Introduction to Vedas:
Vedas are believed to be “Apaursheya” implying “authorless” or “not of human being” as Purusha here implies Human. Veda is derived from the root “Vid” meaning “knowledge”. Also called “Sruti” meaning “something heard” and Vedas are called “Smriti” which means “something remembered or “recollected”. Our Rishis may be called as the “Composers” of the Vedic Hymns.
Who then is the poet of Vedas? The answer is in Yajurveda 40.8: The Supreme Soul is Omnipresent, Omnipotent, without body, without any flaw, without sinews, pure, sinless, visionary poetic creator and Omniscient, existent in the heart & mind of all, transcendent, self-existent, who for infinite ages of eternity, creates, organizes, reveals and sustains all forms of existence as they are and ought to be! The Vedas were thus revealed to the four Rishis: Rig Veda to Agni, Yajurveda to Vayu, Samaveda to Aditya & Atharva Veda to Angira, directly into their spiritual consciousness.
The history of Vedic Sanskrit Literature corresponds to three periods:
- Vedic Period: (Period of Sruti): This period is known for the composition of Vedas such as Samhitas (meaning structured combination of verses or texts. The 4 Samhitas are Rig Veda, Yajur Veda , Sama Veda & Atharva Veda), Brahmanams, Aranyakams, Upanishads came into existence during this period and Vedic Sanskrit was spoken by all.
- Post Vedic Period: (Period of Smriti): Vedic Sanskrit was spoken by Brahmins, Nobles & Rich and the others (common people) spoke variants of Prakrit language. Dharma Shastras & Puranas are considered Smriti. Panini’s Grammar (Vyakarana), Yaska’s (Nirukta) Etymology, Ramanyana & Mahabharata are some of the works during this period. This period is also known as the Epic Age.
- Contemporary Period: Sanskrit was no longer a spoken language. This was the period of Bhashya which is a commentary or interpretation of texts from ancient or medieval literature. Indians contributed to mathematics, astronomy etc. and formulated Siddhantas (meaning Doctrine, Tenet, Truth, Conclusion, established and accepted view of a particular school within Indian Philosophy). Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya etc. are names of some of the famous commentators.
Gods worshipped during the ancient times:
Individual Gods like Agni, Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Maruts, Ushas and others were invoked and later on Visve Devas (All Gods) were invoked. It was AGNI who is always praised as the first and the foremost God, as the power of nature, seen in heaven & earth. AGNI is treated as the LIASON between God & men, as He is the carrier of oblation to GODS and is celebrated as a HIGH PRIEST of Cosmic Dynamics, blazing light of Cosmic creation, self-refulgent Lord of the Universe, Controller of natural evolutions. AGNI is considered as the nearest God who descends from a high state to befriend men, work as a messenger between men & God by carrying oblation in the form of sacrificial fire. Hence, lot of importance is given to Agni.
INDRA was revered as a very powerful God. He forms & moves the clouds for rain, breaker of the Clouds, wielder of the thunderbolt. Some hymns personify his glory and the other hymns celebrate his power & action. SOMA, Lord of Herbs & Health, and had the power to enhance human longevity. MITRA & VARUNA were invoked as dual forces. Mitra is associated with the Sun, pure, generous & sanctifying. Varuna as the Lord of waters/oceans, Pranic energy of nature, nourishing & immunizing. USHAS (Dawn) was celebrated as the daughter of the sky, she brings wealth, visits every home, young Goddess unchallenged by age.
A brief about Rig Veda:
Rig Veda Samhita (Veda of Knowledge) is the most authoritative among the four Vedas. The other two Samhitas i.e Yajur Veda (Veda of Karma) & Sama Veda (Veda of Bhakti) came into existence after Rig Veda. Rig Veda consists of 10 Mandalas, 85 Anuvakas, 1,028 Suktas (1017 Suktas plus 11 Valakhilya supplemental hymns) & 10,552 Mantras. This is the Mandala Method. (Normally, the name Anuvakas is not mentioned when reference is made to a Mantra in Rig Veda. Example: RV 3.2.1 – refers to 3rd Mandala of Rig Veda – 2nd Sukta – 1st Mantra). In Ashtaka Method, each Ashstaka has 8 Adhyayas, Each Adhyaya has many Vargas and each Varga has predominantly 5 Mantras, although they range from 1 to 9 Mantras. The arrangement of the Rig Veda from the format of Mandalas, Anuvakas, Suktas into the format of Ashtakas, Adhyayas and Vargas is unclear.
8 out of total 10 Mandalas is addressed to Agni followed by Indra. The 9th Mandala is the Pavamana Mandala (Dedicated to the Soma) and the 10th Mandala consists of Kshudru Suktas (Small) & Maha Suktas (Great). The Hymns up-to the very famous Nasadiya Sukta (X.129) are great Hymns and the other from X.130 to 191 are short Hymns. This 10th Mandala also has the famous Purusha Sukta (X.90). (Purusha, the Cosmic soul of Existence, Infinte Field, which is Brahman). It is tremendous feat that all 1017 Suktas were gathered together with all classifications and committed to memory by our Vedic Priests.
