Vedic Literature and Its Classification

Origin of the word “Veda”: The word “Veda” is derived from ‘vid‘ which means ‘to know‘ or ‘knowledge‘ in Sanskrit.

Period of composition: Approximately 1500 BCE is considered the beginning of Vedic literature, i.e. the composition of the Rigveda.

Characteristics of Vedic Literature:

• The Vedas are the oldest and richest literature in the world.
• This oldest literature is written in Sanskrit.
• According to Hindu belief, the Vedas were not created by humans but are the words of God. Therefore, they are impersonal (i.e., not created by man).
• The disciples memorized the Vedic mantras uttered by the Rishi or sages through generations. That is why the other name of the Vedas is Shruti and Smriti.
• The four Vedas were created by collecting or compiling the mantras uttered by the sages in the lineage. That is why the Vedas are called ‘Samhita‘.
• The entire Vedic literature is divided into 4 parts (i) Samhita (i.e. Chaturveda) (ii) Brahmana (iii) Aranyaka (iv) Upanishads (or Vedanta).
• In terms of knowing the rules and regulations of the Vedas, there are six sections of the Vedas called Vedanga.
• The Vedas are not monolithic texts.

Info: Although the Vedas are considered religious literature, a lot of information about the society, political life, economy and lifestyle of the Aryan civilization can also be found in it.

Samhitas

• The Samhita is divided into four parts – Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.
• Rigveda deals with the social life of the Vedic Aryans.
• Samaveda is a hymn dedicated to the gods.
• Yajurveda deals with the rules of sacrificial rites.
• Atharvaveda deals with Ayurveda, science, and other magical subjects.
• The Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads, which are written as subsidiary texts to each of the four Vedas, each have their own unique characteristics.
• Atharvaveda does not have any Aranyaka.
• Among the four Vedas, the Rigveda is identified as the earliest Vedic literature, while the Samaveda, Yajuveda and Atharvaveda are considered later Vedic literature.

Info: The Samhitas are mainly collections of Suktas (i.e. hymns or mantras).

Rigveda

• The Rigveda is a collection of several rhymed Rigs (Suktas) or mantras. Therefore, another name for the Rigveda is Rik-Samhita.
• The Rigveda, which was divided into five branches, now only the ‘Shakala‘ branch exists. These are divided into ten mandalas or chapters.
• After these Suktas were in the ‘Shruti’ form in the lineage, sages like Kamba, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vishwamitra, Vasishtha, etc. compiled them.
• Among the writers of the Rig or Sukta, the names of some female Rishis or Brahmavadini (i.e. female sages) are mentioned. They are Apala, Ghosha, Vishwavara, Sasvati, Surya etc.
• The Suktas are mainly written about the gods and goddesses such as Agni, Indra, Soma, Varuna, Usha etc.
• The Rigveda is divided into 10 Mandalas. Of these, the first and tenth mandalas are newer than the others.
• In the Rigveda, the priest was called Ritvik or Hota.
• The total number of Rigs or Suktas in the Rigveda is 1028.

Info: One of the Upaveda of the Rigveda is Ayurveda, which deals with the science of medicine or health.

Info: The first mention of the caste system is found in the Purusukta of the tenth mandala of the Rigveda.

Info: The most sacred mantra of the Rigveda is the Gayatri mantra, which is dedicated to the goddess Savitri. This mantra was composed by the sage Vishwamitra.

Info: The ninth sukta is dedicated to the god Soma.

