Aggvāna or Ahavāna Veda

The Atharvaveda, while undoubtedly belonging to the core Vedic corpus, in some ways represents an independent parallel tradition to that of the Rigveda and Yajurveda.

The Jaina and Buddha texts are considerably more hostile to the AV (they call it Aggvāna or Ahavāna Veda) than they are to the other Hindu texts. [citation needed] The Atharva Veda is less predominant than other Vedas, also the Gayatri mantra used in Atharva Veda is different from other three Vedas. A special initiation of Gayatri is required to learn the Atharva Veda. The Hindus believe the mantras are highly powerful, the Atharvan Pariśiśhthas (appendices) themselves state that specific priests of the Mauda and Jalada schools should be avoided or strict discipline should be followed as per the rules and regulations set by the Atharva Veda. It is even stated that women associated with Atharvān may suffer from abortions if pregnant women remain while the chants for warfare are pronounced.

The Atharvaveda is considered by many to be a dark and mystic science, pertaining to the spirits and the afterlife. In the Mahabharata, when the Pandavas are exiled to the forests for thirteen years, Bheema, being frustrated, suggests to Yudishthra that they consult the Atharvaveda, and “shrink time, and hereby compress thirteen years to thirteen days…”

Sanskrit: अथर्ववेद

The Artharva-Veda is the “Knowledge of the [atharvans] (and Angirasa)”. The Artharva-Veda or Atharvangirasa is the text ‘belonging to the Atharvan and Angirasa’ poets. Apte defines an atharvan as a priest who worshipped fire and Soma. The etymology of Atharvan is unclear, but according to Mayrhofer it is related to Avesta athravan (āθrauuan); he denies any connection with fire priests. Atharvan was an ancient term for a certain Rishi even in the Rigveda. (The older literature took them as priests who worshipped fire).

The Atharva-Veda Saṃhitā has 760 hymns, and about one-sixth of the hymns are in common with the Rig-Veda. Most of the verses are metrical, but some sections are in prose.

It was compiled around 900 BCE, although some of its material may go back to the time of the Rig Veda, and some parts of the Atharva-Veda are older than the Rig-Veda.

The Atharvana-Veda is preserved in two recensions, the Paippalāda and Śaunaka.  According to Apte it had nine schools (shakhas). The Paippalada version is longer than the Saunaka one; it is only partially printed and remains untranslated.

Unlike the other three Vedas, the Atharvana-Veda has less connection with sacrifice. Its first part consists chiefly of spells and incantations, concerned with protection against demons and disaster, spells for the healing of diseases, and for long life.

The second part of the text contains speculative and philosophical hymns. R. C. Zaehner notes that:

“The latest of the four Vedas, the Atharva-Veda, is, as we have seen, largely composed of magical texts and charms, but here and there we find cosmological hymns which anticipate the Upanishads, — hymns to Skambha, the ‘Support’, who is seen as the first principle which is both the material and efficient cause of the universe, to Prāna, the ‘Breath of Life’, to Vāc, the ‘Word’, and so on.

In its third section, the Atharvaveda contains Mantras used in marriage and death rituals, as well as those for kingship, female rivals and the Vratya (in Brahmana style prose).

The Atharvaveda (Sanskrit: अथर्ववेद, atharvavéda, a tatpurusha compound of atharvān, a type of priest, and veda meaning “knowledge”) is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the “fourth Veda”. According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Bhrigus and the Angirasas. Additionally, tradition ascribes parts to other rishis, such as Kauśīka, Vaśīṣṭha and Kashyapa. There are two surviving recensions (śākhās), known as Śaunakiya (AVS) and Paippalāda (AVP).

Sanskrit: सामवेद

The Samaveda (Sanskrit: सामवेद, sāmaveda, a tatpurusha compound of sāman “ritual chant” + veda “knowledge” ), is third in the usual order of enumeration of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures.

The Samaveda ranks next in sanctity and liturgical importance to the Rigveda or Veda of Recited praise. Its Sanhita, or metrical portion, consists chiefly of hymns to be chanted by the Udgatar priests at the performance of those important sacrifices in which the juice of the Soma plant, clarified and mixed with milk and other ingredients, was offered in libation to various deities.

The Collection is made up of hymns, portions of hymns, and detached verses, taken mainly from the Rigveda, transposed and re-arranged, without reference to their original order, to suit the religious ceremonies in which they were to be employed. The verses are not intended to be chanted, but to be sung in specifically indicated melodies using the seven svaras or notes. Such songs are called Samagana and in this sense the Samaveda is really a book of hymns.

In these compiled hymns there are frequent variations, of more or less importance, from the text of the Rigveda as we now possess it which variations, although in some cases they are apparently explanatory, seem in others to be older and more original than the readings of the Rigveda[citation needed]. In singing, the verses are still further altered by prolongation, repetition and insertion of syllables, and various modulations, rests, and other modifications prescribed, for the guidance of the officiating priests, in the Ganas or Song-books. Two of these manuals, the Gramageyagana, or Congregational, and the Aranyagana or Forest Song-Book, follow the order of the verses of part I, of the Sanhita, and two others, the Uhagana, the Uhyagana, of Part II. This part is less disjointed than part I, and is generally arranged in triplets whose first verse is often the repetition of a verse that has occurred in part I.

