The Rig Veda: The Book of Mantra
The Rig Veda is a collection of inspired songs or hymns and is a
main source of information on the Rig Vedic civilization. It is
the oldest book in any Indo-European language and contains the
earliest form of all Sanskrit mantras that date back to 1500
B.C. - 1000 B.C. Some scholars date the Rig Veda as early as
12000 BC - 4000 B.C. The Rig-Vedic ‘samhita’ or collection of
mantras consists of 1,017 hymns or ‘suktas’, covering about
10,600 stanzas, divided into eight ‘astakas’ each having eight
‘adhayayas’ or chapters, which are sub-divided into various
groups. The hymns are the work of many authors or seers called ‘rishis’.
There are seven primary seers identified: Atri, Kanwa,Vashistha,
Vishwamitra, Jamadagni, Gotama and Bharadwaja. The rig Veda
accounts in detail the social, religious, political and economic
background of the Rig-Vedic civilization. Even though monotheism
characterizes some of the hymns of Rig Veda, naturalistic
polytheism and monism can be discerned in the religion of the
hymns of Rig Veda. Click for Text of Rig Veda
The Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda were compiled after
the age of the Rig Veda and are ascribed to the Vedic period.
The Sama Veda: The Book of Song
The Sama Veda is purely a liturgical collection of melodies (‘saman’).
The hymns in the Sama Veda, used as musical notes, were almost
completely drawn from the Rig Veda and have no distinctive
lessons of their own. Hence, its text is a reduced version of
the Rig Veda. As Vedic Scholar David Frawley puts it, if the Rig
Veda is the word, Sama Veda is the song or the meaning, if Rig
Veda is the knowledge, Sama Veda is its realization, if Rig Veda
is the wife, the Sama Veda is her husband. Click for Text of
Sama Veda
The Yajur Veda: The Book of Ritual
The Yajur Veda is also a liturgical collection and was made to
meet the demands of a ceremonial religion. The Yajur Veda
practically served as a guidebook for the priests who execute
sacrificial acts muttering simultaneously the prose prayers and
the sacrificial formulae (‘yajus’). It is similar to ancient
Egypt’s “Book of the Dead”. There are no less than six complete
recessions of Yajur Veda - Madyandina, Kanva, Taittiriya,
Kathaka, Maitrayani and Kapishthala. Click for Text of Yajur
Veda
The Atharva Veda: The Book of Spell
The last of the Vedas, this is completely different from the
other three Vedas and is next in importance to Rig-Veda with
regard to history and sociology. A different spirit pervades
this Veda. Its hymns are of a more diverse character than the
Rig Veda and are also simpler in language. In fact, many
scholars do not consider it part of the Vedas at all. The
Atharva Veda consists of spells and charms prevalent at its
time, and portrays a clearer picture of the Vedic society. Click
for Text of Atharva Veda |