The Vedas a brief description and overview The Vedas are very exhaustive scriptures. Each veda contains several sections and thousands of hymns. Some of the Vedic hymns, especially the hymns of the Rig veda, are considered to be at least 6000-8000 years old.
The Vedas are believed to be revealed scriptures, because they are considered to be divine in origin. Since they were not written by any human beings but were only heard in deep meditative states, they are commonly referred as "srutis" or "those that were heard". The principal Vedas were originally only three in number, namely, the Rig veda, the Yajur veda and the Sama veda. Atharva veda, the fourth one was added later on. Together the first three were called "trayi vidya", which constituted the threefold knowledge. The name 'Rig veda' was derived from the root word 'Rik' which means 'to worship'. The name Yajur Veda came from the root word 'Yaj' which also means the same. But in course of time the Rig Vedic hymns became popular as hymns for chanting and recitation, while the hymns of the Yajur veda came to be associated more with the sacrificial ritualistic aspects of yajna worship. The name 'Sama veda' came from the root word 'saman' meaning music. Most of the 1549 hymns of the Sama Veda are derived from the Rig veda. But in the Sama veda they acquired musical connotation. During the yajna or sacrificial worship, the priest would chant hymns from all the three vedas in a systematic manner. The Hotr priest would chant hymns from the Rig veda. The Adhvaryu priest, would busy himself with the chanting of the hymns from the Yajur veda and the performance of various sacrificial acts according to detailed specifications, while the Udgatir priest would sit and sing the hymns from Sama veda to the accompaniment of some musical instrument such as the lute or vina. The Atharva veda was recognized as the fourth veda during the later vedic period. It contains hymns which deal mostly with the practical and philosophic aspects of human existence The hymns deal with such themes as social conduct, success in trade and agriculture, relationships, human welfare and such practical matters. Each Veda is divided into four parts. The first part is called the Samhita, which is the mantra proper. The second part is called the Aranyaka. The third part is called the Brahmana, which deals with the sacrificial and ritualistic aspects of the Vedas in prose form. The fourth part is called the Upanishad, which deals with the esoteric mystic aspects of the Supreme Self and the inner self. The Vedas throw considerable light on the scope and nature of vedic religion and the life of the early Aryans. We have presented a few sample hymns from the Rig veda and also representative links to different vedas to acquaint the readers with the basic concepts of the four Vedas. We have also added the complete translation of the four Vedas to our sacred scriptures archives which you can now download into your computer and read at leisure. Jayaram V - http://www.hinduwebsite.com/vedicsection/vedichymns.asp
