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Introduction

Yajnavalkya Smriti refers fourteen sources of knowledge They are 8211 the Vedas Rigveda Yajurveda Samaveda and Atharvaveda Vedangas Shikaha Kalpa Vyakarana Nirukta Chanda and Jyotisha Purana Nyaya Meemamsa and Dharmashastra परणनययममस धरमशसतरग मशरत  वद सथनन वदयन धरमसय च चतरदश 8211 यजञवलकय समत A very interesting passage in Mundaka Upanishad broadly divides Vidya into two types Para and Apara दव वदय वदतवय इत ह सम यदबरहमवद वदनत पर चवपर च 4 ततरपर ऋगवद यजरवद समवदऽथरववद शकष कलप वयकरण नरकत छनद जयतषमत अथ पर यय तदकषरमधगमयत 5  8211 मणडकपनषद Knowledge is dealt within Apara Vidya The Vedas are scriptures and Vedangas are the Vedic Auxiliary Science that deal with phonetics Every Vedic Scripture has 4 types of texts Samhita Brahmana Aranyaka and Upanishad There are special Vedic grammar rules for each Shakha known as Pratisakhya and phonetic rules known as Shiksha Mimansa Sutras describe rules for interpretation of Vedic text Nyaya amp Vaisesika sutras deal with logical aspects ontological classification process of human understanding Puranas are narrations of messages and teachings of Vedas Dharma Sastras describe code of conduct for universal harmony The Vedas are the source of integral wisdom science tradition and culture of a remarkable civilization They are oral compilations of distilled wisdom of cosmic knowledge survived from the time immemorial They are not only identified as scriptures but also as the fountain head of Indian culture and human civilization 1 Meaning of the word 8216Veda8217 The word 8216Veda8217 means 8216knowledge8217 and is derived from the Sanskrit root vid means 8216to know8217 It does not refer to one single literary work but indicates a huge corpus of literature which arose in the course of many centuries and has been handed down from one generation to another generation by verbal transmission 8216Veda8217 is also called Shruti meaning what is heard as opposed to the Smriti composed by sages at a later stage recounting the content of the Vedic texts This referes the purely oralaural method which was and is used for it According to Indian traditional thoughts 8216Veda8217 is regarded as revealed scripture selfevident and self authoritative It is not composed by any human authors The Vedic hymns Suktas or verses Mantras are seen and only spoken by the seers Rishis These seers are neither author of the Mantras nor are they responsible for the contents of the Mantras Yaska the oldest expositor of Veda has distinctly said that these seers received the sacred knowledge or knowledge was revealed to them They then handed it down to descendants by oral instruction The great Vedic commentator Sayana has given a definition of the Veda Ishtapraptianishtapariharyoralaukikamupayam yo grantho vedayati  sa vedah It  means  The  scripture  which  describes  the  divine  method  for obtaining what is desirable and for giving up what is undesirable is called Veda This definition presents the purpose of the Veda According to another definition as per the sage Apastamba  8216the Veda is the name given to the Mantras and the Brahmanas Mantrabrahmanyorvedanamadheyam This definition describes the form of the 8216Veda8217 because it could be divided mainly into these two great divisions8211the Mantras and the Brahmanas Accordingly Mantra part is the main part of the Veda and whatever is not Mantra is Brahmana Here it is interesting to know that many  ancient  definitions  of  Veda  showing  its  significance  form  or contents are given in ancient Indian texts Generally speaking the word 8216Veda8217 signifies highest sacred eternal  and  divine  knowledge  as  well  as  the  texts embodying  that knowledge 2 Importance of the Veda The significance of the Veda is manifold It has been universally acknowledged that the Veda is the earliest available literature of humanity The Veda in the form of prose and poetry in Sanskrit language has been regarded as authoritative knowledge Its authority seems to have remained unquestioned for several millennia and it has been considered the last tribunal in matters of dispute whether in religion or philosophy or social customs The term 8216Astika8217 is used for those systems of Indian philosophy which have faith on the authority of the Veda and the term 8216Nastika8217 is used for those systems of Indian philosophy which do not have faith on the authority of the Veda The religion and culture of the Hindus are rooted in the Veda Till date   their   worship   sacrifice   rites   and   attitudes   are influenced by the Veda The Veda contains the highest spiritual knowledge Para vidya as well as the knowledge of the world Apara vidya  Thus apart from philosophy we find here descriptions of various aspects of the different subjects such as sciences medicine political science psychology agriculture poetry art music etc The Veda is unique in its purity and sanctity The text of the Veda is preserved in its pure and original form without any alteration  or  interpolation  even  after  thousands  of  years  The Veda is the only unadulterated treasure house of true knowledge So much so that even UNESCO declared it as part of the Intangible cultural heritage of humanity httpwwwunescoorgcultureichenRLtraditionofvedicchanting00062 The   Vedic   language   is   marked   by   extreme   economy   of expression Many times it seems to carry some deep hidden meanings indicating mystical truths Often it makes symbolic impression The wise souls from the immediate successors of the Vedic seers right down to our times have searched for and discovered the revelation of the deepest truth in the Vedic texts differently That is the reason many commentaries and reference books are written by the ancient and modern scholars for understanding the Veda and the Vedic concepts This vast reference material further establishes the importance of the Vedic texts 3 Preservation of the Veda Veda Patha Despite being oldest the Vedas have been preserved in their