The Vedas consist of ancient India’s religious text. Composed in Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ancient holy words of Hinduism’s God. The Rig Veda (the knowledge of verses), the Yajur Veda (the collection of Vedic Sanskrit prose), the Sama Veda (the book of songs), and the Atharva Veda(storehouse of knowledge) are the four ancient Vedas. 

The Vedas have unique features with a beautiful combination of knowledge, action and devotion. The Vedas are the proper combination of faith and reason. Rig Veda’s mantras sum up the Vedic ideal of the state of mind, which one should aspire to overcome gloom and despair.

The Purana is a wide classification of Indian literature, particularly myth and other ritual lore. The Purana is originally composed in Sanskrit. There are 18 major Puranas and 18 minor Puranas with over 400,000 poems. The first versions of numerous Puranas were likely composed in the middle of the 3rd and 10th centuries. The Puranas contain a wide variety of topics together, including the origin and creation of the universe, the creation of God and human beings. The Purana also comprises the guidelines for rituals, practice to invoke God, and has many mythological stories.

The Vedas

The word Veda is derived from the Sanskrit word vid, which means knowledge or to know. The Vedas are a huge body of religious text that originated in ancient India. The four Vedas are the most important scripture of Hinduism. Let us see what the four Vedas are about:

  • 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 an ancient system of medicine known as Ayurveda

The Vedas put effort into the cultivation and proper combination of faith and reason. An individual’s domestic, social, national and global duties are clearly mentioned in the Vedas. The Vedas put equal effort into developing individuals’ physical, mental, and spiritual faculties. This idea of harmony is also unique in the Vedas.

The Vedic Sanskrit

Sanskrit was the language of the ancient Indo-Aryan subgroup. The word Sanskrit means natural language. The Vedic Sanskrit evolved around five to six thousand years ago before writing was introduced.

Vedic Sanskrit was the ancient Vedic civilisation’s commonly spoken language in large parts of Asia. Sanskrit words sound difficult, but they are similar to words of many languages. 

Vedic Sanskrit came into being more than five thousand years ago. Sanskrit is an ancient language and is a source of several languages. Vedic Sanskrit is called the mother language of all Indo-Aryan languages. Sanskrit is considered the language of Vedas and yoga, it holds divinity, and to date, all the auspicious Hindu customs follow the scriptures written in Sanskrit.

The Puranas

The Puranas are the religious text composed in Sanskrit. The Purana is the part of Hinduism’s sacred literature, which comprises the Veda, Brahmanas, Aryayankas, Upanishad and the great epics. Purana is the central part of Indian culture on which Sanatana Dharma, commonly called Hinduism, was built. 

Purana is based on five points:

  • The creation of the universe
  • Secondary creation after the periodic annihilation
  • The gods and the supernatural
  • The era of humans
  • History of solar and lunar dynasties

Difference between Vedas and Puranas

The difference between Vedas and Puranas are:

  • The Vedas are the religious text passed down orally, whereas the Puranas are the stories of religious legends
  • Vedas are Shruti scriptures, which means scriptures prepared according to whatever was ‘heard’. In comparison, Puranas are Smriti, which translates to what is remembered
  • There are four Vedas in total –Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. Whereas, there are a total of 18 major Puranas, 18 minor Puranas and one Mahapurana

Conclusion

The word Veda is derived from the Sanskrit word vid, which means knowledge or to know; therefore, it is a massive body of religious text that originated in ancient India. The Vedas have unique features. The Vedas consist of a beautiful combination of knowledge, action and devotion, uniquely synthesised.

The Purana is a wide classification of Indian ancient religious literature, particularly myth and other ritual lore. Purana comprises the guidelines for ritual practice and has many mythological stories related to different gods.