Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 66 views

    Types of Veda

    Uploaded by

    Mae Carrot
    There are four main Vedas - Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda. Each Veda has its own distinctive features such as collection of hymns, origin, usage, and content. Understanding the key details of the four Vedas is important for civil service examinations in India, as questions may be asked about the different Vedas.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Types of Veda

    Uploaded by

    Mae Carrot
    66 views4 pages
    There are four main Vedas - Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda. Each Veda has its own distinctive features such as collection of hymns, origin, usage, and content. Understanding the key details of the four Vedas is important for civil service examinations in India, as questions may be asked about the different Vedas.

    Original Title

    Types-of-Veda

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    There are four main Vedas - Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda. Each Veda has its own distinctive features such as collection of hymns, origin, usage, and content. Understanding the key details of the four Vedas is important for civil service examinations in India, as questions may be asked about the different Vedas.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    66 views4 pages

    Types of Veda

    Uploaded by

    Mae Carrot
    There are four main Vedas - Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda. Each Veda has its own distinctive features such as collection of hymns, origin, usage, and content. Understanding the key details of the four Vedas is important for civil service examinations in India, as questions may be asked about the different Vedas.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    TYPES OF VEDA

    There are four types of Vedas – Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda. One of the best
    sources of Ancient Indian History is Vedic literature. Vedas have formed the Indian scripture. The ideas
    and practices of Vedic religion are codified by the Vedas and they also form the basis of classical
    Hinduism.

    The topic, ‘Types of Vedas’ is important for the IAS Exam, keeping in mind the syllabus of history subject.
    Questions might be asked from any type of Vedas in the Prelims or Mains stage. Hence, this article will
    mention the relevant facts about four Vedas for the civil services examination. Aspirants can also
    download the notes PDF from the link provided on the page.

    Four Vedas Name and Features


    The four Vedas and their features, in brief, are given in the table below:

    Types of Vedas

    Name of the Veda Key Features of the Veda

    Rig Veda It is the earliest form of Veda

    Samaveda The earliest reference for singing

    Yajurveda It is also called the book of prayers

    Atharvaveda The book of magic and charms

    Vedas in Detail

    Rigveda:

    The oldest Veda is the Rigveda. It has 1028 hymns called ‘Suktas’ and is a collection of 10 books called
    ‘Mandalas.’ The features of Rigveda are given in the table below:

    Features of Rigveda

    It is the oldest form of Veda and oldest known Vedic Sanskrit text(1800 – 1100 BCE)
    The meaning of the word ‘Rigveda’ is Praise Knowledge

    It has 10600 verses

    Out of 10 books or mandalas, book number 1 and 10 are the youngest ones as they were written later
    than books 2 to 9

    Rigvedic books 2-9 deal with cosmology and deities

    Rigvedic books 1 and 10 deal with philosophical questions and also talk about various virtues including a
    charity in the society

    Rigvedic books 2-7 are the oldest and shortest also called family books

    Rigvedic books 1 & 10 are the youngest and longest

    1028 hymns deal with deities including Agni, Indra and are attributed and dedicated to a sage rishi

    The ninth Rigvedic book/mandala is solely dedicated to Soma

    The meters used to form hymns are Gayatri, Anushtubh, Trishtubh and Jagati (Trishtubh and Gayatri are
    most important)

    Samaveda:

    Known as the Veda of melodies and chants, Samaveda dates back to 1200-800 BCE. This Veda is related
    to public worship. The key features of Samaveda are given in the table below:

    Features of Samaveda

    There are 1549 verses (except 75 verses, all have been taken from Rigveda)

    There are two Upanishads embedded in Samaveda – Chandogya Upanishad and Kena Upanishad

    The Samaveda is considered as the root of the Indian classical music and dance

    It is considered as the storehouse of the melodious chants

    Though it has lesser verses than Rigveda, however, its texts are larger

    There are three recensions of the text of the Samaveda – Kauthuma, Raṇayaniya and Jaimaniya

    Samaveda is categorised into two parts – Part-I includes melodies called Gana & Part-II includes three
    verses book called Archika.

    Samaveda Samhita is not meant to be read as a text, it is like a musical score sheet that must be heard
    Yajurveda:

    Stands to mean ‘Worship Knowledge’, Yajurveda dates back to 1100-800 BCE; corresponding with
    Samaveda. It compiles ritual-offering mantras/chants. These chants were offered by the priest alongside
    a person who used to perform a ritual (in most cases yajna fire.) The key features of Yajurveda are given
    below:

    Features of Yajurveda

    It has two types – Krishna (Black/Dark) & Shukla (White/Bright)

    Krishna Yajurveda has an un-arranged, unclear, motley collection of verses

    Shukla Yajurveda has arranged and clear verses

    The oldest layer of Yajurveda has 1875 verses mostly taken up from Rigveda

    The middle layer of the Veda has Satapatha Brahmana which is a commentary of Shukla Yajurveda

    The youngest layer of Yajurveda consists of various Upanishads – Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Isha
    Upanishad, the Taittiriya Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Maitri
    Upanishad

    Vajasaneyi Samhita is the Samhita in the Shukla Yajurveda

    There are four surviving recensions of the Krishna Yajurveda – Taittiriya saṃhita, Maitrayani saṃhita,
    Kaṭha saṃhita, and Kapisthala saṃhita

    Aspirants can read about Upanishads, Brahmanas in the Vedic literature page linked in the article.

    Atharvaveda:

    Stands to mean a tatpurusha compound of Atharvan, an ancient sage, and knowledge


    (atharvan+knowledge), it dates back to 1000-800 BCE. The key features of Atharvaveda are given the
    table below:

    Features of Atharvaveda

    The daily procedures of life are very well enumerated in this Veda
    It has 730 hymns/suktas, 6000 mantras, and 20 books

    Paippalada and the Saunakiya are two surviving recensions of Atharvaveda

    Called a Veda of magical formulas, it includes three primary Upanishads – Mundaka Upanishad, the
    Mandukya Upanishad, and the Prashna Upanishad

    The 20 books are arranged by the length of hymns they contain

    Unlike Samaveda where hymns are borrowed from Rigveda, hymns of Atharvaveda are unique except a
    few

    This Veda contains hymns many of which were charms and magic spells which are meant to be
    pronounced by the person who seeks some benefit, or more often by a sorcerer who would say it on his
    or her behalf

    You might also like

    pFad - Phonifier reborn

    Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

    Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


    Alternative Proxies:

    Alternative Proxy

    pFad Proxy

    pFad v3 Proxy

    pFad v4 Proxy