Veda
वेद
veda
The Vedas are the basic texts of Hindus. Hinduism is based on the Vedas and Hindus are the direct descendents of the Vedic tradition. All the diverse philosophical and religious sect within the fold
In the beginning of creation, the philosophical speculation said in Veda existed in the sound form and which was the very breath of Isvara, the creator. Vedas were not written by anyone but was revealed to humanity through the ancient Rishis during their tapas. Hence the ancient Rishis were not the creator of Vedas but only the medium through which the Vedas were made available to humanity. Since the thoughts in Vedas existed in the beginning of creation it is eternal. The empirical knowledge of Vedas as verses were scattered in many Gurukulam (the educational centers) were collected and compiled into four by Veda Vyasa. Vedas are now available to us as written text form, but it is not just a text, but an eternal knowledge source with no beginning and no end. Vedas are also pramana sastras, infallible knowledge; the concept is such that knowledge of Rishis are so profound that it would be safer to follow in their footsteps.
Vyasa divided Vedas into four as Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. According to the content each Veda is further divided into four class: Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad. Samhita part is the revelation received to various rishis and the other three are studies on Samhita by various religious sects. Vedas were written in Brahmi and Devanagari script in poetry and prose but is propagated mainly by Karna parampara(oral tradition). All the diverse concept of human knowledge can be seen in these literatures. Apart from the four main texts there are six Vedangas: Shiksha, Chandas, Vyakarana, Nirukta, Kalpa, Jyotisha and six ancilliary disciplines: Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Sakhya, Yoga, Uttara Mimamsa, Vedanta. All these disciplines are meant to make understanding of Vedas clear to the learners.
Veda comes under Sruti literature. The tradition of philosophical speculation of Veda depends on a logical thought process giving ample freedom for diverse philosophical sect to discuss them and get accommodated in. From polytheism to monism all diverse religious activities coexisted peacefully in India because of this broad view of Veda. While Dvaita philosophers give more importance to infallibility of the Pramanasastras, Advaitins and other thinkers are more comfortable with the logical conclusion in their search to find a solution for Intelligence behind creation and search the validity of basic tenets of Hinduism like, Brahman, Atman, Maya, Rebirth, etc.
Purana are meant to spread the ideas said Vedas to the common people. Purana accept the supreme position of Vedic literature. There are many stories in Puranas that the knowledge said Veda were hidden or not allowed to spread by Asuras in several instances and then recovered by the intervention of Gods.
Word | Sanskrit | IAST | In General | Veda | Purana | |
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Veda , Chanting Methods | The Ancient Rishis have devised a number of methods to preserve the Veda Mantras in their... | Read More | ||||
Vedanga / Vedangas | वेदाङ्ग | vedāṅga | Vedangas are six subjects developed to study the deep esoteric knowledge in Vedas. They are called... | Vedangas are class of works appended to the Vedas and without them understanding Vedas are nearly... | Read More | |
Vedanta | वेदान्त | vedānta | The word Vedanta means the end of Veda. Vedanta is a study of the last part of Veda, the... | Read More | ||
Vedanta Desika, Swami | वेदान्त देशिक | vedānta deśik | (1268-1369 CE) Swami Sri Vedanta Desika was an important personality in Sri Vaishnava Guru... | Read More | ||
Vedantasara | वेदान्तसार | vedāntasāra | Vedantasara is a basic text on advaita vedanta by Sadananda. It has got three commentaries... | Read More | ||
Vedantasutra | वेदान्तसूत्र | vedāntasūtra | See: Brahmasutra | Read More | ||
Vedarthaprakasa | वेदार्थप्रकाश | Vedārthaprakāśa | Sayanacharya’s famous interpretation on Vedic literature is called Vedarthaprakasa. The work... | The work is a helpful study on how to perfom Yajna and Sayana himself admit in the introduction... | Sayana took lot of reference from Purana to define vedic verses. Many scholers has criticised... | Read More |
Vedas and Agamas | Agamic literature and Vedic literature are two separate schools of thought but they have many... | Read More | ||||
Vedasamhita | वेदसंहिता | vedasaṃhitā | The first part of Veda are called Samhita. So we have four samhitas: Rigveda Samhita ,... | Read More | ||
Vedavyasa | See: Vyasa | Read More |