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The Vedic Corpus
Chapter 2
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What are Vedas?
• The word `Veda', is generally derived from the Sanskrit root िवद् (vid - to know)
• A vast body of knowledge
• concerning the eternal spiritual values and principles
• practices for gainful and happy living
• revealed to the ṛṣis through their deep meditation
• is preserved and transmitted through an oral tradition. Hence, referred to as śruti, “what is heard”
• Three broad issues addressed
• Karma-kāṇḍa: nudges an individual to obtain a purity of mind as we actively engage with the
world
• Upāsanā-kāṇḍa: helps an individual develop single pointedness of the mind through
contemplation and focus
• Jñāna-kāṇḍa: opens the mind of an individual to its limits and facilitates much deeper inquiry
about oneself
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The Four Vedas
• Ṛgveda
• represents the earliest sacred book of India, oldest and biggest amongst all
the four Vedas
• utterances of the Vedic sages on several topics in the form of poetry
• Ṛgveda priest
• is known an Hotṛ
• employs the mantras to sing the praise of devatā invoked
• variety of topics discussed: Origin of the Universe, Marriage, Nature and its
importance etc.
• promotes a high sense of unity in diversity by proclaiming that the truth is one but
learned ones articulate it in different ways (ekam sat viprāḥ bahudā vadanti, RV1.164.46)
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The Four Vedas
• Yajurveda
• derived from the root “Yaj”, meaning, the worship associated with
sacrifice
• confines itself to the major issue of conducting the sacrifices
• Yajurveda priest (Adhvaryu) is mainly charged with the
performance of sacrifices makes use of the yajus
• two major branches:
• Kṛṣṇa (Black) and Śukla (White)
• Kṛṣṇa portion is a mixture of prose and poetry
• Śukla portion is entirely in poetry
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The Four Vedas
• Sāmaveda
• derived from the Sanskrit root, “Sāma” indicating “to
please, pacify or satisfy”
• The Sāmaveda priest
• Udgātṛ pleases the devatās by singing mantras after making
the offering
• Ṛgveda mantra set to music
• the mantras related to musical scales, similar to the seven
scales of classical music
• the origin of Indian classical music lies in the Sāmaveda
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The Four Vedas
• Atharvaveda
• generally believed that the Atharvaveda is a later addition
to the original set of the three Vedas
• Atharvaveda priest
• is known as Brahma
• whose main job is overall coordination and monitoring of the
Vedic ritual
• plays the crucial role of quality control and compliance when
rituals are performed
• a sixth of Atharvaveda texts adapts verses from Ṛgveda
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Organisation of a Yajña
Hotṛ-gaṇa (4) Adhvaryu-gaṇa (4)
Hotā + 3 Adhvaryu + 3
Yajamāna patnī
Brahma-gaṇa (4)
Yajamāna
Brahmā + 3
The Altar
Udgātṛ-gaṇa (4)
Udgātā + 3
Ṛgveda: - Hotṛ-gaṇa; Yajurveda – Adhvaryu-gaṇa
Sāmaveda – Udgātṛ-gaṇa; Atharvaveda – Brahma-gaṇa
Messages in the Vedas
• Forms the foundation for the Sanātana-dharma, considered as the ultimate reference for every
aspect of living in India
• Details about performing several rituals to propitiate the devatās form a major component
• Other issues addressed
• inquiring into the origin of the Universe, human beings’
• intricate relationship with nature
• reflecting on some observed celestial happenings leading to astronomical insights
• marriage, health and wellness
• larger questions such as our purpose in life
• many methods of inquiring into these subjects
• Prayers for prosperity and peace in the Vedas invariably included all living organisms in the
Universe, not just mankind
• Atharvaveda-saṁhitā deals more with the worldly things “here and now” than the “hereafter”
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Name Description
A thematic भैषज्यािन
(Bhaiṣajyāni)
Mantras which refers to various medicines for different
diseases.
classification आयुष्यािण
(Āyuṣyāṇi)
Mantras for long life.
of ideas पौि�कािन
(Pauṣṭikāni)
Mantras to be recited at the time of ploughing the
field, on the occasion of house construction or while
presented in �ाियि��ािन
exercising some commercial transactions.
Mantras which do away with the bad and inauspicious
Atharvaveda (Prāyiścittāni)
�ीकमार्िण
matters.
Mantras are exclusively related to the life of woman
(Strīkarmāṇi) folk e.g. marriage, love, child welfare and so on.
राजकमार्िण Mantras on political notions of the Vedic times.
