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Vedas are
eternal :
……… Vedas
are the most ancient Hindu 'Books of Knowledge'. Primarily the word stands
for 'knowledge' itself, and secondarily it refers to books. The word Veda is
derived from the root 'vid' which means 'to know'. Thus the word stands for
knowledge itself. Knowledge by itself is always eternal. Creation
presupposes existence of prior knowledge. So knowledge was always there,
and then came the creation. This knowledge which was already there is thus
'apaurusheya' i.e. not created by any human beings. There is infinite
knowledge, and is available to be realized by any dedicated souls. So it is
perfectly appropriate to say that Vedas are apaurusheya & anadi - not
created by humans, and eternal.
Vedas are
the basis of Hindu Dharma :
……… Vedas
are the basis of Hindu Dharma. They are the most ancient existing scripture
of the world. The Hindus rightly believe that they have been revealed by
God himself, and are considered the ultimate & valid means of
knowledge. Just as science is based on facts about the objects of the
world, so also Hindu Dharma is based on certain eternal facts of life as
revealed in the Vedas. Unlike other religions Hindu Dharma is not given out
by any single person. The Vedas as we have today are a compilation of
various mantras as seen by different Rishis. So the analogy of science
appears to be very appropriate. Even avatara-purushas like Sri Rama & Krishna liberally refer to Vedas in their teachings.
There is a great sanctity about them.
Vedas are
called Shruti :
……… Vedas
are also called as Shruti. Shruti is that which is heard, again implying
that they are something which were 'revealed'. No one ever arrogates
personal doership for these divine scriptures. There are Rishis for various
mantras, who were instrumental with their hard
word & dedication to see these mantras. The word Rishis itself means
'Mantra-drashta', seer of a mantra. Earlier when paper or even palmyra
leaves were not discovered or were in vogue, this knowledge was passed on
to the next generation by word of mouth. The teachers revealed and the
students heard them. So name 'Shruti' was justified this way too. There is
a great tradition where the chanting & learning of these mantras is
perfected to unbelievable limits. There is no possibility of error of even
half a alphabet etc. There are pundits who are
taught to chant these mantras even backwards. A whole science of phonetics
has been developed for this work.
The
Sections of Vedas :
……… Vedas
have two sections : Samhita and Brahmana. A very
ancient commentator of Vedas Sri Sayanacharya says that these two sections
together constitute Vedas. The Samhitas consist of prayers in metrical
hymns called Mantras, and is also referred to as Mantra section. The
Brahmanas are more of a commentary on these hymns, and are in prose form.
This Brahmanas Section deals with Karma, Upasana & Tattva-Gyana.
Sections dealing with these are called Brahmanas, Aranyakas &
Upanishads. Upanishads are the philosophical parts of the Vedas, and reveal
the nature of Self etc. Most of the Upanishads are at the end of Aranyaka
Section, but there are exceptions. Isavasya Upanishad is in the Mantra or
Samhita portion of Vedas. (It thus becomes very
revered one). The mantras of Vedas were revealed to different Rishis at
different points of time were collected & compiled into four parts
(Rig, Yajur, Sama & Atharva) by one of the greatest sages of all times
- Sri Veda Vyasa. Later he gave each of these Vedas to one of his disciples
to carry them forward. Rig Veda was given to Paeil, Yajur Veda to
Vaishampayan, Sama Veda to Jaimini, and the Atharva Veda to Sumantu.
Rig Veda :
……… Rig
is derived from the word 'ric' which literally means 'praise or verse',
especially 'a sacred verse recited in praise of a deity'. It describes
metrical hymns which are meant to be recited loudly. The Rig Samhita is the
biggest & oldest of all the Vedic Samhitas. It has 10 Mandals or
Sections. There are 1028 Suktas in these Mandals. Suktas are a small group
of Mantras, and have their own Devata, Rishi & Chhand. In all there are
10552 Mantras in Rig Veda, the first one being 'Agnimeda purohitam'. The
total number of Rishis in Rig Veda is 403. The person who is the knower of
Rig Veda is called Ritwik. There are two Shakhas (schools) of Rig Veda.
They are : Shakla & Vashkala. Of these the
former is more prevalent. Aitereya Brahmana is the well known Brahmana of
this Veda. This Brahmana has an Aitereya Aranyaka which further has the
Aitereya Upanishad.
Yajur Veda :
……… Yajur
is derived from the word 'yajus', literally 'reverence, veneration or
sacrifice'. It describes hymns in prose, and the mantras are basically used
in sacrifices. There are two Samhitas of Yajur Veda. Krishna
Yajur Veda & Shukla Yajur Veda. The Krishna Yajur Veda has three
shakhas - Taittiriya, Kathaka & Maitrayani, while Shukla Yajur Veda has
two schools - Kanva & Madhyandini. The mantras of this Samhita are
called 'Yaju' and the knower of this Veda is called Adhvaryu. Yajur Veda is
the smallest of all Vedas.
Sama Veda :
……… Sama
Veda was basically meant for singing the mantras. There was a tradition of
singing Sama in all Yagnas. Most of the mantras of Sama Veda Samhita have been
taken from Rig Veda. The Samhita of Sama Veda has two parts - Poorvarchik
& Uttararchik. The former section has six chapters with 650 mantras,
and the latter section has 21 chapters with 1225 mantras. In all this Veda has 1875 mantras. The knower of Sama Veda is called
Udgata. Some of the well known types of Sama-gana are - Brahat, Rathantar,
Gayatra, Vairoop & Rajat.
Atharva
Veda :
……… Atharva
Veda has mantras to be used for various special purposes. The Atharva Veda
Samhita has two parts. The Atharva & the Angirasa. The former is for
sfter use while the latter has some harsh usages. Because of these two
sections this Veda is also called Atharvangirasa, or in short Atharva Veda.
The Samhita of this Veda has 20 kanda (chapters),
730 suktas and 5977 mantras. The knower of these mantras is called Brahma,
and has a very important place amongst all Ritwiks (knower of mantras of
all Vedas). References have been found about for nine shakhas of this Veda,
but as of today only one is available - the Pipalada Shakha. This Veda has
great importance from the point of view of Adhyatma & Tattva-Gyana. The
Brahmana Section of this Veda has the famous Upanishads like Mundaka and
Mandukya Upanishad.
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