Sama-Veda

The Sama-Veda (Sanskrit sāmaveda ) is the “Veda of chants” or “Knowledge of melodies”. The name of this Veda is from the Sanskrit word sāman which means a metrical hymn or song of praise.  It consists of 1549 stanzas, taken entirely (except 78) from the Rig-Veda. Some of the Rig-Veda verses are repeated more than once. Including repetitions, there are a total of 1875 verses numbered in the Sama-Veda recension published by Griffith. Two major recensions remain today, the Kauthuma/Ranayaniya and the Jaiminiya.

Its purpose was liturgical and practical, to serve as a songbook for the “singer” priests who took part in the liturgy. A priest who sings hymns from the Sama-Veda during a ritual is called an udgātṛ, a word derived from the Sanskrit root ud-gai (“to sing” or “to chant”). A similar word in English might be “cantor”. The styles of chanting are important to the liturgical use of the verses. The hymns were to be sung according to certain fixed melodies; hence the name of the collection.

Krishna Yajurveda

There are four recensions of the Krishna (“black” or “dark”) Yajurveda:
taittirīya saṃhita (TS) of Panchala
maitrayani saṃhita (MS)
caraka-katha saṃhita (KS) of Madra
kapiṣṭhala-katha saṃhita (KapS) of Bahika

Each of the recensions has a Brahmana associated with it, and some of them also have associated Shrautasutras, Grhyasutras, Aranyakas, Upanishads and Pratishakhyas.

The Taittiriya Shakha: The best known of these recensions is the TS, named after Tittiri, a pupil of Yaska. It consists of 7 books or kandas, subdivided in chapters or prapathakas, further subdivided into individual hymns. Some individual hymns in this Samhita have gained particular importance in Hinduism; e.g. TS 4.5 and TS 4.7 constitute the Shri Rudram Chamakam, while 1.8.6.i is the Shaivaite Tryambakam mantra. The formula bhūr bhuvaḥ suvaḥ prefixed to the (rigvedic) Gayatri mantra is also from the Yajurveda, appearing four times. The Taittiriya recension of the Black Yajurveda shakha most prevalent in southern India. Among the followers of this Shakha, the Apastamba Sutras is the common Shrautasutra associated with the Shakha. The Taittiriya Shakha consists of Taittiriya Samhita (having seven kaandas), Taittiriya Braahmana (having three kaandas), Taittiriya Aaranyaka (having seven prashnas) (See Aranyaka Literature), Taittiriya Upanishad (having three prashnas or vallis – Sheeksha valli, Ananda valli and Bhrigu valli) and the Mahaanaarayana Upanishad. The Taittiriya Upanishad and Mahaanaarayana Upanishad are considered to be the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth prashnas of the Aaranyaka. The words prapaathaka and kaanda (meaning sections) are interchangeably used in the Vedic literature. Prashna and valli refer to sections of the Aaranyaka.

Three recensions have been edited and published: the Taittiriya by Weber in “Indische Studien”, XI, XII (Berlin, 1871-72), the Maitrayani by von Schroeder (Leipzig, 1881-86) and the Kathaka by von Schroeder (Leipzig, 1900-09). Translations of the Taittiriya into English are due to A.B. Keith (Oxford 1913) and Devi Chand.

Shukla Yajurveda

There are two (nearly identical) shakhas or recensions of the Shukla (White) Yajurveda, both known as Vajasaneyi-Samhita (VS):
Vajasaneyi Madhyandiniya (VSM)
Vajasaneyi Kanva of Kosala (VSK)

The former is popular in North India, Gujarat, parts of Maharashtra (north of Nashik) and northern parts of Orissa, and thus commands a numerous following. The Kanva Shakha is popular in Maharashtra (south of Nashik), most of Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Sureshvaracharya, one of the four main disciples of Jagadguru Adi Shankara, is said to have followed the Kanva shakha. The Guru himself followed the Taittiriya Shakha with the Apastamba Kalpasutra. The Vedic rituals of the Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, the second biggest temple in India, are performed according to the Kanva shakha. The White Yajurveda has two Upanishads associated with it: the Isa Vasya and the Brihadaranyaka upanishads. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is the most voluminous of all Upanishads.