(Rājakarmāṇi)
��ण्यािन Mantras on philosophical speculations of the
(Brahmaṇyāni) Atharvaveda.
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Classification of each Veda into sub-components
• Saṁhitā
• constitutes the main portion of each Veda
• consist of a certain number of mantras presented in Vedas
metrical form
• Brāhmaṇas
• does not relate to the modern word “Brahmin”
• is a collection of knowledge mainly confined to the issue
of rituals and rites written in prose. Mantra
• form a large portion of the Vedic repository Brāhmaṇa
• Āraṇyakas
(Saṃhitā)
• take a philosophical approach while discussing a yajña
• explain the symbolism and philosophical aspects of a
ritual
• Upaniṣads
Brāhmaṇa Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad
• By far the loftiest thoughts of the Vedic seers
• philosophical treatises dealing with the ultimate
problems of life that every one of us confronts
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Organisation of Ṛgveda Saṃhitā
Maṇḍalas Anuvākas Sūktas
(10) (85) (1028)
Mantras Ḍevatās
Ṛṣis (400)
(10,552) (14 categories)
Mantra Ṛṣi Devatā
• Called Ṛk • 400 Ṛṣis • 14 broad
• 25 Women categories
• Follows a meter
• Identified by two • Agni, Indra, Marut,
• Revealed to a Ṛṣi Soma, Uśā, Varuṇa
Names
…
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The word Upaniṣad means sitting near a Guru and receiving his wisdom through a teaching-learning process.
108 Upaniṣads in the four Vedas
• Praśna-upaniṣad: Teachings organised Ṛg Veda – 10 Upaniṣads
into six questions asked by the six
students and the Guru’s reply to it Yajur Veda
• Kaṭha-upaniṣad: Begins with a story of
a young boy Naciketas and the journey • Śukla – 19 Upaniṣads
of his quest to know the truth about • Kṛṣṇa – 32 Upaniṣads
death and immortality
• Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad: Profound Sāma Veda – 16 Upaniṣads
conversation between King Janaka and
Yājñavalkya
• Muṇḍaka-upaniṣad: Indian emblem Atharva Veda – 31 Upaniṣads
“Satyam Eva Jayate” is mentioned
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Ṛg Veda Yajur Veda Sāma Veda Atharva Veda
Ṇo. 10,552 Kṛṣṇa: Taittirīya 1,549 (1,875); 6,077 (last kāṇḍa
Mantras Śukla: Vājasaneyī only 75 unique. is heavily
(Saṃhitā) borrowed from
Ṛgveda)
Śākhās 21, only 5 Kṛṣṇa: 85, only 4 1000, only 3 9, only 2 available
Content in
available available now available now now
now Śukla: 17, only 2
available now
four Vedas: Āraṇyakas Aitareya, Kṛṣṇa:Taittirīya
Śāṅkhāy- Śukla:
Tabana Bṛhadāraṇyaka
Talavakāra or
Jaiminīya
None
A summary Brāhmaṇas Aitareya, Kṛṣṇa: Taittirīya
Kauṣītaki Śukla: Śatapatha,
9 Brāhmaṇas
(Tāṇḍya-mahā-
Gopatha
Brāhmaṇa
brāhmaṇa
important)
Major Aitareya, Kṛṣṇa: Taittirīya, Chāndogya, Praśna, Muṇḍaka,
Upaniṣads Kauṣītaki Kaṭhopaniṣad Kena Māṇḍūkya
Śukla:
Bṛhadāraṇyaka,
Īśāvāsya
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The role of Vedāṅgas
Oral Preservation – Phonetics, Pronunciation etc. (Śikṣā)
Present Knowledge Properly – Grammar (Vyākaraṇa)
Ensure Correct Meaning – Book of Synonyms and Etymology (Nirukta)
Prevent Corruption – Rules for presenting knowledge (Chandas)
Establish norms, rules and practices – Manual (Kalpa)
When to do – Methodology for timing events (Jyotiṣa)
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Śikṣā
•The word śikṣā means “to acquire knowledge”.
