Samhitas

Rigveda Samhita A Nature and Importance The Rigveda is the oldest compilation of human wisdom This Samhita Collection is unique in its nature In fact it is not a book but a compilation composed of several books which can be individually distinguished from each other The present from of this Samhita clearly indicates that the collection is not a single work but consists of older and later elements Various indications of language style and ideas prove this point Different hymns of this Samhita were composed long before they were systematically arranged Being a compilation of different stages there is something which stamps the Rigveda with an individuality of its own It is much more natural in character and form than other Samhitas The Rigveda represents the earliest sacred book of India It is oldest and biggest amongst all the four Vedas All the features of Classical Sanskrit poetry can be traced to the Rigveda In it we find the seeds of India8217s religious and philosophical development Thus both for its poetry and its religious and philosophical importance the Rigveda should be studied by one who wants to understand Indian literature and spiritual culture The value of the Rigveda today is not confined to India for its wellpreserved language and mythology have helped a better understanding of languages literatures and cultures of a whole world B Form and Classification The whole of the RigvedaSamhita is in form of verses known as Rik from the root rc to praise  8216Rik8216 is the name given to those Mantras which are meant for the praise of the deities Thus the collection Samhita of Riks is known as RigvedaSamhita Only one recession or school Shakha of the Rigveda is commonly available today and it is the Shaakala The Rigveda Samhita contains about 10552Mantras classified into ten books called Mandalas Each Mandala is divided into several sections called Anuvakas Each Anuvaka consists of a number of hymns called Suktas and each Sukta is made up of a number of verses called riks This division of the Rigveda is most popular and systematic is also the Astaka system dividing the contents of the Rigveda but today that is uncommon among the students of the Veda A Sukta is a group of Mantras The number of Mantras in a Sukta is not fixed Some Suktas have a small number of Mantras while others have a large number of Mantras It is important to note that every Rc has a seer ie Rishi a deity ie Devata and a metre ie Chandas Often this is common to an entire Sukta The Samhita of the Rigveda comprises 10 Mandalas 85 Anuvakas 1028 Suktas and 10552 Mantras Usually Anuvaka is not mentioned for the reference of a Mantra of the Rigveda For example RV 3167 simply means the seventh Mantra of the  sixteenth Sukta of the third Mandala of the Rigveda Through this chart we can know the division of Mandalas number of Suktas in each Mandala and name of Rishis of some Mandalas Mandala Suktas Mantras Name of Rishis 01 191 2006 MaducchandaMedhatithiGotama and many others 02 43 429 Gritasamada and his family 03 62 617 Vishvamitra and his family 04 58 589 Vamadeva and his family 05 87 727 Atri and his family 06 75 765 Bhardvaja and his family 07 104 841 Vashistha and his family 08 103 1716 Kanva Angira and their family 09 114 1108 Soma Devata but different Rishis 10 191 1754 Vimada Indra Shachi and manyother C Some Important Hymns Among 1028 Suktas of the Rigveda Samhita some suktas are very popular and frequently referred by the readers of Vedas Some of them are 1 Purusha Sukta 2 Hiranyagarbha Sukta 3 Dhanaannadana Sukta 4 Aksha Sukta 5 Nasadiya Sukta 6 Duhsvapnanashna Sukta 7 Yamayamisamvada Sukta Besides this there are Suktas offered to different deities such as Indra Marut Varuna Ushas Surya Bhumi Soma Agni etc Thus we can briefly say about the contents of Rigveda that it has various subjects which are narrated by Vedic seers poetically philosophically or religiously Yajurveda 8211 Samhita A Nature and Importance In its character Yajurveda is quite different from the Rigveda amp Samaveda Samhitas It is principally in prose form The word 8216Yajush8216 in the Yajurveda is explained variously But one of its definitions says 8211 8216Gadyatmako yajuh8216 A Yajuh is that which is in prose form8217 Another definition Yajur Yajateh talks about its relation with the sacrifice Yajna because both the terms are derived from the root 8216Yaj 8216 The Yajurveda is more pronouncedly a ritual Veda for it is essentially a guidebook for the Adhvaryu priest who had to do practically all ritualistic works in a sacrifice His works vary from the selection of a plot of land for the sacrificial altar down to offering oblations to the sacred fires Just as the SamavedaSamhita is the songbook of the Udgata priest so the YajurvedaSamhitas are the prayerbooks for the Adhvaryu priest It is solely meant for the purposes of sacrificial rituals The Yajurveda is also important for its presentation of philosophical doctrines It preaches the concept of Prana and Manas also Many times it is quoted for depicting religious and social life of the Vedic people It is also known for giving certain geographical data B Classification and Samhitas The Yajurveda is twofold 1 The Shukla Yajurveda 2 The Krishna  Yajurveda The Krishna Yajurveda is characterised by mixture of mantra and brahmana whereas the Shukla Yajurveda maintains the clear separation of the two The Shukla Yajurveda is related with the Adityaschool and the Krishna Yajurveda is related with the Brahmaschool In the beginning of his commentary on the ShuklaYajurveda Samhita a story is given by Mahidhara about the twofold division of the Yajurveda Rishi Vaishampayana taught the Yajurveda to Rishi Yajnavalkya and other pupils Once Vaishampayana got angry with Yajyavalkya and asked him to give up what he had learnt Then Yajyavalkya prayed to the Sun who came to him in the form of a horse ie Vaji and preached him the Veda Hence this Yajurveda was named Vajasaneyi Sukla Yajurveda has two Samhita available today 1 Madhyandina Samhita 2 Kanva Samhtia Krishna Yajurveda has four Sanhitas available today 1Taittiriya Samhita 2 Kathaka Samhita 3 Kapishthala Samhita 4 Maitrayani Samhita C Contents We find detailed description of