Vedas 1

Vedas
Part of a series on
Hindu scriptures

Vedas
Rigveda · Yajurveda · Samaveda · Atharvaveda
Divisions
Samhita · Brahmana · Aranyaka · Upanishad

Upavedas
Ayurveda · Dhanurveda
Gāndharvaveda · Sthapatyaveda

Vedangas
Shiksha · Chandas · Vyakarana
Nirukta · Kalpa · Jyotisha

Upanishads
Rig vedic
Aitareya
Yajur vedic
Brihadaranyaka · Isha
Taittiriya · Katha
Shvetashvatara
Sama vedic
Chandogya · Kena
Atharva vedic
Mundaka · Mandukya · Prashna

Puranas
Brahma puranas
Brahma · Brahmānda
Brahmavaivarta
Markandeya · Bhavishya
Vishnu puranas
Vishnu · Bhagavata
Naradeya · Garuda · Padma
Shiva puranas
Shiva · Linga
Skanda · Agni · Vayu

Itihasas
Ramayana · Mahabharata

Other scriptures
Bhagavad Gita · Manu Smriti
Artha Shastra · Agama
Tantra · Pancharatra
Sūtra · Stotra · Dharmashastra · Divya Prabandha · Tevaram ·
Ramacharitamanas ·
Yoga Vasistha
Vedas 2

Classification of scriptures
Śruti · Smriti

The Vedas (Sanskrit वेद véda, "knowledge") are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in
Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.[1]
The class of "Vedic texts" is aggregated around the four canonical Saṃhitās or Vedas proper (turīya), of which
three (traya) are related to the performance of yajna (sacrifice) in historical (Iron Age) Vedic religion:
1. The Rigveda, containing hymns to be recited by the hotṛ;
2. The Yajurveda, containing formulas to be recited by the adhvaryu or officiating priest;
3. The Samaveda, containing formulas to be sung by the udgātṛ.
The fourth is the Atharvaveda, a collection of spells and incantations, apotropaic charms and speculative hymns.[2]
According to Hindu tradition, the Vedas are apauruṣeya "not of human agency",[3] are supposed to have been
directly revealed, and thus are called śruti ("what is heard").[4] [5] The four Saṃhitās are metrical (with the exception
of prose commentary interspersed in the Black Yajurveda). The term saṃhitā literally means "composition,
compilation". The individual verses contained in these compilations are known as mantras. Some selected Vedic
mantras are still recited at prayers, religious functions and other auspicious occasions in contemporary Hinduism.
The various Indian philosophies and sects have taken differing positions on the Vedas. Schools of Indian philosophy
which cite the Vedas as their scriptural authority are classified as "orthodox" (āstika). Other traditions, notably
Buddhism and Jainism, which did not regard the Vedas as authorities are referred to by traditional Hindu texts as
"heterodox" or "non-orthodox" (nāstika) schools.[6] [7] In addition to Buddhism and Jainism, Sikhism[8] [9] and
Brahmoism[10] many non-brahmin Hindus in South India [11] do not accept the authority of the Vedas. Even certain
South Indian brahmin communities such as Iyengars consider the Tamil Divya Prabandham or writing of the Alvar
saints as equivalent to the Vedas [12] . In most Iyengar temples in South India the Divya Prabandham is recited daily
instead of the Vedic Hymns.

Etymology and usage

The Sanskrit word véda "knowledge, wisdom" is derived from the root vid- "to know". This is reconstructed as being
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *u̯eid-, meaning "see" or "know".[13]
As a noun, the word appears only in a single instance in the Rigveda, in RV 8.19.5, translated by Griffith as "ritual
lore":
yáḥ samídhā yá âhutī / yó védena dadâśa márto agnáye / yó námasā svadhvaráḥ
"The mortal who hath ministered to Agni with oblation, fuel, ritual lore, and reverence, skilled in sacrifice."
Geldner's translation of the same passage has Wissen, "knowledge".[14]
The noun is from Proto-Indo-European *u̯eidos, cognate to Greek (ϝ)εἶδος "aspect", "form" and Lithuanian veidas
"face". Not to be confused is the homonymous 1st and 3rd person singular perfect tense véda, cognate to Greek
(ϝ)οἶδα (w)oida "I know". Root cognates are Greek ἰδέα, English wit, etc., Latin video "I see", etc.[15]
In English, the term Veda is often but mistakenly used to refer to the Samhitas (collection of mantras, or chants) of
the four canonical Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda).
The Sanskrit term veda as a common noun means "knowledge", but can also be used to refer to fields of study
unrelated to liturgy or ritual, e.g. in agada-veda "medical science", sasya-veda "science of agriculture" or sarpa-veda
"science of snakes" (already found in the early Upanishads); durveda means "with evil knowledge, ignorant".[16]
Vedas 3

