Vedas
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This article is about the Hindu Shruti. For information on the musical group, see Veda (band).
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The Vedas (Sanskrit:- वेद), refers to collectively a corpus of Old Indo Aryan religious Literature, the newest parts of which probably date back to around 500 BC. There is some controversy about the upper limit, dates around 1,500 BC have been advanced by mainstream scholars. The word Veda means Knowledge, Knowledge , and is cognate with the word "wit" in English (as well as "vision" through Latin). They represent the oldest stratum of Indian Literature and are written in forms of a language which evolved into Sanskrit. Strictly speaking the use of Vedic Sanskrit for the language of the texts is an anachronism, but is generally accepted.
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Contents of the Vedas
The Vedas consist of several kinds of texts. The core is formed by the Mantras which represent hymns, prayers, incantations, magic and ritual formulas, charms etc. The hymns and prayers are addressed to a pantheon of gods (and a few goddesses), important members of which are Varuna, Indra, Agni etc. The mantras are supplemented by texts regarding the sacrificial rituals in which these mantras are used as well as texts exploring the philosophical aspects of the ritual tradition and speculative works, narratives etc.
Organisation of the Vedas
The Mantras are collected into anthologies called Samhitas. There are four Samhitas, the Rk (= Poetry), Sāman (=Song), Yajus(=Prayer) and Atharvan (=A kind of priest) commonly referred to as the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. Each Samhita is preserved in a number of versions, the differences among them being minor, except in the case of the Yajur Veda, where there are the "Black" and "White" versions, with the Black also containing explanatory material apart from the Mantras. The Rig Veda contains the oldest part of the corpus, and consists of 1028 hymns. The Sama Veda is mostly a rearrangement of the Rig Veda for musical rendering. The Yajur Veda gives Sacrificial Prayers and the Atharva Veda gives charms, incantations, magic formulas etc. Apart from these there are some stray secular material, myths legends etc.
The next category of texts are the Brahmanas. These are ritual texts that describe in detail the sacrifices in which the Mantras were to be used, as well as commenting on the meaning of the sacrificial ritual. The Brahmanas are associated with one of the Samhitas. The Brahmanas may either form separate texts, or in the case of the Black Yajur Veda, can be partly integrated into the text of the Samhita. The most important of the Brahmanas is the Shatapatha Brahmana of the White Yajur Veda.
The Aranyakas and Upanishads are theological and philosophical works.
Aranyakas and Upanishads often form part of the Brahmanas (e.g. the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad). They are the basis of the Vedanta school
of Darsana.
The Vedas in Hinduism
The later religious development of India was deeply affected by the Vedas. Later sects and cults that arose in the course of centuries have taken differing positons on the Vedas. In Buddhism and Jainism, the authority of the Veda and the sacrificial cult are repudiated. The sects and cults which did not explicitly reject the Vedas are known in modern times as Hinduism. In later Hinduism, the Vedas hold an exalted position. They are regarded as Shruti, i.e. Revealation, and the Brahminical cult based on the Vedas forms an important part of Hindu religious life to this day. Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra and even Bhakti acknowledge the Vedas as valid (if outmoded ) revealation.
Hindu tradition also regards the Vedas as uncreated or eternal and being revealed to sages (Rishis).According to tradition, the hymns of the Rig-Veda Samhita were collected and arranged by Paila under the supervision of Vyasa. rly chanted during religious and social ceremonies were compiled by Vaishampayana under the title Yajus mantr Samhita (see Yajur-Veda). Jaimini is said to have collected hymns that were set to music and melody — 'Saman' (see Sama-Veda). The fourth collection of hymns and chants known as Atharva Samhita.
The study of the Vedas
In the dharmashastras, the study of the Vedas was regarded as a religious duty of the three upper varnas (Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas). Women and Shudras were neither required nor allowed to study the Veda (this came to happen only in the very Later Vedic or the SutraAge, because numerous evidences suggest that all humans were equally allowed to study the Vedas, and many Vedic "authors" were women). Elaborate methods for preserving the text (by learning them by heart and not by writing), subsidiary disciplines (Vedanga), exegetical literature etc. were developed in the Vedic schools. In the fourteenth century Sayana wrote famous commentaries on the Vedic texts.
