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Rig-veda
Yajur-veda
Atharva-veda
Sama-veda
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The
earliest literature of India is the Vedas. These are the earliest
literary records of the Indo-European race. Max Muller supposed
the date to be 1200 BC, Haug 2400 BC and Bal Gangadhar Tilak 4000
BC. The ancient Hindus seldom kept any historical record of their
literary, religious or political achievements. The Vedas were
handed down from mouth to mouth from a period of unknown antiquity.
The Hindus believed that the Vedas were never composed by mortal
men These consist mostly of hymns in praise of nature gods, such
as fire, wind etc. Excepting in some of the hymns of later parts
of the work there is not much philosophy in them in our sense
of the term. Here we find interesting philosophical questions
of a more or less cosmological character expressed in terms of
poetry and imagination.
Veda literally mean knowledge. Hence many branches of knowledge
were mentioned as Veda. For example, Ayurved meaning branch
of living and Medicine, Dhanurved, as knowledge of archery, etc.
However, the sutras mention to Vedas necessarily meant the four
Vedas. Veda is not the name of a particular book, but of the literature
of a particular epoch extending over a long period in different
direction on varied topics. Roughly classified in view of age,
language, subject matter it is classified as four types. Rig-veda, Yajur-veda, Atharva-veda, Sama-veda:
The Rig-vedic language in the form, words and pronunciation resembles
that of language in ancient part of Avesta. It mainly consists
of verses in prayers and worships of different gods and deities.
They were presumably formed during 1400 to 1000 BC. There are
many branches who had preserved the verses by word of mouth. Four
branches amongst them were Shakal, Bashkal, Shankhayan and Mandukeya.
The construction is divided in ten Mandalas (chapters) composed
by ten different schools or families of sears. The verses are
composed in fifteen metres out of which seven are more prominently
used. Gayatri and Anushtup are predominent.
Yajur-veda prose are those
to be chanted at the time of Yagnya ,the sacred fire. The
one who offers sacrifices chants the Yajurveda. In Patanjalbhashya,
101 branches of this Veda is reported but only six of them
exist till date. It is mainly divided into two types, Krishna
and Shukla. Krishna Yajurveda is further divided into Taittiriya,
Kathak, Maitrayani and
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Kapishthal.The
Shukla is subdivided into Kanva and Madhyandin.
Atharva-veda mainly consists of verses related to magic, witch
craft and prayers for destruction of the enemy. Nine branches
of the Veda are reported But compilations of Pippalad and Shaunak
are the only branches available till date. The verses are composed
after Rigvedic period. Since verses related to black magic were
included in this Veda it did not command equal status for quite
some time.
Sama-veda is not an independent Veda but a compilation of some
of the verses from Rigveda, which are chanted by singing. There
are supposedly around 13 branches that is 13 different ways in
which it could be sung. Out of them Kauthum, Ranayaniya and Jaiminiya
are available till date. Samaveda is considered to be essence
of the Vedas. Shrimadbhagwad Gita, echoes the same feeling as
Lord Krishna proclaiming, ‘I am the Samaveda amongst Vedas.Next
to this come certain treatise written in prose and verse called
the Upanisads . It contains various sorts of philosophical thoughts
mostly monistic or singularistic but also some pluralistic and
dualistic ones. These are utterances of truths intuitively perceived
or figured as unquestionably real and indubitable.
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