English discourse
The Vedas first entered English discourse through the translations of Müller (1823–1900) and he opines (Müller &
Stone, 2002: p. 44) as it was then understood as to their importance for English-speaking peoples by identifying that
English is an Indo-European language and the oldest of the Indo-Iranian language branch of the Indo-European
language family of which Modern English is a related is Vedic Sanskrit:
"As the language of the Veda, the Sanskrit, is the most ancient type of the English of the present day
(Sanskrit and English are but varieties of one and the same language), so its thoughts and feelings
contain in reality the first roots and germs of that intellectual growth which by an unbroken chain
connects our own generation with the ancestors of the Aryan race--with those very people who at the
rising and setting of the sun listened with trembling hearts to the songs of the Veda, that told them of
bright powers above, and of a life to come after the sun of their own lives had set in the clouds of the
evening. Those men were the true ancestors of our race; and the Veda is the oldest book we have in
which to study the first beginnings of our language, and of all that is embodied in language. We are by
nature Aryan, Indo-European, not Semitic: our spiritual kith and kin are to be found in India, Persia,
Greece, Italy, Germany; not in Mesopotamia, Egypt, or Palestine. This is a fact that ought to be clearly
perceived, and constantly kept in view, in order to understand the importance which the Veda has for us,
after a lapse of more than three thousand years, and after ever so many changes in our language,
thought, and religion."[17]

Chronology
The Vedas are among the oldest sacred texts. The Samhitas date to roughly 1500–1000 BCE, and the
"circum-Vedic" texts, as well as the redaction of the Samhitas, date to c. 1000-500 BCE, resulting in a Vedic period,
spanning the mid 2nd to mid 1st millennium BCE, spanning the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Gavin Flood[18]
sums up mainstream estimates, according to which the Rigveda was compiled from as early as 1500 BCE over a
period of several centuries. The Vedic period reaches its peak only after the composition of the mantra texts, with the
establishment of the various shakhas all over Northern India which annotated the mantra samhitas with Brahmana
discussions of their meaning, and reaches its end in the age of Buddha and Panini and the rise of the Mahajanapadas
(archaeologically, Northern Black Polished Ware). Michael Witzel gives a time span of c. 1500 BCE to c. 500-400
BCE. Witzel makes special reference to the Near Eastern Mitanni material of the 14th c. BCE the only epigraphic
record of Indo-Aryan contemporary to the Rigvedic period. He gives 150 BCE (Patañjali) as a terminus ante quem
for all Vedic Sanskrit literature, and 1200 BCE (the early Iron Age) as terminus post quem for the Atharvaveda.[19]
The general accepted historical chronology of the Vedas ranks the Rig Veda as the first, followed by the Yajur Veda,
Sama Veda and finally the Atharva Veda.
Transmission of texts in the Vedic period was by oral tradition alone, preserved with precision with the help of
elaborate mnemonic techniques. A literary tradition set in only in post-Vedic times, after the rise of Buddhism in the
Maurya period, perhaps earliest in the Kanva recension of the Yajurveda about the 1st century BCE; however oral
tradition predominated until c. 1000 CE.[20] Due to the ephemeral nature of the manuscript material (birch bark or
palm leaves), surviving manuscripts rarely surpass an age of a few hundred years.[21] The Benares Sanskrit
University has a Rigveda manuscript of the mid-14th century; however, there are a number of older Veda
manuscripts in Nepal belonging to the Vajasaneyi tradition that are dated from the 11th century onwards.
Vedas 4

Categories of Vedic texts

The term "Vedic texts" is used in two distinct meanings:
1. Texts composed in Vedic Sanskrit during the Vedic period (Iron Age India)
2. Any text considered as "connected to the Vedas" or a "corollary of the Vedas"[22]

Vedic Sanskrit corpus

The corpus of Vedic Sanskrit texts includes:
• The Samhita (Sanskrit saṃhitā, "collection"), are collections of metric texts ("mantras"). There are four "Vedic"
Samhitas: the Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Veda, and Atharva-Veda, most of which are available in several
recensions (śākhā). In some contexts, the term Veda is used to refer to these Samhitas. This is the oldest layer of
Vedic texts, apart from the Rigvedic hymns, which were probably essentially complete by 1200 BC, dating to ca.
the 12th to 10th centuries BC. The complete corpus of Vedic mantras as collected in Bloomfield's Vedic
Concordance (1907) consists of some 89,000 padas (metric feet), of which 72,000 occur in the four Samhitas.[23]
• The Brahmanas are prose texts that discuss, in technical fashion, the solemn sacrificial rituals as well as comment
on their meaning and many connected themes. Each of the Brahmanas is associated with one of the Samhitas or
its recensions. The Brahmanas may either form separate texts or can be partly integrated into the text of the
Samhitas. They may also include the Aranyakas and Upanishads.
• The Aranyakas , "wilderness texts" or "forest treaties", were composed by people who meditated in the woods as
recluses and are the third part of the Vedas. The texts contain discussions and interpretations of dangerous rituals
(to be studied outside the settlement) and various sorts of additional materials. It is frequently read in secondary
literature.
• Some of the older Mukhya Upanishads (Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Chandogya, Kaṭha).[24] [25]
• Certain Sūtra literature, i.e. the Shrautasutras and the Grhyasutras.
The Shrauta Sutras, regarded as belonging to the smriti, are late Vedic in language and content, thus forming part of
the Vedic Sanskrit corpus.[25] [26] The composition of the Shrauta and Grhya Sutras (ca. 6th century BC) marks the
end of the Vedic period , and at the same time the beginning of the flourishing of the "circum-Vedic" scholarship of
Vedanga, introducing the early flowering of classical Sanskrit literature in the Mauryan and Gupta periods.
While production of Brahmanas and Aranyakas ceases with the end of the Vedic period, there is a large number of
Upanishads composed after the end of the Vedic period. While most of the ten Mukhya Upanishads can be
considered to date to the Vedic or Mahajanapada period, most of the 108 Upanishads of the full Muktika canon date
to the Common Era.
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), introducing Vedanta philosophy, one of the major trends of later Hinduism.
The Vedic Sanskrit corpus is the scope of A Vedic Word Concordance (Vaidika-Padānukrama-Koṣa) prepared from
1930 under Vishva Bandhu, and published in five volumes in 1935-1965. Its scope extends to about 400 texts,
including the entire Vedic Sanskrit corpus besides some "sub-Vedic" texts.
Volume I: Samhitas
Volume II: Brahmanas and Aranyakas
Volume III: Upanishads
Volume IV: Vedangas
A revised edition, extending to about 1800 pages, was published in 1973-1976.
Vedas 5