Samaveda

• Samaveda is the oldest musical work in India.
• The word Sama is derived from the word ‘Saman’. The basic meaning of the word Sama is song or melody.
• Initially, Samaveda had around 1000 Shakhas. Now there are only three shakhas are available – Kauthuma, Jaiminiya and Ranayaniya. Kauthuma has two parts Gana and Archika.
• The number of unique verses is 1549 in Samaveda.
• Many mythological stories are mentioned in the songs of Samaveda.
• Samaveda had two Upanishads – (I) Chandogya Upanishad (ii) Kena Upanishad.
• The word ‘Bratyastoma Yajna‘ is mentioned in the Samas. Many scholars believe that this Yajna was used to include non-Aryans in the Aryan community.
• During the Soma Yajna, mainly the mantras of Samaveda were chanted.
• The number of books in the Brahmana branch of Samaveda is 8. Notable among these is Jaiminiya Brahmana.
• Three sages (Ritviks) offer songs in three ways. The one who offered the first part of the hymn was called ‘Uddagata‘ and his sung part was called ‘Udgeeta‘. The one who offered the second part was called ‘Prastota‘. His sung part was called ‘Prastava‘. The one who offered the third part was called ‘Pratihata‘. His sung part was called ‘Pratihara‘ (which means connecting two parts). The combined voice of the three singers was called ‘Nidhana‘.

Yajurveda

• Yajurveda is a collection of prose-type mantras.
• Yajurveda is divided into two parts- Shukla Yajurveda and Krishna Yajurveda.
• The priest of Yajurveda is called Adhvaryus.
• Shukla Yajurveda has only one sub-branch or Samhita – Vajasaneyi Samhita. Vajasaneyi Samhita has 40 chapters.
• The rules and regulations related to yajna such as Asvamedha, Sautramani Sacrifice, Agnichayana etc. are included in this book.
• The name of the ‘Brahmana’ branch of Shukla Yajurveda is Satapatha Brahmana.
• Four Brahmanas of the Krishna Yajurveda are Kapisthala or Katha Brahmana, Taittiriya Brahmana, Apastamba Brahmana and Maitrayani Brahmana.
• The two Aranyaka texts of the Yajurveda are Taittiriya and Shatapatha Aranyaka.
• Some information related to the life of contemporary society is available in Yajurveda literature.

Atharva Veda

• The original name of Atharva Veda was ‘Atharvangirasa-Veda‘.
• The Atharva Veda was compiled by the sages Atharva and Angirasa.
• Atharva Veda is prose, verse and lyrical literature.
• For a long time, Atharva Veda was deprived of the status of Vedic Samhita. It contains mantras, tantra and magic.
• The oldest text associated with Indian medicine is the Atharvaveda.
• It is believed that the Ayurveda originated from Atharvaveda.
• Out of the nine branches/ shakalas of Atharva Veda, two branches named Shaunaka and Vaipalada exist.
• Only Gopatha Brahmana is mentioned in its Brahmanical literature.
• Among the Upanishads, Manduka Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad and Prasana Upanishad are notable.

Info: Atharva Veda’s total number of verses is 730 (according to some opinions, 760) and they are arranged in 20 Kandas or books.

Info: The Upaveda of this Veda is the Shilpa Veda, the subject of discussion is architecture and sculpture.

Brahman

1. In the Vedic period, several branches of books called ‘Brahmanas‘ were written for the explanations of sacrificial rituals.
2. Brahmanas are written in simple prose, not in rhymed verse like the Rig Veda.
3. The purpose of the Brahmanas is to explain the complex teachings of the Vedas in simple language.
4. Each Veda has its own separate Brahmanical literature.
5. The two Brahmanical texts associated with the Rig Veda are the Kausitaki Brahmana and the Aitareya Brahmana.
6. A total of 17 Brahmanical texts are known today.

Info: Brahmanic literature is the first example of later Vedic literature.

Info: ‘Shatapatha Brahmana‘ is the largest Brahmanical text.