The VS has forty chapters or adhyayas, containing the formulas used with the following rituals:
1.-2.: New and Full Moon sacrifices
3.: Agnihotra
4.-8.: Somayajna
9.-10.: Vajapeya and Rajasuya, two modifications of the Soma sacrifice
11.-18.: construction of altars and hearths, especially the Agnicayana
19.-21.: Sautramani, a ritual originally counteracting the effects of excessive Soma-drinking
22.-25.: Ashvamedha
26.-29.: supplementary formulas for various rituals
30.-31.: Purushamedha
32.-34.: Sarvamedha
35.: Pitriyajna
36.-39.: Pravargya
40.: the final adhyaya is the famous Isha Upanishad

Samhitas

There are two primary versions or samhitas of the Yajurveda: Shukla (white) and Krishna (black). Both contain the verses necessary for rituals, but the Krishna Yajurveda includes the Brahmana prose commentary within the samhita, while the Shukla Yajurveda considers the Brahmanas separate texts.

Sanskrit यजुर्वेदः

The [ÁYajurveda|Yajur-Veda] (“Veda of sacrificial formulas”) consists of archaic prose mantras and also in part of verses borrowed from the Rig-Veda. Its purpose was practical, in that each mantra must accompany an action in sacrifice but, unlike the Sama-Veda, it was compiled to apply to all sacrificial rites, not merely the Soma offering. There are two major recensions of this Veda known as the “Black” and “White” Yajur-Veda. The origin and meaning of these designations are not very clear. The White Yajur-Veda contains only the verses and sayings necessary for the sacrifice, while explanations exist in a separate Brahmana work. It differs widely from the Black Yajurveda, which incorporates such explanations in the work itself, often immediately following the verses. Of the Black Yajurveda four major recensions survive, all showing by and large the same arrangement, but differing in many other respects, notably in the individual discussion of the rituals but also in matters of phonology and accent.

The Yajurveda (Sanskrit यजुर्वेदः yajurveda, a tatpurusha compound of yajus “sacrifice” + veda “knowledge”) is one of the four Hindu Vedas. The Yajurveda Samhita contains the liturgy needed to perform the rituals and sacrifices of the religion of the Vedic period, and the added Brahmana and Shrautasutra commentaries add information on the details of their performance.

1028 hymns in the Rigveda

There are 1028 hymns in the Rigveda, most of them dedicated to specific deities.

Indra, the heroic god and slayer of Vrtra and Vala, liberator of the cows and the rivers, Agni, the sacrificial fire and messenger of the gods, and Soma, the ritual drink dedicated to Indra are the most prominent deities by far.

Invoked in groups are the Vishvedevas (the “all-gods”), the Maruts, violent storm gods in Indra’s train and the Ashvins, the twin horsemen.

There are two major families of gods, the Devas and the Asuras. Unlike in later Hinduism, the Asuras are not yet demonized, Mitra and Varuna being their most prominent members. Aditi is the mother both of Agni and of the Adityas, a group of Asuras, led by Mitra and Varuna, with Aryaman, Bhaga, Daksha, Ansa and Savitar.

Surya is the personification of the Sun, but Savitar, the Ashvins and the Rbhus, semi-divine craftsmen, also have aspects of solar deities. Other natural phenomena deified include Vayu, (the wind), Dyaus and Prithivi (Heaven and Earth), Dyaus continuing Dyeus, the chief god of the Proto-Indo-European religion, and Ushas (the dawn), the most prominent goddess of the Rigveda, and Apas (the waters).

Rivers play an important role, deified as goddesses, most prominently the Sapta Sindhu and the Sarasvati River.

Yama is the mythical first ancestor, also worshipped as a deity, and the god of the underworld and death.

Vishnu and Rudra, the prominent deities of later Hinduism (Rudra being an early form of Shiva) are already present as marginal gods.

The names of Indra, Mitra, Varuna and the Nasatyas are also attested in a Mitanni treaty, suggesting that the religion of the Indo-Aryan Mitanni ruling class was very close to that of the Rigveda.

Shakha

The Sanskrit term shakha (IAST śākhā), literally “branch” (as of a tree) or “arm”, is used to refer either to a school of the Vedas, or to the traditional texts followed by a school.  Monier-Williams defines it as “a branch or school of the Veda, each adhering to its own traditional text and interpretation)”. That is, a shakha is a theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts chosen from the extensive Vedic corpus.

The related term caraṇa, which in general means “conduct of life” or “behavior”, is also used to refer to a school or branch of any of the Vedas.  Monier-Williams says that “although the words caraṇa and śākhā are sometimes used synonymously, yet caraṇa properly applies to the sect or collection of persons united in one school, and śākhā to the traditional text followed, as in the phrase śākhām adhite, he recites a particular version of the Veda.”

An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a “follower” (śākhin).  This term is also used in Hindu philosophy to refer to an adherent of a particular orthodox system.  The schools have different points of view on some things, which are described as “difference of (Vedic) school” (śākhābhedaḥ).

In traditional Hinduism affiliation with a specific school is an important aspect of class identity. By the end of the Rig Vedic period the term Brāmaṇa had come to be applied to all members of the priestly class, but there were subdivisions within this order based both on caste and on the shakha (branch) with which they were affiliated.[10] A Brāmaṇa who changed his own school of the Vedas would be called “a traitor to his śākhā” (śākhāraṃḍaḥ).