Shruti literature
The texts considered "Vedic" in the sense of "corollaries of the Vedas" is less clearly defined, and may include
numerous post-Vedic texts such as Upanishads or Sutra literature. These texts are by many Hindu sects considered to
be shruti (Sanskrit: śruti; "the heard"), divinely revealed like the Vedas themselves. Texts not considered to be shruti
are known as smriti (Sanskrit: smṛti; "the remembered"), of human origin. This indigenous system of categorization
was adopted by Max Müller and, while it is subject to some debate, it is still widely used. As Axel Michaels
explains:
These classifications 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...; 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."[24]
The Upanishads are largely philosophical works in dialog form. They discuss questions of nature philosophy and the
fate of the soul, and contain some mystic and spiritual interpretations of the Vedas. For long, they have been
regarded as their putative end and essence, and are thus known as Vedānta ("the end of the Vedas"). Taken together,
they are the basis of the Vedanta school.

Vedic schools or recensions

Study of the extensive body of Vedic texts has been organized into a number of different schools or branches
(Sanskrit śākhā, literally "branch" or "limb") each of which specialized in learning certain texts.[27] Multiple
recensions are known for each of the Vedas, and each Vedic text may have a number of schools associated with it.
Elaborate methods for preserving the text were based on memorizing by heart instead of writing. Specific techniques
for parsing and reciting the texts were used to assist in the memorization process. (See also: Vedic chant)
Prodigous energy was expended by ancient Indian culture in ensuring that these texts were transmitted from
generation to generation with inordinate fidelity.[28] For example, memorization of the sacred Vedas included up to
eleven forms of recitation of the same text. The texts were subsequently "proof-read" by comparing the different
recited versions. Forms of recitation included the jaṭā-pāṭha (literally "mesh recitation") in which every two adjacent
words in the text were first recited in their original order, then repeated in the reverse order, and finally repeated
again in the original order.[29]
That these methods have been effective, is testified to by the preservation of the most ancient Indian religious text,
the Ṛgveda, as a redacted into single text during the Brahmana period, without any variant readings.[29]
Vedas 6

The Four Vedas

The canonical division of the Vedas is
fourfold (turīya) viz.,[30]
1. Rigveda (RV)
2. Yajurveda (YV, with the main division
TS vs. VS)
3. Sama-Veda (SV)
4. Atharva-Veda (AV)
Of these, the first three were the principal
original division, also called "trayī vidyā",
that is, "the triple sacred science" of reciting
hymns (RV), performing sacrifices (YV),
and chanting (SV).[31] [32] This triplicity is
so introduced in the Brahmanas (ShB, ABr
and others), but the Rigveda is the older
work of the three from which the other two
borrow, next to their own independent
Yajus, sorcery and speculative mantras.

Thus, the Mantras are properly of three Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript in Devanagari, early 19th century

forms: 1. Ric, which are verses of praise in

metre, and intended for loud recitation; 2. Yajus, which are in prose, and intended for recitation in lower voice at
sacrifices; 3. Sāman, which are in metre, and intended for singing at the Soma ceremonies.
The Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda are independent collections of mantras and hymns intended as manuals
for the Adhvaryu, Udgatr and Brahman priests respectively.
The Atharvaveda is the fourth Veda. Its status has occasionally been ambiguous, probably due to its use in sorcery
and healing. However, it contains very old materials in early Vedic language. Manusmrti, which often speaks of the
three Vedas, calling them trayam-brahma-sanātanam, "the triple eternal Veda". The Atharvaveda like the Rigveda,
is a collection of original incantations, and other materials borrowing relatively little from the Rigveda. It has no
direct relation to the solemn Śrauta sacrifices, except for the fact that the mostly silent Brahmán priest observes the
procedures and uses Atharvaveda mantras to 'heal' it when mistakes have been made. Its recitation also produces
long life, cures diseases, or effects the ruin of enemies.
Each of the four Vedas consists of the metrical Mantra or Samhita and the prose Brahmana part, giving discussions
and directions for the detail of the ceremonies at which the Mantras were to be used and explanations of the legends
connected with the Mantras and rituals. Both these portions are termed shruti (which tradition says to have been
heard but not composed or written down by men). Each of the four Vedas seems to have passed to numerous
Shakhas or schools, giving rise to various recensions of the text. They each have an Index or Anukramani, the
principal work of this kind being the general Index or Sarvānukramaṇī.
Vedas 7

