Notes on Veda

The word ‘Veda’ is derived from the Sanskrit word vid, which means knowledge or to know. It is a huge body of religious text that originated in ancient India. Veda is the most important scripture of Hinduism and a sacred book written in Sanskrit. There are four Vedas: The Rigveda, The Samaveda, The Yajurveda and The Atharvaveda.

• Rig Veda: The core concept of Rig Veda is knowledge of all objects, material and spiritual. 

• Yajur Veda: the core concept of this Veda is selfless action.

• Sama Veda: Sama Veda concept is generally based on devotion and contemplation, leading to peace and bliss. 

• Atharva Veda: This Veda provides a synthesis of knowledge, action and devotion. This Veda is also called Brahma Veda as it deals with the science of God and yoga. It is also the source of the ancient system of medicine known as Ayurveda.

Composition of Veda

Veda is the group of poems or hymns composed in the Sanskrit language by Indo-European speaking people who resided in northwest India. 

Vedas contain a lot of knowledge and are one of the ( ancient) oldest books in the library of humans. Veda is the base for all dharma, philosophy, culture and elements of hinduism. The knowledge contained in the Vedas is limitless. This is only possible because each mantra has a different meaning. The Veda is passed from rishis, and it has been passed on from one generation to another generation orally and transmitted in the same way till now. Hence, this is why Veda is called Shruti scripture.

The Vedic mantras are so rigidly controlled by several means like the rules of Chhandah Shhaastra (metrics), and the mantras are numbered so carefully that no contamination has been possible. Some recitation texts of the mantras were formed to keep the Vedic texts free from contamination.

The Vedic Literature is called shruti as they are considered to be secret knowledge that comes from God. Though the hymns of Shruti are attributed to many Rishis, traditions maintain that these hymns were mainly revealed to the rishis and not composed by them. That means the Vedas were not made by man but exist in eternity. The rishis are known as Mantra Drashta, meaning those who saw or received the mantras directly from God or supreme creator or supernatural power.

The Vedic Period

The Vedic culture is divided into two ages: the early Vedic period, also known as Rigveda and the later Vedic period, also known as the Epic age.

Historically, the early Vedic age is dated from 1500c– 1100 BCE. In the early Vedic culture, people praised different natural forms as gods- like the sun, earth, moon, wind, rain, and other natural occurrences. Since the early Vedic period, there was no scientific clarification for natural occurrences like rain, thunder, wind, etc. People feared them and thus worshipped them.

The later Vedic period is dated from 1000-600 BCE. The later Vedic period is based mainly on the Vedic contents, which were composed after the era of the Rig Veda. The collections of Vedic religious songs or mantras are known as the Samhita. The later Vedic Period saw the rise of various arts and crafts. Research on this gives us some idea about settlements. The later Vedic tribe were split into Brahmana, Rajanya or Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra.

Conclusion

Veda is the group of poems or hymns composed in the Sanskrit language by Indo-Europeans who resided in northwest India. The word Veda is derived from the Sanskrit word vid, which means knowledge or to know. Therefore, it is a huge body of religious text that originated in ancient India.

Veda is the most important scripture of Hinduism and a sacred book written in Sanskrit. There are four Indo-Aryan Vedas: The Rigveda, The Samaveda, The Yajurveda, The Atharvaveda.