Veda, Vedanta, Vedanga
An overview of Vedic texts
Over the last two years, we have spent a fair amount of time on the Rigveda. However, given the complexity of the text and its immense scope and scale, we have barely scraped the surface of its study. In my opinion, to truly understand the Rigveda, an ordinary soul like me will need deep engagement over several lifetimes. I hope, though, that our discussions have been useful as an introduction to this incredible work.
Let us now look at the other texts that appeared after the Rigveda and which, together with the Rigveda, fall under the heading of ‘Vedic texts’. We shall discuss them briefly here.
VEDA
THE FOUR VEDAS
The heart of the Vedic corpus is made up the four Vedas, the Rigveda (ऋग्वेद), the Yajurveda (यजुर्वेद), the Samaveda (सामवेद), and the Atharvaveda(अथर्ववेद). Of the four Vedas, the oldest is the Rigveda; it is also the text on which the others are based. (Originally, though, there were only three Vedas, the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, and the Samaveda; these are collectively called trayi (त्रयी), ‘the sacred triad’. The Atharvaveda was added later.) Together, the four Vedas are the oldest texts in Sanskrit, and contain the seeds of the belief-system known today as Hinduism.
Each of the Vedas has two distinct parts, Samhita (संहिता) and Brahmana (ब्राह्मण):
The Samhita, which means ‘collection, compendium, or compilation’ in Sanskrit, refers to the continuous hymnical text of the Veda. The Samhita is also referred to as the Mantrah (मन्त्रः), which means ‘Vedic hymn’ or ‘sacred text’ in Sanskrit.
Attached to each Samhita, and distinct from it, are one or more Brahmanas. These are prose texts which give the rules for the employment of the hymns at various sacrifices, together with their origin and detailed explanations sometimes illustrated by stories.
The Rigvedic hymns were probably composed sometime in the period 2000-1500 BCE, and collected and organised into the Rigveda Samhita as we know it around 1000 BCE. (See ‘Dating the Rigveda’).
The exact dates of compilation of the Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda Samhitas are difficult to determine. It is estimated that they had been organised into their present forms by about 800 BCE. The Atharvaveda is the second oldest of the four Vedas and was probably compiled very soon after the closure of the Rigveda.
The Brahmanas were probably composed in the period 900-700 BCE, once the Samhitas had taken final shape.
The literal meaning of the Sanskrit word vedah (वेदः) is ‘knowledge’; when used in the context of the Vedas, singly or collectively, it signifies sacred knowledge.
In orthodox Hindu faith, the Vedas (Samhita + Brahamana) are called ‘Shruti’ (श्रुति) i.e. ‘that which has been heard or revealed’, as distinguished from 'Smriti’ (स्मृति), i.e. 'what is remembered or is the work of human origin'. The Vedic mantras, regarded as ‘verses of power’, were received by the Rishis in their minds; these sages, to whom the hymns of the Vedas are ascribed, were therefore called ‘seers’, drashtarah ( द्रष्टारः), and not ‘composers’, srishtarah (सृष्टारः).
VEDANTA
ARANYAKAS AND UPANISHADS
Connected to the Brahmanas are the Aranyakas (आरण्यक) or ‘forest books’ (so called because they were either composed in forests, or studied there!). The Aranyakas are not concerned with either the performance or explanation of sacrifices, but with symbolism and mysticism. They are the ‘transitional’ texts between the Vedas and the philosophical texts known as the Upanishads (उपनिषद्).
The literal meaning of ‘upanishad’ is 'knowledge derived from sitting at the feet of the preceptor', which later authorities such as Shankaracharya have interpreted to mean 'to destroy ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the Supreme Spirit and cutting off the bonds of worldly existence'. The number of Upanishads is very large; one of the later Upanishads, the Muktakopanishad, states this number to be 108, though other authorities state it to be higher. The oldest of the Upanishads were either included in the Aranyakas or added to them as appendices. Their aim is to ascertain the secret meanings of the Vedas.
The Aranyakas were most likely composed/compiled around 700 BCE, and the Upanishads in the period 700-500 BCE.
The two oldest Upanishads are the Brihadaranyaka and the Chandogya, both of which are compilations that record the traditions of sages of the period.
The Aranyaks and the Upanishads, and the philosophy contained within them, are called ‘Vedanta’ (वेदान्त), that which comes at 'the end of the Veda'.
VEDANGA
Towards the end of the Vedic period, at about the same time as the production of the Upanishads, were composed several classes of works relating to a proper understanding of the Vedas. Their purpose was to aid in the correct pronunciation and interpretation of the text and the right usage of the hymns in rituals and sacrifices. These texts are related to the six scholarly disciplines known as Vedanga (वेदाङ्ग) or ‘the limbs of the Vedas’ devoted to the study of the Vedas. (Later, the texts themselves were also called Vedangas).