Rigveda
The Rigveda Samhita is the oldest extant Indic text.[33] It is a collection of 1,028 Vedic Sanskrit hymns and 10,600
verses in all, organized into ten books (Sanskrit: mandalas).[34] The hymns are dedicated to Rigvedic deities.[35]
The books were composed by poets from different priestly groups over a period of several centuries, commonly
dated to the period of roughly the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE (the early Vedic period) in the Punjab
(Sapta Sindhu) region of the Indian subcontinent.[36]
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 Andronovo culture; the earliest horse-drawn chariots were
found at Andronovo sites in the Sintashta-Petrovka cultural area near the Ural Mountains and date to ca. 2000
BCE.[37]

Yajurveda
The Yajurveda Samhita consists of archaic prose mantras and also in part of verses borrowed and adapted from the
Rigveda. Its purpose was practical, in that each mantra must accompany an action in sacrifice but, unlike the
Samaveda, it was compiled to apply to all sacrificial rites, not merely the Somayajna. There are two major groups of
recensions of this Veda, known as the "Black" (Krishna) and "White" (Shukla) Yajurveda (Krishna and Shukla
Yajurveda respectively). While White Yajurveda separates the Samhita from its Brahmana (the Shatapatha
Brahmana), the e Black Yajurveda intersperses the Samhita with Brahmana commentary. Of the Black Yajurveda
four major recensions survive (Maitrayani, Katha, Kapisthala-Katha, Taittiriya).

Samaveda
The Samaveda Samhita (from sāman, the term for a melody applied to metrical hymn or song of praise[38] ) consists
of 1549 stanzas, taken almost entirely (except for 78 stanzas) from the Rigveda.[24] Like the Rigvedic stanzas in the
Yajurveda, the Samans have been changed and adapted for use in singing. Some of the Rigvedic verses are repeated
more than once. Including repetitions, there are a total of 1875 verses numbered in the Samaveda recension
translated by Griffith.[39] Two major recensions remain today, the Kauthuma/Ranayaniya and the Jaiminiya. Its
purpose was liturgical, as the repertoire of the udgātṛ or "singer" priests who took part in the sacrifice.

Atharvaveda
The Artharvaveda Samhita is the text 'belonging to the Atharvan and Angirasa poets. It has 760 hymns, and about
160 of the hymns are in common with the Rigveda.[40] Most of the verses are metrical, but some sections are in
prose.[40] It was compiled around 900 BCE, although some of its material may go back to the time of the
Rigveda,[41] and some parts of the Atharva-Veda are older than the Rig-Veda[40] though not in linguistic form.
The Atharvanaveda is preserved in two recensions, the Paippalāda and Śaunaka.[40] According to Apte it had nine
schools (shakhas).[42] The Paippalada text, which exists in a Kashmir and an Orissa version, is longer than the
Saunaka one; it is only partially printed in its two versions and remains largely untranslated.
Unlike the other three Vedas, the Atharvanaveda has less connection with sacrifice.[43] [44] Its first part consists
chiefly of spells and incantations, concerned with protection against demons and disaster, spells for the healing of
diseases, for long life and for various desires or aims in life.[40] [45]
The second part of the text contains speculative and philosophical hymns.[46]
The Atharvaveda is a comparatively late extension of the "Three Vedas" connected to priestly sacrifice to a canon of
"Four Vedas". This may be connected to an extension of the sacrificial rite from involving three types of priest to the
inclusion of the Brahman overseeing the ritual.[47]
Vedas 8

Brahmanas
The mystical notions surrounding the concept of the one "Veda" that would flower in Vedantic philosophy have their
roots already in Brahmana literature, for example in the Shatapatha Brahmana. The Vedas are identified with
Brahman, the universal principle (ŚBM 10.1.1.8, 10.2.4.6). Vāc "speech" is called the "mother of the Vedas" (ŚBM
6.5.3.4, 10.5.5.1). The knowledge of the Vedas is endless, compared to them, human knowledge is like mere
handfuls of dirt (TB 3.10.11.3-5). The universe itself was originally encapsulated in the three Vedas (ŚBM 10.4.2.22
has Prajapati reflecting that "truly, all beings are in the triple Veda").

