The Vedas are said to have been passed on from one
generation to the next through verbal transmission and are, therefore, also
known as Shruti (to hear) or revelation. The term Vedic literature means the
four Vedas in their Samhita and the allied literature based on or derived from
the Vedas. We classify the Vedic literature into the following categories:
The four Vedas i.e. the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva and
their Samhitas.
The Brahmanas attached to each Samhita.
The Aranyakas.
The Upanishads.
What is Samhita?
The basic material or mantra text of each of the Vedas is
called “Samhita”. Some post Vedic texts are also known as “Samhitas” such as
Ashtavakra Gita, Bhrigu Samhita, Brahma Samhita, Deva Samhita, Garga Samhita,
Kashyap Samhita, Shiva Samhita and Yogayajnavalkya Samhita. Samhita literally
means “compilation” of Suktas (Hymns).
Shruti Literature and Smriti Literature
The Vedic literature is broadly divided into two categories
viz. Shruti and Smriti. Shruti is “that which has been heard” and is canonical,
consisting of revelation and unquestionable truth, and is considered eternal.
Shruti describes the sacred texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism viz.
Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, & Upanishads.
Smiriti literally means “that which is remembered,
supplementary and may change over time”. It is authoritative only to the extent
that it conforms to the bedrock of Shruti and it is entire body of the post
Vedic Classical Sanskrit literature. It comprises Vedanga, Shad darsana,
Puranas, Itihasa, Upveda, Tantras, Agamas, Upangas.
We note here that there is no distinct division between
Shruti and Smriti. Both Shruti and Smriti can be represented as a continuum,
with some texts more canonical than others.
Shruti Literature
Rig-Veda
Rig-Veda is known as the oldest religious text in the world.
It is also known as “First testament” of mankind. It was composed around 1700
BC. Last hymns were composed between 1500-1200 BC. It’s a collection of hymns
by a number of priest families. It is
organized in 10 books which are called Mandalas. The first and 10th Mandalas are the youngest
and the longest books. Second to Seventh
Mandalas are oldest parts of Rig-Veda but the shortest books. 8th and 9th books
are of mixed ages.
Rig-Veda is neither a historical nor a heroic poem but is
mainly a collection of hymns by a number of priestly families. These were
recited at the time of sacrificial rites and other rituals with utmost
devotion. The Rig-Veda contains 1017 (1028, including 11 hymns of the
Valakhilya recession) hymns (Sukta) and is divided into ten mandalas. The first
and the tenth Mandalas are said to have
been added later as their language
differs slightly from the
other eight Mandalas.
Yajurveda
“Yajus” means “sacrificial formula” and Yajurveda is the
book of sacrificial prayers. It contains the rituals of the Yajnas. It is estimated to have been composed between
1,400 and 1000 BC. It prescribes the rituals for performing different
sacrifices. It was the manual of the Adhvaryus.
Adhvarus were the people prepared the ground and the altar
offered the sacrificial victims and poured out the libations.
Distinction between Black and White Yajurveda
World’s oldest prose literature of the Indo-Europeans is
contained in Yajurveda. There are two distant forms of this Veda. In the
oldest, the instructions about rituals are mingled with the verses from the
Rig-Veda. The chief recession of this is that taught by a school of teachers
called the Taitttiriyans. This was called Black Yajurveda.
At a later date other scholars called the Vajasaneyins
separated the explanatory matter from the verses to be recited and hence were
called white (Shukla) Yajur-Veda, the other being called the black (Krishna)
Yajur-Veda.
This implies that the Krishna Yajurveda includes the
Brahmana prose discussions within the Samhita (i.e. it has no Brahman) while
the Shukla Yajurveda has separately a Brahmana text, the Shatapatha Brahmana.
Sam Veda
“Saman” means melody and it contains the Rhythmic
compilation of Hymns of Rigveda. It ranks next in sanctity and liturgical
importance to the Rigveda. It contains 1549 hymns which are meant to be sung at
the soma sacrifice by a special class of Brahmans called “Udgatris”. It has
three shakhas or recensions:
Kauthuma : Panchvish Brahmana
The Jaiminiya : Jaiminiya Brahmana
Rāvāyanīya : Shadvish Brahmana
There are two Aranyakas: Chadogya Aranyaka and jaiminiya
Aranyaka. Chadogya Aranyaka has Chadogya
Upnishad and Jaiminiya Aranyaka has Jaiminiya Upnishad. .
Gandharveveda is Samveda’s Upveda is is a technical treatise
on Music, Dance and Drama. Bharat’s Natyashashtra is based upon Gandharvaveda.
