Vedic literature

The Vedas

1. The word ‘veda’ comes from the root ‘vidi’ signifying knowledge.
2. Vedas are also known as ‘Shruti’ (to hear) as they were passed from generation through verbal  transmission.
3. Harappa is known in Vedas as ‘Haryupriya’.
4. They are four vedas  in all – Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.
5. The first three Vedas are known as ‘Tyari’ or ‘trio’. 
6. Each veda is further subdivided into Samhitas.
7. The phrase ‘Arya’ and ‘Shudra’ appearing in the Vedic literature perhaps meant only to distinguish those who were theoretically qualified for the fire cult from those who were not. 

Rig veda

1. Oldest religious text in the world,composed around 1700 B.C.
2. It is a collection of hymns. Were recited at the time of sacrificial rites and other rituals with utmost devotion.
3. It Contains 1028 hymns (1017+11 valakhilyas) and is divided into 10 mandalas.
4. II to VII are the earliest mandalas, each of which is ascribed to a particular family of seers (rishis) –Gritsamada, Visvamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Bhardwaj and Vashistha. VII Mandala is ascribed to the Kanvas and Angiras. 
5. IX is the compilation of Soma hymns.I and X are considered the later additions.
6. The X Mandala contains the famous Purushsukta which explains that the four varnas (Brahmans, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra) were born from the mouth, arms, thighs and feet of the creator, Brahma).
7. Words in Rig Veda: Om (1028 times), Jan (275 times), etc. 250 hymns are dedicated to Indra while 200 are dedicated to Agni.
8. The third Mandala contains the Gayatri Mantra (addressed to the sun/Savitri – goddess associated with Surya).
9. Saraswati is the deity river in Rig Veda and is referred to 8 times while the Sindhu/Indus is referred to 18 times.
10. There is a reference to prison (urva) in the Rigveda and also to fetters of iron. Ordeal of the red-hot axe is mentioned only once in the Chandogya Upanishad as part of criminal procedure.

Samveda
Derived from the root ‘Saman’ i.e. ‘melody’. It is a collection of melodies.
It has 1603 verses but except 99 all the rest have been borrowed from Rig Veda.
Contains ‘Dhrupad Raga’ which is the oldest of the ragas.


Yajurveda
Deals with the procedure for the performance of sacrifices.
There are two main texts of Yajurveda:
                                                                White Yajurveda (or Shukla Yajurveda) contains mantras
                                                                Black Yajurveda (or Krishna Yajurveda) has commentary in                                                                   prose.



Atharvaveda
Entirely different from three other Vedas.
Divided into 20 kandas (books) and has 711 hymns – mostly dealing with magic (along with personal
problems of people).
Atharvaveda refers to king as protector of Brahmanas and eater of people.
From the point of view of Vedic rituals, Atharvaveda is the most important.


Brahamans
They explain the hymns of the Vedas in an orthodox manner.
Each Veda has several Brahmans attached to it.
The most important is ‘Satpatha Brahmana’ attached to Yajurveda which is the most exhaustive
and important of all. It recommends ‘One Hundred Sacred Paths’.


Aranyakas
Called ‘forest books’, written mainly by the hermits living in the jungles for their pupils.
These are the concluding part of the Brahmanas.
Deals with mysticism and philosophy. Opposed to sacrifice and emphasized meditation.
Form a bridge between ‘Way of Work’ (Karma Marg) which was the sole concern of the Upanishads
and the ‘Way of Knowledge’ (Gyan Marg) which the Brahmanas advocated.


Upanishads

1. The word means ‘to sit down near someone’ and denotes a student sitting near his guru to learn.
2. Also called Vedanta (the end of the Vedas) firstly because they denote the last phase of the vedic period and secondly because they reveal the final aim of the Vedas.
3. They are the main source of Indian philosophy.
4. There are 108 Upanishads.
5. They also condemn the ceremonies and the sacrifices.
6. They discuss the various theories of creation of the universe and define the doctrine of action (karma).
7. Mandukya or Mundaka Upanishad is the source of ‘Satyameva Jayate’.

Smritis

• Explains rules and regulations in the vedic life.
• Main are Manusmriti , Naradsmriti ,Yagyavalkyasmriti and Parasharsmriti.
• Dharmasutras contain social laws popularly known as ‘Smriti’. 
• Earliest Dharmasutra is the Manusmriti which is also called Manav Darshan.

Vedangas
Six Vedangas are Shiksha which deals with pronunciation, Kalpa which deals with rituals,
Vyakarana which deals with grammar, Nirukta which deals with etymology or phonetics,
Chhanda which deals with meter and Jyotisha which deals with astronomy.


Epics

1. The period that lies between the Rigvedic period and the rise of Buddhism in India i.e., 2000 to 700 B.C. has been designated by some as the Later Vedic Period and by some as Epic Age.
2. Though the two epics – the Mahabharata and the Ramayana were compiled later, they reflect the state of affairs of the later Vedic Period.
3. The Mahabharata, attributed to Vyasa is considered older than the Ramayana and describes the period about 1400 B.C (compiled from the tenth century B.C. to the fourth century A.D). It is also called Jai Samhita and Satasahasri Samhita and has one lakh verses and is divided into eighteen books with the Harivansa attached to it at the end.
4. The Ramayana attributed to Valmiki has 24,000 verses. Its composition started in the fifth century B.C. and passes through five stages; the fifth stage ending in the 12th century A.D.