Vedanta
While contemporary traditions continued to maintain Vedic ritualism (Śrauta, Mimamsa), Vedanta renounced all
ritualism and radically re-interpreted the notion of "Veda" in purely philosophical terms. The association of the three
Vedas with the bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ mantra is found in the Aitareya Aranyaka: "Bhūḥ is the Rigveda, bhuvaḥ is the
Yajurveda, svaḥ is the Samaveda" (1.3.2). The Upanishads reduce the "essence of the Vedas" further, to the syllable
Aum (ॐ). Thus, the Katha Upanishad has:
"The goal, which all Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which humans desire when they live a life
of continence, I will tell you briefly it is Aum" (1.2.15)

In post-Vedic literature

Vedanga
Six technical subjects related to the Vedas are traditionally known as vedāṅga "limbs of the Veda". V. S. Apte
defines this group of works as:
"N. of a certain class of works regarded as auxiliary to the Vedas and designed to aid in the correct
pronunciation and interpretation of the text and the right employment of the Mantras in ceremonials."[48]
These subjects are treated in Sūtra literature dating from the end of the Vedic period to Mauryan times, seeing the
transition from late Vedic Sanskrit to Classical Sanskrit.
The six subjects of Vedanga are:
• Phonetics (Śikṣā)
• Ritual (Kalpa)
• Grammar (Vyākaraṇa)
• Etymology (Nirukta)
• Meter (Chandas)
• Astronomy (Jyotiṣa)

Parisista
Pariśiṣṭa "supplement, appendix" is the term applied to various ancillary works of Vedic literature, dealing mainly
with details of ritual and elaborations of the texts logically and chronologically prior to them: the Samhitas,
Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Sutras. Naturally classified with the Veda to which each pertains, Parisista works exist
for each of the four Vedas. However, only the literature associated with the Atharvaveda is extensive.
• The Āśvalāyana Gṛhya Pariśiṣṭa is a very late text associated with the Rigveda canon.
• The Gobhila Gṛhya Pariśiṣṭa is a short metrical text of two chapters, with 113 and 95 verses respectively.
• The Kātiya Pariśiṣṭas, ascribed to Kātyāyana, consist of 18 works enumerated self-referentially in the fifth of the
series (the Caraṇavyūha)
Vedas 9

• The Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda has 3 parisistas The Āpastamba Hautra Pariśiṣṭa, which is also found as the second
praśna of the Satyasāḍha Śrauta Sūtra', the Vārāha Śrauta Sūtra Pariśiṣṭa and the Kātyāyana Śrauta Sūtra
Pariśiṣṭa.
• For the Atharvaveda, there are 79 works, collected as 72 distinctly named parisistas.[49]

Puranas
A traditional view given in the Vishnu Purana (likely dating to the Gupta period[50] ) attributes the current
arrangement of four Vedas to the mythical sage Vedavyasa.[51] . Puranic tradition also postulates a single original
Veda that, in varying accounts, was divided into three or four parts. According to the Vishnu Purana (3.2.18, 3.3.4
etc.) the original Veda was divided into four parts, and further fragmented into numerous shakhas, by Lord Vishnu in
the form of Vyasa, in the Dvapara Yuga; the Vayu Purana (section 60) recounts a similar division by Vyasa, at the
urging of Brahma. The Bhagavata Purana (12.6.37) traces the origin of the primeval Veda to the syllable aum, and
says that it was divided into four at the start of Dvapara Yuga, because men had declined in age, virtue and
understanding. In a differing account Bhagavata Purana (9.14.43) attributes the division of the primeval veda (aum)
into three parts to the monarch Pururavas at the beginning of Treta Yuga. The Mahabharata (santiparva 13,088) also
mentions the division of the Veda into three in Treta Yuga.[52]

Upaveda
The term upaveda ("applied knowledge") is used in traditional literature to designate the subjects of certain technical
works.[53] [54] Lists of what subjects are included in this class differ among sources. The Charanavyuha mentions
four Upavedas:
• Medicine (Āyurveda), associated with the Rigveda
• Archery (Dhanurveda), associated with the Yajurveda
• Music and sacred dance (Gāndharvaveda), associated with the Samaveda
• Military science (Shastrashastra), associated with the Atharvaveda
But Sushruta and Bhavaprakasha mention Ayurveda as an upaveda of the Atharvaveda. Sthapatyaveda (architecture),
Shilpa Shastras (arts and crafts) are mentioned as fourth upaveda according to later sources.

"Fifth" and other Vedas

Some post-Vedic texts, including the Mahabharata, the Natyasastra and certain Puranas, refer to themselves as the
"fifth Veda".[55] The earliest reference to such a "fifth Veda" is found in the Chandogya Upanishad. "Dravida Veda"
is a term for canonical Tamil Bhakti texts.
Other texts such as the Bhagavad Gita or the Vedanta Sutras are considered shruti or "Vedic" by some Hindu
denominations but not universally within Hinduism. The Bhakti movement, and Gaudiya Vaishnavism in particular
extended the term veda to include the Sanskrit Epics and Vaishnavite devotional texts such as the Pancaratra.[56]
Vedas 10