•is the science of pronunciation
•Śikṣā-śāstra, is a systematic approach to the art and practice of phonetics
•As preserving the Vedic text from any form of corruption is the most
important thing, śikṣā directs our attention to all the details of the
process involved in pronunciation
•The nāda (sound)
•generated by the confluence of air and space (in the vocal cord) takes the
form of a varṇa (the smallest component of a language)
•by the contact made between various parts of the tongue and the places
of articulation
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Origin of sound from the oral cavity
An illustration
नािसका (nāsikā)- (Nasal effort): ङ् ञ् ण् न् म्
मूधार् (mūrdhā) - Upper palate: ऋ ट् ठ् ड् ढ् ण् र् ष्
ओ�ौ (oṣṭhau) – Lips: उ प् फ् ब् भ् म्
दन्ताः (dantāḥ) – Teeth: लृ त् थ् द् ध् न् ल् स्
तालु (tālu) – Palate: इ च् छ् ज् झ् ञ् य् श्
कण्ठः (kaṇṭha) - Throat: अ क् ख् ग् घ् ङ् ◌ः ह्
Picture Source: [Link]
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Vyākaraṇa
• It means “to divide, separate, and analyse”
• Sanskrit grammar is unique - it devises unambiguous and rule-based
methods to construct a word
• one can generate new words
• “reverse engineer” by breaking a word into certain components and then
analysing it.
• Vyākaraṇa has several features that parallel what has been applied in
the modern-day data processing
• methods of creating lists-based processing logic
• the use of an algorithmic approach to process language
• application of recursive logic to process data, etc.
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Word generation scheme in Sanskrit
Grammar
+ Required
Verb root Verb Form
Suffixes
+
Suffix Word
Suffix
+
+ Required
Noun Root Noun Form
Suffixes
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Risks in translating Vedic Literature
The words used in Vedic literature sometimes have unique meanings, very different from the normal usage
Example: Tāndya-brāhmana �
� � � � � � � �
||
yāvadvai sahasraṃ gāva uttarādharā ityāhus-tāvadasmāt lokāt svargo loka iti tasmād-āhuḥ sahasra-yājī vā
imān lokān prāpnoti ||
Translation: Caland, W. (1982), “Pañcaviṃśa-brāhmaṇa”, Satguru Publications, New Delhi, p 440.
The world of heaven is as far removed from this (earthly) world, they say, as a thousand cows standing one
above the other (emphasis added). Therefore, they say, “He who sacrifices with a sacrifice at which a
thousand dakṣiṇās are given reaches these worlds.
• In normal usage, the word ‘गौ: (gauḥ)’ stands for a cow.
• There are 21 synonyms listed in a group in Nirukta. They are “Gauḥ, gmā, jmā, kṣmā, kṣā, kṣamā, kṣoṇiḥ,
kṣitiḥ, avaniḥ, urvī, pṛthvī, mahī, ripaḥ, aditiḥ, iḻā, nirṛtiḥ, bhūḥ, bhūmiḥ, pūṣā, gātuḥ, gotrā”.
• The meaning of “go” in this mantra must relate to the earth and not to the cow.
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Organisation of Nighanṭu
• Nighaṇṭu Kāṇḍa Adhyāya No. of words Contents
• a collection of rarely used words in Naighanṭuka 1 415 17 groups of
the Vedas synonyms
• can be equated with a thesaurus, 2 516 22 groups of
where synonyms of various genres synonyms
are collated 3 410 30 groups of
• Yāska, wrote Nirukta in the 5th synonyms
century BCE, a commentary on Naigama 278 Words with
multiple
Nighaṇṭu meanings in 3
• Extracting the meaning of a groups
word using linguistic theories Daivata 151 Names of
and considering phonetic Devatās in 3
groups
changes
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Chandas
• Saṁhitā portion of the Vedas are almost entirely in prosody.
Therefore, the study of the meters to which they are set is important
• Chandas is the meter of poetic composition
• There are seven main meters used in the Vedas. The majority of these meters
have four quarters in them. Some meters have three
• Any addition or removal of even a single syllable from a mantra will
become evident at once as the rhythm of the mantra will be lost.
