Vedas

Lore & Background

The Vedas are divided into four collections: the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda. Each Veda has four subdivisions: the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals and sacrifices), the Aranyakas (texts on rituals and symbolic-sacrifices), and the Upanishads (texts on meditation, philosophy, and spiritual knowledge). Some scholars add a fifth category, the Upāsanās (worship). The mantras, the oldest part, are recited in the modern age for their phonology rather than semantics, regarded as 'primordial rhythms of creation' that regenerate the cosmos.

Reader's Guide

The Vedas are foundational to Hindu philosophy and are classified as śruti ('what is heard'), distinguishing them from smṛti ('what is remembered') texts. They have been orally transmitted since the 2nd millennium BCE using elaborate mnemonic techniques. The various Indian philosophies and Hindu sects have taken differing positions on the Vedas: schools that acknowledge their authority are considered orthodox (āstika), while śramaṇa traditions such as Buddhism and Jainism, which do not regard the Vedas as authoritative, are called heterodox (nāstika). The Upanishads, part of the Vedic corpus, discuss ideas akin to the heterodox śramana traditions and are the foundation of Hindu philosophical thought. The Vedas' influence extends through later texts like the Bhagavad Gita and the epics, though these are classified as smṛti. The term 'Veda' derives from the Sanskrit root vid- 'to know', cognate with Greek (ϝ)εἶδος 'aspect' and English 'wit'.

Did You Know?

• The Vedas are considered apauruṣeya, meaning 'not of a man, superhuman' and 'impersonal, authorless'.
• According to tradition, the sage Vyasa is the compiler of the Vedas, arranging the four kinds of mantras into four Samhitas.