See also
• Hindu Philosophy
• Pandit
• Vedic chant
• Shakha

References
• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965), The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary (4th revised & enlarged ed.), Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0567-4.
• Avari, Burjor (2007), India: The Ancient Past, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-35616-9
• Flood, Gavin (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-43878-0
• Flood, Gavin, ed. (2003), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Malden, MA: Blackwell, ISBN 1-4051-3251-5
• Holdrege, Barbara A. (1995), Veda and Torah, SUNY Press, ISBN 0791416399
• MacDonell, Arthur Anthony (2004), A History of Sanskrit Literature, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 1417906197
• Michaels, Axel (2004), Hinduism: Past and Present, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-08953-1
• Monier-Williams, Monier, ed. (2006), Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary, Nataraj Books,
ISBN 18-81338-58-4.
• Muir, John (1861), Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and Progress of the Religion and Institutions of India
[57]
, Williams and Norgate
• Müller, Max (1891), Chips from a German Workshop [58], New York: C. Scribner's sons.
• Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli; Moore, Charles A., eds. (1957), A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy (12th Princeton
Paperback ed.), Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-01958-4.
• Smith, Brian K., Canonical Authority and Social Classification: Veda and "Varṇa" in Ancient Indian Texts-,
History of Religions, The University of Chicago Press (1992), 103-125.
• Sullivan, B. M. (Summer 1994). "The Religious Authority of the Mahabharata: Vyasa and Brahma in the Hindu
Scriptural Tradition". Journal of the American Academy of Religion 62 (1): 377–401.
doi:10.1093/jaarel/LXII.2.377.
• Witzel, Michael (ed.) (1997), Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts. New Approaches to the Study of the Vedas,
Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora vol. 2, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
• Zaehner, R. C. (1966), Hindu Scriptures, London: Everyman's Library

Literature
Overviews
• J. Gonda, Vedic Literature: Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas, A History of Indian literature. Vol. 1, Veda and
Upanishads (1975), ISBN 9783447016032.
• J. A. Santucci, An Outline of Vedic Literature (1976).
• S. Shrava, A Comprehensive History of Vedic Literature — Brahmana and Aranyaka Works, Pranava Prakashan
(1977).
Concordances
• M. Bloomfield, A Vedic Concordance (1907)
• Vishva Bandhu, Bhim Dev, S. Bhaskaran Nair (eds.), Vaidika-Padānukrama-Koṣa: A Vedic Word-Concordance,
Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute, Hoshiarpur, 1963–1965, revised edition 1973-1976.
Conference proceedings
• Griffiths, Arlo and Houben, Jan E. M. (eds.), The Vedas : texts, language & ritual: proceedings of the Third
International Vedic Workshop, Leiden 2002, Groningen Oriental Studies 20, Groningen : Forsten, (2004), ISBN
Vedas 11

90-6980-149-3.

External links
• GRETIL etexts [59]
• The Vedas at sacred-texts.com [60]
• Vedas: Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva [61]
• Vedas and Upanishads Complete set [62]

References
[1] see e.g. Radhakrishnan & Moore 1957, p. 3; Witzel, Michael, "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood 2003, p. 68; MacDonell 2004, p. 29-39;
Sanskrit literature (2003) in Philip's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-08-09
[2] Bloomfield, M. The Atharvaveda and the Gopatha-Brahmana, (Grundriss der Indo-Arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde II.1.b.)
Strassburg 1899; Gonda, J. A history of Indian literature: I.1 Vedic literature (Samhitas and Brahmanas); I.2 The Ritual Sutras. Wiesbaden
1975, 1977
[3] Apte, pp. 109f. has "not of the authorship of man, of divine origin"
[4] Apte 1965, p. 887
[5] Müller 1891, p. 17-18
[6] Flood 1996, p. 82
[7] "The brahmin by caste alone, the teacher of the Veda, is (jokingly) etymologized as the 'non-meditator' (ajjhāyaka). Brahmins who have
memorized the three Vedas (tevijja) really know nothing: it is the process of achieving Enlightenment - what the Buddha is said to have
achieved in the three watches of that night - which constitutes the true 'three knowledges.'" R.F. Gombrich in Paul Williams, ed., "Buddhism:
Critical Concepts in Religious Studies." Taylor and Francis 2006, page 120.
[8] Chahal, Dr. Devindar Singh (Jan-June 2006). "Is Sikhism a Unique Religion or a Vedantic Religion?". Understanding Sikhism - the Research
Journal 8 (1): 3–5.
[9] Aad Guru Granth Sahib. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar. 1983.
[10] "Eclecticism and Modern Hindu Discourse, Brian Hatcher, OUP 1999"
[11] The Dravidian Movement by Gail Omvedt
[12] The Vernacular Veda by Vasudha Narayanan
[13] Monier-Williams 2006, p. 1015; Apte 1965, p. 856
[14] K.F. Geldner. Der Rig-Veda, Harvard Oriental Series 33-37, Cambridge 1951
[15] see e.g. Pokorny's 1959 Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch s.v. u̯(e)id-²; Rix' Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, u̯ei̯d-.
Old-slavic and old-church slavonic/old bulgarian form ' "knowledge" and verb ' "to know"
[16] Monier-Williams (1899)
[17] Müller, Friedrich Max (author) & Stone, Jon R. (author, editor) (2002). The essential Max Müller: on language, mythology, and religion.
Illustrated edition. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0312293097, 9780312293093. Source: (http:/ / books. google. com. au/
books?id=Q96EsUCVlLsC& printsec=frontcover& dq=Max+ Müller& ei=SRjkS6LcI4TulQSj6InGCQ& cd=3#v=onepage& q& f=false)
(accessed: Friday May 7, 2010), p.44
[18] Flood 1996, p. 37
[19] Witzel, Michael, "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood 2003, p. 68
[20] For the possibility of written texts during the first century BCE see: Witzel, Michael, "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood 2003, p. 69; For oral
composition and oral transmission for "many hundreds of years" before being written down, see: Avari 2007, p. 76.
[21] Brodd, Jefferey (2003). World Religions. Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press. ISBN 978-0-88489-725-5.
[22] according to ISKCON, Hindu Sacred Texts (http:/ / hinduism. iskcon. com/ tradition/ 1105. htm), "Hindus themselves often use the term to
describe anything connected to the Vedas and their corollaries (e.g. Vedic culture)".
[23] 37,575 are Rigvedic. Of the remaining, 34,857 appear in the other three Samhitas, and 16,405 are known only from Brahmanas, Upanishads
or Sutras)
[24] Michaels 2004, p. 51.
[25] Witzel, Michael, "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood 2003, p. 69.
[26] For a table of all Vedic texts see Witzel, Michael, "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood 2003, p. 100–101.
[27] Flood 1996, p. 39.
[28] (Staal 1986)
[29] (Filliozat 2004, p. 139)
[30] Radhakrishnan & Moore 1957, p. 3; Witzel, Michael, "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood 2003, p. 68
[31] MacDonell 2004, p. 29-39
[32] Witzel, M., " The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools : The Social and Political Milieu (http:/ / www. people. fas. harvard.
edu/ ~witzel/ canon. pdf)" in Witzel 1997, p. 257-348
Vedas 12