In modern times, Vedic studies are crucial in the understanding of Indo-European Linguistics, as well as ancient Indian history.
It may be interesting to note that Hinduism encourages the Vedic mantras to be interpreted as liberally and as philosophically as possible unlike the Abrahamic religions (concerning the Tanakh, the Bible and the Koran). Infact, too literal interpretation of the mantras is actually discouraged, and even the three layers of commentaries (Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads), which form an intergral part of the shruti literature, actually interpret the seemingly polytheistic, ritualistic and highly complex Samhitas in a philosophical and metaphorical way to explain the "hidden" concepts of God (Ishwara), the Supreme Being (Brahman) and the soul or the self (Atman). Also, many Hindus believe that the very sound of the Vedic mantras are purifying for the environment and human mind.
The religious views of the Vedas: Monism, Monotheism, Henotheism and Polytheism
The religion of the Vedic period, particularly at its earliest, was distinct in a number of respects, including reference to females in positions of religious authority (female rishis, or sages), an apparent lack of belief in reincarnation, and a markedly different pantheon, with Indra generally the chief god, and little mention of the later primary gods Vishnu and Shiva, although Brahma does appear quite frequently.
While Hinduism is generally monistic or monotheistic admitting emanating deities, the early Rig Veda (undeveloped early Hinduism) was what Max Müller based his views of henotheism on. In the four Vedas, Müller believed that a striving towards One was being aimed at by the worship of different cosmic principles, such as Agni (fire), Vayu (wind), Indra (rain, thunder, the sky; also the King of gods), etc. each of which was variously, by clearly different writers, hailed as supreme in different sections of the books. Indeed, however, what was confusing was an early idea of Rita, or supreme order, that bound all the gods. Other phrases such as ekam sat, vipraha bahudha vadanti (Truth is One though the sages know it as many) lead to understandings that the Vedic people admitted of fundamental oneness. Attempts even at monism were attempted by subordinating other gods to singular entities or gods of supreme power, three most notably being Vishwakarma, Indra and Varuna, though Indra was the most eulogized as supreme in his 200 Rig Vedic verses. From this mix of monism, monotheism and naturalist polytheism Max Müller decided to name the early Vedic religion henotheistic. He decided that while polytheism did not fit with views so clearly admitting of fundamental unity, monism in his opinion was not yet fully developed.
This, however, is clearly a one-man view. Extremely advanced, indeed unprecedented and thitherto unduplicated ideas of pure monism are to be found in the early Vedas, notwithstanding clearly monist and monotheist movements of Hinduism that developed with the advent of the Upanishads. One such example of early Vedic monism is the Nasadiya hymn of the Rig Veda: " That One breathed by itself without breath, other than it there has been nothing." To collectively term the Vedas henotheistic, and thus further leaning towards polytheism, rather than monotheism, is to ignore the clearly monist bent of the Vedas that laid the foundation for the Upanishads as early as 1000 BCE.
Cosmogony of the Vedas
The Vedic view of the world and cosmogony sees one true divine principle self-projecting as the divine word, Vaak, 'birthing' the cosmos that we know from the monistic 'Hiranyagarbha' or Golden Womb, a primordial sun figure that is equivalent to Lord Surya. The varied gods like Vayu (of wind), Indra (King of Gods), Rudra (the Destroyer), Agni (Fire, the sacrifical medium) and the goddess Saraswati (the Divine Word, aka Vaak) are just some examples of the myriad aspects of the one underlying nature of the universe.
External links
- A Complete Review of Vedic Literature
- Vedas: Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Artharva
- Excellent site about Vedas (Aurobindo)
- Veda and Upanishads
- VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online (Vaishnava and general)
- Vedic Chanting .mp3 audio files
- Photos of the performance of Vedic rituals in India
See also
References
- Winternitz, Moritz : History of Indian Literature, Vol.1 (Calcutta 1926)l.
