stick to the division adopted by Max Müller because it follows the Indian tradition, conveys the historical sequence fairly accurately, and underlies the current editions, translations, and monographs on Vedic literature."[13]
Works such as the Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads often interpret the polytheistic and ritualistic Samhitas in philosophical and metaphorical ways to explore abstract concepts such as the Absolute (Brahman), and the soul or the self (Atman); later Upanishad also discuss the Lord (God) (Ishvara),.
In common usage the term Vedas can refer to:
A traditional view given in the Vishnu Purana (fourth century BC.) attributes the current arrangement of four Vedas to the mythical sage Vyasa.
The Rig-Veda Samhita is the oldest part of the corpus. It is a collection of 1028 Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to Rigvedic deities.
Based on internal evidence (philological and linguistic), the Rigveda was composed roughly between 1700–1100 BC (the early Vedic period) in the Punjab (Sapta Sindhu) region of the Indian subcontinent. This would put the Rigveda among the world's oldest religious texts, as well as among the oldest texts of any Indo-European language. However, this early period does not have several of the cultural features typical for the text (such as horses, chariots that were introduced in India only after 2000 BC).
It was preserved in India over centuries by oral tradition alone and was probably not put in writing until Late Antiquity or even the early Middle Ages. The earliest surviving manuscripts date to the 11th century.
There are strong linguistic and cultural similarities between the Rigveda and the early Iranian Avesta, deriving from the Proto-Indo-Iranian times, often associated with the early Andronovo culture of ca. 2000 BC, when the earliest horse-drawn chariots have been found (at Sintashta, near the Ural mountains).
The Yajur-Veda ("Veda of sacrificial formulas") consists of archaic prose mantras and also in part of verses borrowed from the Rig-Veda. Its purpose was practical, in that each mantra must accompany an action in sacrifice but, unlike the Sama-Veda, it was compiled to apply to all sacrificial rites, not merely the Soma offering. There are two major recensions of this Veda known as the "Black" and "White" Yajur-Veda. The origin and meaning of these designations are not clear. The White Yajur-Veda contains only the verses and sayings necessary for the sacrifice, while explanations exist in a separate Brahmana work. It differs widely from the Black Yajurveda, which incorporates such explanations in the work itself, often immediately following the verses. Of the Black Yajurveda four major recensions survive, all showing by and large the same arrangement, but differing in many other respects, notably in the individual discussion of the rituals but also in matters of phonology and accent.
The Sama-Veda (Sanskrit sāmaveda ) is the "Veda of chants" or "Knowledge of melodies". The name of this Veda is from the Sanskrit word sāman which means a metrical hymn or song of praise. It consists of 1549 stanzas, taken entirely (except 78) from the Rig-Veda. Some of the Rig-Veda verses are repeated more than once. Including repetitions, there are a total of 1875 verses numbered in the Sama-Veda recension published by Griffith. Two major recensions remain today, the Kauthuma/Ranayaniya and the Jaiminiya.
Its purpose was practical, to serve as a songbook for the "singer" priests who took part in the liturgy. A priest who sings hymns from the Sama-Veda during a ritual is called an udgātṛ, a word derived from the Sanskrit root ud-gai ("to sing" or "to chant"). A similar word in English might be "cantor". The styles of chanting are important to the liturgical use of the verses. The hymns were to be sung according to certain fixed melodies; hence the name of the collection.
The Artharva-Veda is the "Knowledge of the Fire Priests [atharvans]". The Artharva-Veda or Atharvangirasa is the text 'belongimng to the Atharvan and Angirasa' poets. Apte defines an atharvan as a priest who worshipped fire and Soma. The etymology of Atharvan is unclear, but according to Mayrhofer related to Avesta athravan (āθrauuan) and denies any connection with fire priests.
The Atharva-Veda Saṃhitā has 760 hymns, and about one-sixth of the hymns are in common with the Rig-Veda. Most of the verses are metrical, but some are in prose.
It was compiled around 900 BC, although some of its material may go back to the time of the Rig Veda, and some parts of the Atharva-Veda are older than the Rig-Veda.
The Atharvana-Veda is preserved in two recensions, the Paippalāda and Śaunaka. According to Apte it has nine schools (shakhas). The Paippalada version is longer than the Saunaka one; it is only partially printed and remains untranslated.
Unlike the other three Vedas, the Atharvana-Veda has less connection with sacrifice. Its first part consists chiefly of spells and incantations, concerned with protection against demons and disaster, spells for the healing of diseases, and for long life.
The second part of the text contains speculative and philosophical hymns. R. C. Zaehner notes that:
"The latest of the four Vedas, the Atharva-Veda, is, as we have seen, largely composed of magical texts and charms, but here and there we find cosmological hymns which anticipate the Upanishads, -- hymns to Skambha, the 'Support', who is seen as the first principle which is both the material and efficient cause of the universe, to Prāna, the 'Breath of Life', to Vāc, the 'Word', and so on.
The famous mantra Om first appeared in the Atharva-Veda, and later was identified with absolute reality (brahman) in the Taittitrīya Upanishad.
In its third section, the Atharvaveda contains Mantras used in marriage and death rituals, as well as those for kingship, female rivals and the Vratya (in Brahmana style prose) .
Gavin Flood discusses the relatively late acceptance of the Atharva-Veda as follows:
"There were originally only three priests associated with the first three Saṃhitās, for the Brahman as overseer of the rites does not appear in the Ṛg Veda and is only incorporated later, thereby showing the acceptance of the Atharva Veda, which had been somewhat distinct from the other Saṃhitās and identified with the lower social strata, as being of equal standing with the other texts."
The term upaveda ("secondary knowledge") is used in traditional literature to designate the subjects of certain technical works. They have no relation to the Vedas, except as subjects worthy of study despite their secular character. Lists of what subjects are included in this class differ among sources. Examples include: