The vedas are oldest scripture text in the world. The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts that hold immense significance in Hinduism. These texts are considered the oldest scriptures of Hinduism and form the foundation of religious knowledge. Here are some key points about the Vedas:
Origin and Composition:
It is believed the Vedas were composed in Vedic Sanskrit and are believed to have originated in ancient India. Vedas are considered to be Shruti and eternal, Vedas have not been composed by any author, Vedas are Shruti which exists in the form of mantras and that Shruti has been written down in ancient times.
They constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature, dating back thousands of years.
There are four Vedas:
Rigveda: Contains hymns and praises to various deities.
Yajurveda: Provides instructions for rituals and sacrifices.
Samaveda: Focuses on melodies and chants used during rituals.
Atharvaveda: Includes hymns, magical spells, and practical knowledge.
Vedas are classified into parts. So now the question comes that, How many vedas are there? There are four vedas. So what are the 4 main vedas? The four Vedas are the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, and the Atharvaveda.
The four vedas
How many vedas are there? There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. The four Vedas, Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda were revealed to four Rishis at the dawn of the mankind on the earth.
The Four Vedas are the repository of Knowledge and Religious Truth are the words of God. They comprise what is known as Samhita-Mantra Portion only. They are absolutely free from error, and are the authority unto themselves. In other words, they do not stand in need of any other book to uphold their authority.
Just as the Sun or a lamp by its light reveals its own nature as well as that of other objects of the universe, such as earth etc, even so are the Vedas.
The four vedas fully imaparts the joy of learning to the readers, students and scholars. The adobe of veda (the true knowledge) is the lord of universe itself.
Structure:
Each Veda is divided into four main parts:
Samhitas: These contain mantras (chants) and benedictions.
Brahmanas: Commentaries that explain rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices.
Aranyakas: Texts related to rituals and symbolic sacrifices.
Upanishads: Philosophical texts discussing meditation, spiritual knowledge, and the nature of reality.
Some scholars also recognize a fifth category called Upasanas (worship).
Shruti vs. Smriti:
The Vedas are considered sruti (meaning “what is heard”), as they were revealed to ancient sages through divine inspiration.
Other religious texts, known as smriti, are considered “what is remembered.”
In summary, the Vedas are not only a repository of religious knowledge but also a reflection of ancient Indian culture, spirituality, and wisdom.
For more detailed information, you can explore the Wikipedia article on Vedas1.
Etymology of the Veda
The word veda simply means means knowledge. It is the eternal knowledge or wisdom. This ancient knowledge is present within the subtle causal cosmos in the form of mantras or verses.
The Ancient sages and seers collected these mantras in the intense meditation and categorize in the form of scripture, known as the vedas.
The Vedas are the world’s ancient or the oldest book or scripture found in the human history. The science hidden in these vedas is known as science of veda or the vedas.
Antiquity of the Vedas.
How ancient or old are the vedas and which is the oldest veda? According to Max Muller, the great Indologist, the Vedas are the oldest books in the library of mankind. Writing about the Rig Veda Sir W. W. Hunter said that the age of this venerable hymnal was unknown.
A.C. Das in his Rigvecdic India quotes descriptions from the Vedas which, according to geological hypothesis, could have belonged to the Miocene or the Pliocene epoch. The age of these epochs is to be computed backwards from the present day by some hundreds of thousands if not millions of years.
Origin of Veda.
How did the Vedas originate? They are called Shruti which means the wisdom transmitted from the teacher to the taught or from sire to son by means of oral instruction. According to Vedic tradition the Vedas are said to have been revealed at the beginning of creation to four Rishis.
Whose hearts did God reveal the Vedas in? “In the beginning, God revealed the four Vedas, Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda, to Agni, Vayu, Aditya and Angira, respectively.” – Shatapatha Brahmana 11.4.2.3.
Do the Vedas originate in India? & How did the Vedas come to India? Ancient Indian Clairvoyant Sages did the realization of mantras of the Veda in a meditative state, and then wrote them. That’s why it is said that, the Vedas are a large body of sacred texts originating in ancient India.
Where did the Vedas come from? Veda is an eternal science. Veda is a god revealed knowledge or science, there is no one to create Vedas, it is a storehouse of knowledge.
What is inside the Vedas?
Content of the Vedas.
As regards the contents of the Vedas, Rig Veda primarily deals with gyana (knowledge), Yajur Veda with Karma (action), and Sama Veda with Upasana (worship). Atharva Veda deals with miscellaneous subjects. Gyana, Karma, and Upasana is the mental triad representing knowing, willing, and feeling which are the three principal functions of the mind. In Vedic terminology we say that Rig Veda deals with Jnyana or Gyana Kanda, Yajur Veda with Karma Kanda, and Sama Veda with Upasana Kanda, The word Kanda means a section or a branch of knowledge.
Mantras in the vedas.
How many mantras are there in the Vedas? There are total 20379 mantras in the veda.
There are 10552 mantras in Rigveda, 1975 in Yajurveda, 1875 in Samveda, and 5977 in Atharvaveda with a total of 20379 mantras in all the Vedas.
Commentaries on vedas
The commentaries on the four Vedas, viz, the Brahmanas, the six angas, the six upanagas, the four upa vedas, and the eleven hundred and twenty seven sakhas, which are expositions of the Vedic Texts by Brahma and other sages or the Rishis. These are the secondary authority. In other words, they are held to be authoritative in so far as they conform to the teachings of th Vedas. Whatever passages in these works are opposed to the Vedic injunctions are not acceptable.
How old are the vedas?
Vedas are eternal and are the knowledge of god.
Who Wrote 4 Vedas?
Vedas are called sruti. Sruti means what is heard. The vedas are considered revelations seen by ancient sages after intense meditation, and texts that have been more carefully preserved since ancient times.
Are Vedas Authorless?
The Vedas to be apauruṣeya, which means “not of a man, superhuman” and “impersonal, authorless”.
Where did all the knowledge come from?
If you want to know the secrets of your life, then you have to understand the hidden science of this universe and beyond. Vedas are the hidden science in which all the knowledge is hidden. Veda is the mysterious knowledge, which gives knowledge of the hidden secret itself. The meaning of Veda is science, the science of life, universe and beyond is hidden in Vedas. All the spiritual science that the world has today has emerged from the Vedas only.
What is Veda?
The word Veda means knowledge. These Vedas are regarded as the repositories of Ancient Indian or Aryan wisdom.
Language of the Vedas.
Language of the Vedas is very Ancient. The Veda mantras are in Vedic Sanskrit Language.
Veda is sanskrit word, veda means knowledge or science. There is always confusion about the word veda and the word vedas in the minds of people. The word Veda means knowledge.The vedas means the four vedas. Vedas are related to four Vedas. The vedas is a holy scripture or book for the entire human race.
According to famous indian philosopher maharishi dayanand saraswati, “ The vedas are the scriptures of true knowledge. It is the paramount duty of all the aryas (noble persons) to read them, teach them, recite them and hear them. ”
What’s in the vedas?
What does vedas contains? The Vedas contains knowledge or science. The knowledge contained in the vedas is in the form of mantras. Mantras are the sacred word present in the subtle cosmos. In the beginning of mankind the four ancient enlightened sages tap these sacred knowledge or mantras in the state of intense meditation. These sacred mantras categorized into the four vedas. The four vedas, namely Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda.
What the vedas contains in essence?
Vedas contain the mantras. Vedas are comprised of a huge collection of mantras or powerful sanskrit words which include material as well as spiritual knowledge.
Vedas are the true source of knowledge. Veda contains essence of all known forms of knowledge. Vedas are the spiritual literature of the ancient vedic culture, written in the Sanskrit language.
The Vedas give information on various subjects. They have come together and form one book. And in later times, when other subjects were separated from religion – when astronomy and astrology were taken out of religion – these subjects, being connected with the Vedas and being ancient, were considered very holy. ” – Swami Vivekananda
Vedas are the sole authority. The sole authority not only in theology and ethics but also in science and philosophy.
Who wrote the vedas?
‘Vedas are authorless. The tradition of the Veda is traced to the Supreme It is expressed or formulated by individuals but they are not its authors The tradition belongs to the supra-individual order and is said to be apauruseya or non-personal It is timeless though its apprehension is possible at any time
Which texts are based on the philosophy of Vedas?
There are many important ancient scriptures or texts based on Vedas, such as Upanishads, Brahmana Grantha, Vedangas, Upa vedas, Darshans etc. Ancient Indian Literature is especially based on the Vedas, such as Gita, and other Itihas Granth like Ramayana, Maha Bharat and Bhagavad Gita.
Is Hinduism the religion of Vedas?
Vedas have no religion, Vedas are for the entire human race,
Vedas are the world’s oldest scriptures
The Vedas are the oldest sacred texts on our planet today. Entire humanity recognizes that Rigveda, is the oldest book in the library of the mankind.
However, the truth is that the four Veda, Rig veda, Yajur veda, Sama veda and Atharva veda were revealed to four Rishis at the dawn of the mankind on the earth.
According to the history, they were written down many thousands of years ago.
Vedas are the sacred text
The vedas are a large corpus of knowledge texts originating in Ancient India. Vedas are the primary sacred text. Vedas are the primary texts of sanatana dharma or vedic dharma or Hinduism.
Hinduism is based on the vedas.
The Vedas are the scriptures of Hinduism
Difference between veda and the vedas?
Veda is a Sanskrit word. Derived from the root word “vid” Meaning, to know. So the word ‘veda’ means knowledge.
Veda means knowledge
Indeed, the Vedas are the fountainhead of the knowledge. Vedas are the source of true Knowledge. The Vedas are the foundational scriptures of eternal ancient religion. The ancient Rishis and sages of India have expressed their intuitive spiritual experiences (Aparoksha-Anubhuti) in the Upanishads. These experiences are direct and infallible.
” Veda means knowledge and the vedas are really an ocean of knowledge.” – Yajur veda
Various definition of the vedas
Vedas are the voice of god
” sa parvesamapi guruh kalenanavacchedat – God is the original teacher for the mankind ” – Patanjali Rishi
God’s Revelation of Vedas
The most benevolent god must reveal the knowledge to the mankind once he creates the creation and His masterpiece that the man is.
Pasya devasya kavyam na mamaar na jiryati – Artharva veda 10.8.32
look at the Lord’s creation, the vedas that never dies nor decays.