Aranyaka

• Aranya means ‘forest‘.
• During the Vedic period, those who adopted the Vanaprastha life wrote ‘Aranyaka‘ for the purpose of gaining knowledge on various subjects.
• The major contents of the Aranyakas are Brahmavidya, Upasana and Pranavidya.
• Atharva Veda does not contain any Aranyaka.
• Rig Veda has 2 Aranayaka – Aitareya Aranyaka and Kaushitaki Aranyaka.
• Samaveda has 2 Aranayaka- Talavakara Aranyaka and Chandogya- Aranyaka.
• Yajurveda has 3 Aranayaka – Brihadaranyaka (Shukla Yajurveda), Taittiriya Aranyaka and Maitrayaniya Aranyaka (Krishna Yajurveda)

Upanishad

• As the last chapter of Vedic literature, 12 Upanishads are written for the philosophical explanation (knowledge) of each Veda.
• There are a total of 108 Upanishads.
• The word Upanishad means ‘sitting near by devotedly‘. That is, sitting near the Guru.
• Main topics of Upanishad – soul, Brahman, reincarnation, karma.
• Twelve special Upanishad are – Isha, Kena, Katha, Shvetashvatara, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Kaushitaki, Chhandogya, Brahadaranyaka, Aitereya, and Taitteriya.
• Apart from these, the other Upanishads are – Samanyayuvedanta (23), Yoga Upanishad (20), Sannyasa Upanishad (19), Vaishnava Upanishads (14), Shaiva Upanishad (14), Shakta Upanishad (8).
• The latest Upanishad is Muktika Upanishad. Its main content is Paravidya (Knowledge of self-realization or knowledge of the Absolute) and Aparavidya (knowledge of the world or objective knowledge).

Info: Since Upanishad was written in the later period of Vedic literature, it is also called Vedanta.

Vedanga

• Vedanga is not Vedic literature in the true sense. However, it is a derivative of Vedic literature.
• The six Vedangas are respectively-
  1. Shiksha: With the help of this, it is possible to know the correct pronunciation of Vedic characters.
  2. Chanda: With the help of this, it is possible to gain knowledge about the rhythm of Vedic Rig or hymns.
  3. Vayakarana: With the help of this, it is possible to gain knowledge about the language of Vedic literature.
  4. Nirukta: With the help of this, it is possible to gain etymology about Vedic words.
  5. Jyotisha: With the help of this, correct knowledge about the positions of planets and stars is gained and
  6. Kalpa or Kalpasutra: With the help of this, it is possible to gain detailed information about Vedic rituals and social life.
• Kalpasutra is again divided into three parts (i) Shrautasutra, (ii) Grihyasutra and (iii) Dharmasutra.
• Shrautasutra is the rules of Vedic Yagya or Yajna.
• Grihyasutra is the rules and regulations for the daily rituals of the family.
• Dharmasutra is the book of laws regarding society and state administration.
• All the subjects of the Kalpasutra and the three books related to it are collectively known as the Sutra Literature or Dharmashastra.

Info: Notable authors of Sutra literature were Ashvalayana, Sankhayana, Baudhayana, Vaikhanas, Gautama, Katyayana, Maitrayani, etc.

Purana

1. The Eighteenth Purana is a significant subject in the literature review of ancient India.
2. Although the number of original texts of the Puranas is eighteen, more Puranas have been found.
3. Some Purana experts believe that the Puranas like Vishnu, Vayu, Kurma, Matsya, Agni, Bhagavata, etc are compositions of the fourth or fifth century of the Gupta era.
4. Puranas like Brihaddharma Purana and Brahmavaivarta Purana are identified as writings of the 13th century and their content is diverse.
5. India is called ‘Jambudvipa‘ in Markandeya Purana.
6. Some geographical details of India, including the name ‘Bharat‘, are also found in Vishnu Purana.
7. The names of various mountains and important rivers of this country are found in Vishnu Purana.
8. Vishnu Purana also provides some information about the shape of the Indian territory.

Shad-darshan

• The deep and theoretical discussions of the 6 branches of Indian philosophy written during this period are collectively called ‘Shad-darshan‘.
• 6 Shad-Darshanas: Purva Mimamsa, Vedanta, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, and Yoga.