Vedas –the material and its sub divisions

Vedas –the material   and its sub divisions

Compiled  by

P.R.Ramachander

The Vedas  (came  from root  word VId meaning  knowledge)   are called  Sruthi(what is heard) /Amnaya(what is remembered)  , because  initially  for several thousands of years , it was not written down but only taught orally  by teacher to student.This  method was adopted possibly because

a.        There were  no script to their language /there  were no material to write

b.      The language   depended on  difficult pronunciation, which  even today cannot be recorded in writing

The Vedas  were revealed  by  God in to the mind  of Rishis(Those who can see –sages) and they  are possibly the oldest collection of knowledge  which was made  available to human beings .The Vedas were  divided  in to 4 books  -Rig veda, Yajur Veda(two versions-Krishna and Shukla)  , Sama Veda   and Atharvana Veda

The Rig veda  is divided in to 21 sections, Yajurveda in to 109 sections, , The Sama  Veda in to 1000  sections  and Atharva  Veda   in to fifty sections.

Sections  of Vedas 

Each of the above  Vedas has four parts  viz,

Manthra  samhithas (collection of hymns  praying Vedic Gods) –Useful to those   who  intend to pray Gods-Brahmacharis meaning those who are  going in search of Brahma

Brahmanas   -the  description   of rituals(community as well as domestic)-Useful to  Grahasthas( householders )who should live a life of rituals and  carry out communal rituals so that  the community can live well

Aranyakas- The books of the forests-Useful to Vana  Prasthas(Those who decide  to live society  and live in forest, living a very spiritual life)

And Upanishads – Mostly books of philosophy  .Some of them  do describe rituals –These are essentially books of philosophy and knowledge .Mainly needed by sages who have left off the common man’s life

 Another  classification of  the material in Vedas

Karma  Khanda –Ritualistic section

Upanishath Khanda-  Philosphical portion

Jnana Khanda-  The knowledge section which helps   you in search of Ultimate   truth

     The sage called  Vyasa(compiler) , the son of Sage Parasara , was the first one to  compile  all available  information   about Vedas   and was called Veda Vyasa(Compiler of knowledge)

   I would try  to continue .God bless all of you