Atharva Veda
Atharva-Veda is entirely different from the other three
Vedas and is chronologtically the last of the four. It is important and
interesting as it describes the popular
beliefs and superstitions of the humble folk. Atharvaveda contains the
magic spells, incorporates much of early traditions of healing and magic that
are paralleled in other Indo-European literatures.
For a very long time it was not included in the category of the Vedas.‘ Atharvan’ was a legendary
Rishi and is considered to have sung the Atharvaveda. He is also said to have
first instituted the fire-sacrifice or yagna. Atharvaveda was mainly composed
by two groups of rishis known as the Atharvanas and the Angirasa, hence its
oldest name is Ātharvāṅgirasa.
There are two surviving recensions or Shakhas known as
Śaunakīya (AVS) and Paippalāda (AVP).
Gopath Brahmana is the Brahmana of Yajurveda.
There are three Unishads viz. Prasna, Mundaka and Mandukya.
Satyamev Jayate, India’s Motto comes from Mundaka Upanishad.
Brahmanas
The Brahmanas are the prose texts which explain the hymns in
the Vedas, give explanation and applications and related stories of their
origin. They also have some stories related to the certain persons related to
the Vedic Text.
The following diagram shows the Brahmans of Vedas.
Aranyakas
The Aranyakas were written in Forests and are concluding
parts of the Brahmans.
Importance of Aranyakas
Aranyakas don’t lay much emphasis on rites, ritual and
sacrifices but have philosophy and mysticism. This is because aranyakas were
written mainly for the hermits and students living in the jungles. They lay
emphasis not on sacrifices but on meditation. They are in fact, opposed to
sacrifices and many of the early rituals. Their stress is on moral values. They
form a bridge between way of work (karma marga) which was the sole concern of
the Brahmanas and the way of knowledge (gyan marga) which the Upanishads
advocated. In other words, Aranyakas are focussed on moral science and philosophy.
They also provide the details of the Rishis who lived in jungles.
The Upanishads
“Upa” means nearby and “sada” means sit. So Upanishads
contain the knowledge imparted by the gurus to their disciples.
Eventually the word began to be used for the secret
knowledge imparted by the guru to his selected pupils. A number of treatises
were prepared, first orally and then in writing, and were called by the same
name of Upanishad. Today Upanishads specify philosophical knowledge and
spiritual learning.
Why Upanishads are called Vedanta?
The main motto of the Upanishads is “Knowledge Awards
Salvation”. Upanishads are called Vedanta (the end of the Veda) firstly,
because they denote the last phase of the Vedic period and secondly, because
they reveal the final aim of the Veda.
The Oldest Upanishads are Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya
Upanishads which date as back as the first millennium BC. Latest were composed
in the medieval and early modern period. The latest Upnishad is Muktikā
Upnishad and was recorded by Dara Shikoh. It dates to 1656. Dara Shikoh was son
of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and is known to have translated fifty Upanishads
into Persian. There are 108 Upanishads. 11
are predominant and they are called “Mukhya Upanishads”.
Smriti Texts
Vedangas
Vedangas are six auxiliary disciplines associated with the
study and understanding of the Vedas. They include Shiksha (Phonetics), Kalpa
(Ritual Canon), Vyakaran (Grammar), Nirukta (explanation), Chhanda (Vedic meter)
and Jyotisha (Astrology)
Epics (Itihasa)
Ramayana
Created by Maharishi Valmiki. Consists of 24,000 verses in
seven books (Kandas) and 500 sargas) and tells the story of Rama. Verses in the
Ramayana are written in a 32-syllable meter called anustubh and ranges in 50000
lines in total. Valmiki is also regarded
as India’s First Poet. Father Kamil Bulke, author of Ramakatha, has identified
over 300 variants of Ramayana. It inspired Tulsikrita Ramayan “Ram Charit Manas”
in 1576 by Tulsi Das.
Mahabharta
The Mahabharta is attributed to Maharishi Vyas and the tale
known as Bharta is a shorter version of 24,000 verses, while the Mahabharta
contains 1 Lakh verses and 1.8 million words which makes it 10 times longer
than “Iliad and Odyssey combined” and 4 times of Ramayana.
Puranas
They are late descriptions of ancient legends and consist of
history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings,
heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy,
and geography. They are colored with superstitions and also represent a corrupt
form of Hindu Philosophy. There are 18 major Puranas.
Upaveda
Upaveda means applied knowledge and are traditional
literatures which contain the subjects of certain technical works. They are as follows:
Āyurveda: Deals in Medicine and associated with the Rigveda
Dhanurveda: Deals in Archery and associated with the
Yajurveda
Gāndharvaveda: Deals with Music and Dance and associated
with the Samaveda
Shastrashastra: Deals with military technology and
associated with the Atharvaveda.
good read
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