true form up till now Even Max Muller a renowned European scholar has admitted that the text of the Vedas has been handed down to us with such accuracy and care that there is hardly any change in the words or there is any uncertain aspect in the whole of Vedas The credit for this goes to Vedic seers Rishis who devised means of protecting and preserving the text of Vedas letter by letter with all their accessories Vedic mantras have accents Swara which preserve its original form of word construction There are three Prakriti Pathas for memorizing Mantras most commonly known as SamhitaPatha 8211   in which Mantra remains in its true form PadaPatha   in which each word of a Mantra is separately spoken KramaPatha  in which two words of a Mantra are spoken jointly as  Kakha khaga There were eight ways ie Vikritis of memorizing Vedas These are Jatapatha Malapatha Shikhapatha Rekhapatha Dhvajapatha Dandapatha Rathapatha Ghanapatha Among them Ghana  Patha  is most difficult and the longest Another step was to prepare treatises known as Anukramanis in which the names of Rishi Devata Chandas  are mentioned in reference to each hymn of the Vedas Chandas means meter which also helps in avoiding loss of content by enforcing number of syllables  AA Macdonell  has rightly observed in his 8216History  of Sanskrit  Literature 8211 since that remote time the text of the Vedas has suffered no change whatsoever with such a care that history has nothing to compare with8217 4 Eternity Apaurusheyata of the Veda As has been told earlier according to Hindu conception the Veda is not the creation of any human being It is divine and only visualized by the ancient seers and that is why it is called Apaurusheya  All other works or words of great luminaries fall under the category of Paurusheya  and that is why they are known by their respective names The Rigveda describes the Veda as eternal and Apaurusheya8211 8216Vachaa virupa nityataa8217 Rigveda 8766 Likewise the Upanishad says that the Vedas are just like expiration Nihshvaasa of that great Brahman8217 They are 8216breathed out8217 by the Brahman So the Veda is eternal just as Brahman वद क अपरषयत एव वक क वभनन सतरपर हदयरजन शरम MP3 वदक भष क कलपर गयचरण तरपठ MP3 5 Age of the Veda No one now doubts that the Rigveda is the most ancient document of the human beings but fixing the age of the Rigveda or the Veda is most difficult task This issue has many problems such as There is no outside evidence available as inscription seals etc  Dates are not mentioned in the Vedic texts The doctrine of 8216Apaurusheyata8216 proves the Veda as eternal Vedic astronomical accounts found in Vedas are not very clear View of the Indian and Western scholars differ on this subject On the question of the age of the Veda the only source that remains is the literary evidence on which are based the socalled literary or linguistic theories Other theories are based upon some assumptions which have yet to be proved conclusively Max Muller has rightly exclaimed in his book 8216Physical  Religion8216 P18 8220Whether the Vedic hymns were composed in 1000 or 1500 or 2000 or 3000 year BC no power on each could ever fix8221Certainly Vedic knowledge is beyond age and time as it is eternal and universal When we talk of the age of the Vedas we mean to determine the period of arrangement and composition of the main Vedic texts Boghazkoi inscription 1400 BC found in Asia Minor refers to four Vedic deities so we may consider the latest limit of the Vedic age before 1400 BC But the final word has yet to be said on the age of the Vedas Here some of the important views held on the subject are presented briefly in a chart to show the complexity of the problem Name of the scholar Source Age of the Vedas 1Swami Dayananda Sarswati Vedamantras Beginning of the Creation 2 Dinanath Shastri Astronomy 3 lakhs years back 3AvinashChandraDas Geology 25000 BC 4 Balgangadhar Tilak Astronomy 6000 BC 5 RG Bhandarkar Vedic mantras 6000 B C 6 Shankar Balkrishna Dikshit Astronomy 3500 BC 7 H Jacobi Astronomy 4500 BC 8 M Winternitz Boghazkoi 2500 BC 9 FMaxmuller Buddhist Literature 1200 BC   6 Classification of the Vedic Literature Broadly speaking the whole of the Vedic literature Apara vidya can be put into two categories The Vedas The Vedangas 8216Veda8217 is a collective term indicating the four Vedas 8211 Rigveda Yajurveda Samaveda and Atharvaveda On account of these four different Vedas one often speaks of the Vedas8217 in the pluralThe four Vedas consist of four different classes of literary works To each of these classes belongs a greater or a smaller number of separate works of which some have been preserved in their true form but also many lost in time These four classes are Samhitas Brahmanas Aranyakas Upanishads Sometimes the Aranyakas and Upanishads are treated as part of  SamhitasBrahmanas and not separatelyThe Vendangas consists of the six knowledge streams required for understanding of the Vedas They are Shiksha Kalpa Vyakarana Nirukta Chanda and Jyotisha In addition each of the veda consists of a secondary knowledge source called upveda They are For Rigveda Ayurveda For Yajurveda Dhanurveda For Samaveda Gandharvaveda and For Atharvaveda Arthashastra The Vedas are mainly for performing the Yajna rituals As quoted वद ह यजञरथमभपरवतत कलनपरवयभहतशच यजञ I तसमदद कलवधनशसतर य जयतष वद स वद यजञम II   वदग जयतष Yajnas are divided into two major class Havir Yajna and Soma Yajna An attempt has been made under the project for understanding of the Vedic wisdom through the lenses of the modern scientific knowledge specially in the field of Sciences Mathematics Medicine Astronomy Architecture Legal Systems Metallurgy Philology Environmental Studies Aeronautics Astrology Rituals etc Recordings of some of the experts with their publications has been integrated under this project to attract the younger generation Major part of the Article contributed by Dr Shashi Tiwari Retd Sanskrit Department Delhi University

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