• Chandas helps in preserving intact not only the Vedic texts but also
any literature set in prosody
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The hierarchical structure of metre
Mantra स्वा�द�या म�द�या पवस्व सोम धारया । इन्�ाय पातवे सुतः ॥
svādiṣṭhayā madiṣṭhayā pavasva soma dhārayā |
indrāya pātave sutaḥ ||
Metre Gāyatrī Metre
Pādas (3) Pāda 1: स्वा�द�या म�द�या (svādiṣṭhayā madiṣṭhayā);
– each of
Syllables Pādas Metre
Pāda 2: पवस्व सोम धारया (pavasva soma dhārayā);
8 syllables
Pāda 3: इन्�ाय पातवे सुतः (indrāya pātave sutaḥ);
Syllables svā-di-ṣṭha-yā-ma-di-ṣṭha-yā-pa-va-sva-so-ma-dhā-ra-
(24) yā-in-drā-ya-pā-ta-ve-su-taḥ
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Details Chandas Number
of pādas
Number syllables per
pāda
pertaining Gāyatrī
Uṣṇih
3
3
8 + 8 + 8 = 24
8 + 8 + 12 = 28
to Vedic Anuṣṭup 4 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 32
Bṛhatī 4 8 + 8 + 12 + 8 = 36
Metres Paṅkti 5 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 40
Triṣṭup 4 11 + 11 + 11 + 11 = 44
Jagatī 4 12 + 12 + 12 + 12 = 48
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Kalpa
• A guide or a user manual that provides instructions and directions to
lead all aspects of life including personal, family, and social
dimensions
• Kalpa-sūtras shed light on all important aspects of ancient Indian life
as it covers household life, ceremonies, and law
• Śrauta-sūtras: Guide for Vedic rituals
• Śulba-sūtras: Rules for measurements & construction of fire altars, sacrificial
place, etc.
• Gṛhya-sūtras: Deals with house-hold ceremonies
• Dharma-sūtras: Guide for social duties
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A typical set of altars for Śrauta rites
दशर्पूणम
र् ासावे�दः
(Darśapūrṇamāsāvedi)
गाहर् पत्या�ग्नः आहवनीया�ग्नः
(Gārhapatyāgni) द�क्षणा�ग्नः (Āhavanīyāgni)
(West) (Dakṣināgni) (East)
(South)
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Jyotiṣa
• Knowledge of the movement of stars and planetary bodies is
called jyotiṣa
• Jyotiṣa is compared to the jewel on the hood of the snake and the
crest of the peacock
• Jyotiṣa-śāstra is classified into vaidika (related to Vedas) and
laukika (related to the world)
• Jyotiṣa which is connected to Vedas is called Vedāṅga-jyotiṣa
• classified into two recensions: Ṛgvedic Vedāṅga-jyotiṣa - 36 verses
and Yajurvedic Vedāṅga-Jyotiṣa - 43 verses
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Classification of topics in Jyotiṣa
• Siddhānta deals with Gaṇita
• various measures of time; Siddhānta
• planetary theory,
• arithmetical computations as well
Gola
as algebraical processes,
Jyotiṣa
• location of the earth, the stars and Nimitta
the planets, Saṃhitā
• description and usage of
instruments
Muhūrta
• Saṃhitā consists of the scientific
and mathematical concepts of Jātaka
astrology Horā
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No. Topic Discussed Details
1 दै वज्ञ-लक्षणम ् (Daivajña- Qualities of an
lakṣaṇam) Astrologer
2 �हाणां चार-�वचारः (Grahānāṃ cāra- Planetary Movements
vicāraḥ)
Topics 3 भूकम्पोल्का�द-लक्षण-�वचारः Characteristics of
Earthquakes, Meteors
discussed in
(Bhūkampolkādi-lakṣaṇa-vicārah)
etc.
4 वास्तु-�वचारः (Vāstu-vicāraḥ) Architecture
Samhita 5 जलान्वेषण-�वचारः (Jalānveṣaṇa-
vicāraḥ)
Exploration of water
springs
6 दे वालय-�ितमा�द-िनमार्ण-�मः Temple Construction &
(Devālaya-pratimādi-nirmāṇa- Sculpture
kramaḥ)
7 शकुना�द-�वचारः (Śakunādi-vicāraḥ) Omens
8 शर�र-लक्षणा�द-�वचारः (Śarīra- Body Parts -
lakṣaṇādi-vicāraḥ) Characteristics
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Pañca-mahā-yajña
• The critical aspect of Yajña is giving (or sharing) without a sense of
attachment
• Responsibility of a householder to provide for the sustenance of the life
around him is formalised with pañca-mahā-yajña
• Bhūta-yajña is for all created beings. By offering Bhūta-yajña, we take care of small living
beings around us (such as birds, domesticated animals, worms, insects etc.).
• By Manuṣya-yajña we derive the joy of helping destitute, orphans, unexpected guests, poor
and the needy by offering whatever we can (in cash or kind, food) to them.
• By Pitṛ-yajña we give away food for the sake of our ancestors and offer our respects and deep
sense of gratitude to the departed souls
• By offering Deva-yajña, we express our thankfulness for what the Gods bless us (in terms of
rain, and other bounties of nature)
• By Brahma-yajña (by reciting the Vedic hymns, Upaniṣads etc. and teaching them to others)
we show our enormous respect to the great seers and rishis, who gave us the wisdom that we
can ever have.
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