The
word "VEDA" comes
from the
Sanskrit language;in Sanskrit the verb "VID" means "to know".
The Vedas are ancient
texts that are sacred in India and renowned the world over. The word
Veda
literally means knowledge.
The
Vedas are our most important
scriptures. They are the root of the Hindu Religion. Hinduism has
developed from
the
teachings contained in the Vedas; they are four in number , known as
the Rig
Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda.
The
Vedas have not been created
by man. In the very beginning the God revealed unto Rishis the
knowledge of the
Vedas. Therefore the Vedas are said to be Divine knowledge. Maharishi
Vyaas did
the codification of the four Vedas for our benefit.
The
Vedas are also referred to as
‘Trayi” or three – the three paths to salvation,
which are knowledge,
devotion
and action. The Rig Veda is identified with the path of knowledge, the
Yajur
Veda with the path of action and the Sama Veda with the path of
devotion.
Knowledge is not a monopoly of any country or community. It is a common
patrimony of the human race given through Sanskrit, a language as old
as creation.
Each
Veda has
two parts, the samitha and the Brahmanas. The
“samitha” consists of “mantras”.
These
mantras are difficult to interpret , so the brahmanas have been given
this task.
The samitha and brahmanas are often known as “karma kand”,
that is the
part of
the Vedas that deals with the rituals. Vedic literature also includes
jnana
kanda , and included in the jnana kanda are the “aranyakas”
and the
Upanishads.
These are identified with various Vedas.
We can therefore have a narrow definition of a Veda as well as a broad one. The narrow definition would take the word Veda to mean samhita alone. The broad definition would include, in addition, associated Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads.
Pt
S N Hari Prasad S.B.St.J,
JP
Minister of Religion (Vedic
Rites)