The essence of Vedas & Upanishads are beautifully captured in the Four Mahvakyas or Great Sayings/Statements as given in the image below. I have discussed this in detail in a separate blog on 4 Mahavakyas (<click here)
Brahmanas: After the Mahabharata war, the knowledge contained in the Vedas were gradually lost. In order to preserve the meaning of Vedas, commentaries or explanations of Vedic Mantras were written. This is called Brahmanas or Brahmanams and it is the knowledge most valued by Brahmins. Brahmanams are ancient form of dialogue in Sanskrit and contain short sentences. At present, we have Brahmanam of Rig Veda in the Śākhās of Aitareya & Kaushītaki, Jaiminiya Brahmanam for Sama Veda, Brahmanam of Taittrīya of Black YajurVeda and Śatapatha Brāhmanam for Śukla (White) Yajur Veda. Brahmanams are not the work of a few individuals. There is list of teachers through whom the Brahmanams were handed down.
“Sakha” is a branch, school or recension of Rig Veda, specializing in learning an original sacred text. Shakala Sakha is the oldest Shaka in Rig Veda. Sakha stands for various sacred traditions preserved in the families of different priests. “Charana” means a group of people who know the Sakhas by rote, transmitted in oral form and eventually became the students of a certain Sakha.
Originally, the Vedas were divided into Rik, Yajus, Saman for the purpose of carrying out sacrifices through the respective Officiating Priests – “Hota” (for Rig Veda), “Adhvaryu” (for Yajur Veda) and Udgātā (for Sama Veda). Atharva Veda was not used in sacrifice, but was used to appease, bless etc. Principal priest for Atharva Veda (Also known as Brahma Veda) is known as Brahman and the most comprehensive of them is Gopatha Brahmanam.
Aranyakas (meaning pertaining to forest): This is the period after completion of Brahmanam but before the Sutra Period. It appears that these were intended for people who are “Vānaprasthas” – who after having fulfilled the duties as Brahmacharis, Householders (Grihastashram) retire from the world, go the forest (Aranya means forest in Sanskrit) and end there life there. Aranyaka is an elaboration of Brahmanam and possess a lot of philosophical content. Subsequently, all the philosophical chapters were called “Upanishads”.
Upanishads: (Meaning to sit near): These contain most beautiful expressions of human thought & ancient truths derived from the Vedas. Generally 108 Upanishads are known, of which the first dozen or so are the oldest and most important and are referred to as the Principal or Mukhya Upanishads. These are found mostly in the concluding part of the Brahmanam or Aranyakam of any Sakha and for centuries, memorized by each generation and passed down orally. Out of all the Upanishads the Brihadāranyaka, Chāndogya, Īsha, Taittirīya, Aitareya, Kena, Katha, Mundaka, Praśna Upanishads are very old while Svetasvatāra and Māndukya may be of a later period. So these 11 are considred the Principal Upanishads, During the 8th century, Sanatana Dharma was in great decline and a great mystic called Adi Shankara took the responsibility of writing commentaries on ten of the Upanishads and renewed the interest in Hinduism. Some say that Shankara aslo wrote a commentray on Svetasvatāra Upanishad as well, which unfortunately did not survive the ravages of time.
Sutra Literature: The Sutra (meaning string or thread) period comes later than the Brahmana Period. Sutras are but one un-interrupted string of short sentences, woven together in into most concise form. Whereas Brahmanams are very elaborate in the treatment of any subject. The striking difference of style between Brahmanam and Sutra at first sight, is its grammar. No sacrifice can be performed merely with the help of Samhitas alone. So Brahmanams and Sutras were introduced to meet the practical needs.
Who is Veda Vyasa?
We will end this brief synopsis on Vedas, with a note on Veda Vyasa.
Krishna Dwaipāyana (Veda Vyasa) is the son of Rishi Parashara & Satyavati (a fisherwoman), classified the Vedas into 4 divisions viz. Rig, Yajur, Sama & Atharavna Veda, during the end of Dvāpara Yuga. Krishna refers to his dark complexion and Dwaipayana refers to the fact he was born on an island (Dweep). The name Vyasa indicates, he is not the author of Vedas, but an “arranger” or “classifier” of Vedas. According to Puranas, in every Dvapara Yuga, there will be a person who will classify the Vedas into four and he will be designated as Veda Vyāsa.
So far, the Vedas has been arranged 28 times by Rishis and recently during Vaivaswata Manwantara (Current MANU, progenitor of the human race) and in Dvapara Yuga, Krishna Dwaipayana has made the arrangement. Each Maha Yuga is 4.32 million human years and there will be one Vyasa during the period of Dvapara Yuga.
Reference/Credit:
- Few Snippets taken from the Book – A Brief History of Vedas by Shri. K. Suresh, PhD in Vedas.