[33] see e.g. Avari 2007, p. 77.

[34] For 1,028 hymns and 10,600 verses and division into ten mandalas, see: Avari 2007, p. 77.
[35] For characterization of content and mentions of deities including Agni, Indra, Varuna, Soma, Surya, etc. see: Avari 2007, p. 77.
[36] see e.g. Avari 2007, p. 77. Max Müller gave 1700–1100 BCE, Michael Witzel gives 1450-1350 BCE as terminus ad quem.
[37] Drews, Robert (2004). Early Riders: The beginnings of mounted warfare in Asia and Europe. New York: Routledge. p. 50.
[38] Apte 1965, p. 981.
[39] For 1875 total verses, see numbering given in Ralph T. H. Griffith. Griffith's introduction mentions the recension history for his text.
Repetitions may be found by consulting the cross-index in Griffith pp. 491-99.
[40] Michaels 2004, p. 56.
[41] Flood 1996, p. 37.
[42] Apte 1965, p. 37.
[43] Flood 1996, p. 36.
[44] Witzel, Michael, "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood 2003, p. 76.
[45] Radhakrishnan & Moore 1957, p. 3.
[46] "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." Zaehner 1966, p. vii.
[47] "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."Flood 1996, p. 42.
[48] Apte 1965, p. 387.
[49] BR Modak, The Ancillary Literature of the Atharva-Veda, New Delhi, Rashtriya Veda Vidya Pratishthan, 1993, ISBN 81-215-0607-7
[50] Flood 1996, p. 111 dates it to the 4th century CE.
[51] Vishnu Purana, translation by Horace Hayman Wilson, 1840, Ch IV, http:/ / www. sacred-texts. com/ hin/ vp/ vp078. htm
[52] Muir 1861, pp. 20-31
[53] Monier-Williams 2006, p. 207. (http:/ / www. ibiblio. org/ sripedia/ ebooks/ mw/ 0200/ mw__0240. html) Accessed 5 April 2007.
[54] Apte 1965, p. 293.
[55] Sullivan 1994, p. 385
[56] Goswami, Satsvarupa (1976), Readings in Vedic Literature: The Tradition Speaks for Itself, S.l.: Assoc Publishing Group, pp. 240 pages,
ISBN 0912776889
[57] http:/ / books. google. com/ books/ pdf/ Original_Sanskrit_Texts_on_the_Origin_an. pdf?id=_VCXTBk-PtoC
[58] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=J8Zo_rtoWAEC
[59] http:/ / www. sub. uni-goettingen. de/ ebene_1/ fiindolo/ gretil. htm#Veda
[60] http:/ / www. sacred-texts. com/ hin/ index. htm#vedas
[61] http:/ / www. comparative-religion. com/ hinduism/ vedas/
[62] http:/ / www. gayathrimanthra. com/ Library. html
Article Sources and Contributors 13