The six scholarly disciplines known as Vedanga are the following:
shiksha (शिक्षा ) ‘instruction’: the science of proper articulation and pronunciation of the Vedic texts. In the post-Rigvedic period, the preservation and transmission of the Rigveda became the responsibility of priestly schools called ‘shakhas’. Each shakha was attached to a particular recension of one of the four Vedas and had different ways of pronouncing the text, which they recorded in works known as pratishakya (प्रातिशाख्य)—which mean, quite literally, ‘instruction to the shakha’. An extant example of this is the Rigveda-Pratishakhya ascribed to the sage and grammarian Shaunaka.
chandas (छन्दस्) ‘metre’: the science of prosody. The best-known example of a text in this discipline is the Chandah Sutra by the poet and mathematician, Pingala (c. 3rd-2nd century BCE).
vyakarana (व्याकरण) 'grammatical analysis': a description and analysis of the language. Panini is perhaps the best known Sanskrit grammarian of all time. His Ashtadhyayi (c.400 BCE) is the oldest Sanskrit grammar that has been preserved till modern times.
nirukta (निरुक्त) ‘lexicon’: etymological explanation of difficult Vedic words. Yaska is the most celebrated scholar in this field. He is the author of Nirukta (c. 600 BCE), a technical treatise on etymology and the semantics of Sanskrit words.
jyotisha (ज्योतिष) 'astronomy': a system of astronomy and astrology used to determine the right times for rituals
kalpa (कल्प) 'ritual or ceremonical': studies the correct ways of performing the ritual. The texts of this vedanga are called Kalpa-sutras (कल्पसूत्र). They contain precise rules in the form of aphorisms or sutras for the performance of rituals. They began to be composed from about 600 BCE by the various priestly schools or shakhas. A complete Kalpa-sutra is made up four parts:
Shrauta-sutras (श्रौतसूत्र): these deal with the great sacrifices mentioned in the Vedas.
Shulva-sutras (शुल्वसूत्र) these are attached to the Shrautasutras. They lay down precise rules for the measurement and construction of the different vedis or sacrificial fire-altars. (The word ‘sulva’ refers to the cords used for taking measurements, though the sutras themselves use the word ‘rajju’). The Sulvasutras contain the earliest explorations of geometry in India.
Grihya-sutras(गृह्यसूत्र): these give the rules for the ceremonies concerned with the domestic life of men and women.
Dharma-sutras (धर्मसूत्र): these are attached to the Grihyasutras and are concerned with domestic and secular laws.
This manuscript of Panini’s Ashtadhyayi in Grantha script was produced before the 19th century. It is a part of the École Française d'Extreme-Orient (EFEO) collection. It was discovered in Tamil Nadu and is currently preserved in a library in Puducherry.
I hope this overview has been helpful in giving an idea of the extent, complexity and variety of the texts derived from or related to the Rigveda. In the posts that follow, we will discuss individual texts in each category, with special attention to the Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda.
Meanwhile, if you have any questions or suggestions, or more information to add to this summary, please do write in via the comment box below.
Note: I have received queries from readers about the correct pronounciation of Vedic names and terms. I have hesitated to give the diacritics with the English spelling since readers often complain that this makes for cumbersome reading. So in this post, I have experimented by giving important names and terms in Devanagari script in brackets after the English. I understand this will help only those who can read Devanagari, and am open to suggestions as to how the question of correct pronounciation may be addressed for those who do not read this script. Please write in via the comments box (or email me directly by replying to this email).
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
I have compiled the information in this post from many sources, too numerous to list here. My main sources, with gratitude to their authors, are the following:
Brereton, Joel P.; and Jamison, Stephanie W. The Rigveda: A Guide. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020.
Ghose, Aurobindo. Hymns to the Mystic Fire. Vol. 2 of Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publ. Dept., 1972.
Kochhar, Rajesh. The Vedic People: Their History and Geography. Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan, 2009.
An unexpected and very useful source of information was The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, by Vaman Shivram Apte (1858-1892). This can be accessed here: https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/apte/
The Online Encyclopaedia Britannica has many useful entries and articles on Vedic texts
Wikipedia has fairly comprehensive information on this subject as well and is a good starting point for further research.
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Hi Rohini, another excellently researched piece which makes it so much easier for me, a student of Sanskrit & Philosophy, to understand such a complex subject! Your reference link to the dictionary will also be useful for me.
Very well written
Lot of research is involved
Thanks