Article Sources and Contributors

Vedas  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=363708641  Contributors: -Ril-, 999, A. S. Aulakh, A.areena, ARYAN818, AVand, Abbas motiwala, Abecedare, Ahoerstemeier,
Aitias, Allstarecho, Anantashakti, Andres, Andrew Dalby, Anirudh K Bharadwaj, Anirudh777, Anit.pimple, Anupamsr, Anwin52, Anypodetos, Arch dude, Arvindn, AstareGod, Aunt Entropy,
Aupmanyav, Azzamination220, B9 hummingbird hovering, BGhimire, BGlaze250, Babub, Badagnani, Bakasuprman, BalanceRestored, Balasubramanian A., Ballon845, Beetstra, Ben-Zin,
Bhadani, Bijuresh007, Blatven, Bobo192, BorgQueen, Borgx, Brendanwinter, Brujo, Bsskchaitanya, Buddhipriya, Budumer, Bunzil, Butterplantforest, C.Logan, CALR, CDPLPCPL,
CardinalDan, Cardreader, Catchbarat, Cbrown1023, Chappa07, Charles Matthews, CharlieHuang, Chhajjusandeep, Chitvamasi, Chopper Dave, Chris Q, Chris the speller, CiTrusD, Cmiller01,
Cminard, Colonies Chris, Cool3, Cosmic Latte, Cpaikra, Cultural Freedom, DBaba, DGJM, DaGizza, Dangerous-Boy, Dante Alighieri, Darsie, David spector, Dawg12345, Dbachmann, Deepak,
Deeptrivia, Delirium, DerHexer, Desirani628, Didactohedron, Discospinster, Dogposter, Donnoit, Dougweller, Dputig07, Drilnoth, Ekabhishek, Elipongo, Enaidmawr, Endroit, Epbr123, Essjay,
ExecTaxes, ExplicitImplicity, Fang Aili, FayssalF, Figureskatingfan, Firien, FlareNUKE, Floorwalker, Fourdee, Freedom skies, FreplySpang, Friday, Fuhghettaboutit, Funandtrvl, Fusionmix,
Ganesh J. Acharya, Gauravchauhan4, Gdm, Glenn, Gnanapiti, Goethean, Gogo Dodo, Gohdan, Govindk, Hardyplants, Hindushudra, Hippietrail, Hkelkar, Hnaluru, Hu12, Hulagu, IPSOS,
Imunuri, Info D, Insanity Incarnate, Iridescent, Ism schism, Isomeme, Iulius, Ivan Štambuk, J.delanoy, JFD, JForget, Jacob.jose, Jacquerie27, Jagged 85, Jennavecia, Jj137, Joey80, John, Just
James, KI, KNM, Kablammo, Kajasudhakarababu, Kane5187, Kaobear, Kaysov, Kbdank71, Keenan Pepper, Kishreddy, Knewace, Knutsandvik, Knverma, Koavf, Kostisl, Krsont, Kukini,
Kungfuadam, Langdell, Leithp, Leolaursen, LilHelpa, Lir, Lockesdonkey, LordSimonofShropshire, Lost-theory, Lostinindia, Lukefinsaas, M7, MER-C, Madmedea, Mahaabaala, Mahayogini,
Majorly, Maldek, Martial75, MassimoAr, Maurice Carbonaro, Mav, MaximusPrius, Mboverload, Mebizzare, Mel Etitis, Menchi, Mild Bill Hiccup, Mitsube, Mladifilozof, Mm9n, Mordicai,
Moreschi, Mschlindwein, Mtrack81, Muthukumar.delta, Neil Clancy, NekoDaemon, NellieBly, Neutrality, Neverquick, Newbyguesses, Nimishms, Nishkid64, Nitinsunny, Nixeagle, Nobleeagle,
Ojs, Olivier, Onorem, Ott, Paul Barlow, Peyre, Pgan002, Pigman, Pizza Puzzle, Pjacobi, Plurisubharmonic, Potatohead90, Ppalem, Pranathi, Priyanath, Protozoan, Qae, Quaeler, Qweniden, RDF,
Rachotilko, RafaAzevedo, Raj2004, Rajneeshhegde, Ranveig, Ravichandar84, Ravimpillay, Redtigerxyz, Revelation2:27, Revolving Bugbear, Riana, Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ), Ritz1on1,
Rjwilmsi, Rkvemuri, Rmky87, RodC, Rosamaple, RubyQ, Rudrasharman, RussellSpence, Ryanaxp, Rājagṛha, Saberlotus, Sam Spade, Samaleks, Sammod, Samskrt, Sandstein, Sangeetapriya,
Sanjeevnewar, Santhangopal, SarahR2008, Sarayuparin, Sarveshshukla, Savyasaachi, Scithe, Sciurinæ, Sethie, Shiva bakta, Shree, Shridharan, Shriramshishya, Sindhutvavadin, Skoosh,
Snowgrouse, Softdynamite, Somkey russell, Spasemunki, Sptata, Sreejith.V.K, Srkris, Ssault, Stemonitis, Steven Zhang, Stogerov, Stormie, SunCreator, Superbun, Suyashmanjul, Svarma,
TAnthony, Tail, Tarosan, Teardrop onthefire, Template namespace initialisation script, Texture, The Transhumanist, The sunder king, Timeroom, Timwi, Toddst1, Townblight, Trewbuk,
Trivandrum1024, Truthseeker81, Unugy, Varanwal, Vedayagya, Vedika0611, Velho, Verbum Veritas, Vervin, Vikramaditiya, Vineetkumarpn, Violask81976, Viriditas, Vishal, Vishnava,
Waerth, Wahabijaz, Wclark, Whkoh, Whycram, Wighson, Wiki Raja, WikiFlier, Wikidas, WikipedianMarlith, Wikipediarules2221, Will Beback, William Avery, Winode sv, Woohookitty,
World8115, Xinjao, Yamamoto Ichiro, Yann, Yeditor, Yintan, Yogacharya, Yogi, Yonderboy, Youandme, Yurik, Zahid Abdassabur, Zaven2, Zazaban, Zerokitsune, Zigger, కిరణ్మయి, 733
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