sacrifices in the Samhita of Yajurveda The VajasaneyiSamhita gives a vivid description of many important sacrifices such as 8211 Darshapurnamasa Agnihotra Somayaga Chaturmasya Agnihotra Vajapeya Ashvamedha Sarvamedha Brahmayajya Pitrimedha Sautramani and so on For a general idea the contents can be divided into three sections The first section comprises the Darshapurnamasa the second section deals with the Somayaga and the third section comprises the Agnicayanas The last section of the VajasaneyiSamhita contains the popular IshavasyaUpanishad It is important to know that the first eighteen Adhyayas of the Vajasaneyi Samhita are completely given word for word and explained in the Shatapatha Brahmana of the white Yajurveda On the basis of this point few scholars think that the last sections of this Samhita are of a later date Samaveda 8211 Samhita A Nature and Importance The Samaveda is shortest of all the four Vedas It is closely connected with the Rigveda It is important to note that the Samhita of the Samaveda is an independent collection Samhita yet it has taken many verses a large number indeed from the Samhita of Rigveda These verses are chiefly derived from the eighth and the ninth Mandalas of the Rigveda The Samaveda is compiled exclusively for ritual application for its verses are all meant to be chanted at the ceremonies of the Somasacrifice and procedures derived from it The Samaveda is therefore specially intended for the Udagatr priest Its stanzas assume their proper character of musical samans or chants only in the various songbooks called Ganas According to the Jaiminiya Sutra 8211 8216Melody is called Saman8217 Traditional the Vedas are spoken as8216Trayi8216 because thay are composed of three kinds in mantras Rcs or verses Yajus or prose Saman or chants Among the four Vedas the Samaveda is regarded as the foremost In the Bhagavadgata where Lord Krishna has declared 8220Among the Vedas I am Samaveda8221Vedanama Samavedosmi Gita 1022 Here Indra Agni and Soma deities are mainly invoked and praised but most of the time these prayers seem to be the invocations for the Supreme Being In the spiritual sense Soma represents Allpervading Glorious Lord and Brahman who is attainable only through devotion and musical chanting Thus major theme of the Samaveda can be regarded as worship and devotion Upasana B Form and Classification The term Saman means a 8216chant8217 or 8216melody8217 and it signifies the entire SamavedaSamhita because it is metrical composition set to music According to the Jaiminiya Sutra 8211 8216Melody is called Saman8217 Gitishu saamakhya The Samaveda is the Veda of songs and chanting based on Riks Element of melody is an essential feature of the Samaveda Yaska has given the etymology of the word 8216Saman8216 as Sam Ma meaning8217measuring harmoniously with a Rik8216According to the ancient tradition told by Patanjali the Samaveda had 1000 recessions Shakhas But at present there are only three recessions These are 8211 1 Kauthuma 2 Jaiminiya 3 Ranayaniya But today Kauthuma Shakha is known more prominently The Samaveda Samhita of Kauthumas consists of two parts 8211 the Purvarcika and the Uttararcika First part contains four parts1 Agneya 8211 114 verses for Agni2 Aindra 8211 352 verses for Indra3 Pavamana 8211 119 verses for Soma Pavamana4 Aranya 8211 55 verses for Indra Agni Soma etc And Mahanamni Mantras 10This part consists of 650 versesThe Uttararcika the second part of the SamavedaSamhita consists total number of 1225 verses So the total number of verses in the SamavedaSamhit is 1875 Amongst these 1771 Verses are from the Rigveda Only 99 verses of this Samhita are not found in the Rigveda Samhita and thus are generally regarded to be of Samveda itself Atharvaveda 8211 Samhita A Nature and Importance The Veda of the Atharvanis the Atharvaveda Atharvan denotes directions and mantras especially in connection to ward off evil and hardship and also contains philosophical thoughts 8216Atharvan8216 originally means 8216priest8217 and the Mantras in the AtharvavedaSamhita were brought to light by Rishi Atharva According to the etymology of the Nirukta Atharvan is the name given to a stableminded person who is immovably firm ie Yogi The oldest name however by which this Veda is known in Indian literature is 8216AtharvangirasaVeda8217 that is the 8216Veda of the Atharvans and the Angiras8217 Angiras too were a group of schools and priests According to Patanjali Atharvaveda had nine Shakhas but the Samhita of the Atharvaveda is today available only in two rescensions 8211 the Shaunaka and the Paippalada It is the ShaunakaSamhita that is frequently meant when the Atharvaveda is mentioned in ancient and modern literature It is a collection of 730 hymns containing 5987 Mantras divided into 20 books Kandas Some 1200 verses are derived from the Rigveda About one sixth of the text of the Atharvaveda including two entire books 15 and 16 is written in prose similar in style and language to the Brahmanas the rest of the text is in poetic verses Some traditions prescribe that this Veda should be known as Brahma Ritvik who used to supervise the process of Yaga or sacrifice In sacrificial ceremonies he was supposed to know all the three Vedas but usually he used to represent the Atharvaveda Due to his association the Atharvaveda is also named 8216Brahmaveda8216 the Veda of Brahma priest The Atharvaveda is the oldest literary monument of Indian medicine It is believed to be the origin of Ayurveda the Indian science of medicine There are a series of Mantras related to cure various physical and mental diseases Another class of hymns includes prayers for protection from the bite of snakes or injurious insects We find mention and application of medicines and medicinal herbs This feature distinguishes the Atharvaveda from the rest of the Vedas Philosophical portions of this Samhita present a fairly high development of metaphysical thought The chief ideas of the Upanishads the conception of a highest god as creator and preserver of the world Prajapati and even the ideas of an impersonal creative principle besides a number of philosophical terms such as Brahman Tapas Asat Prana Manas must have been the common property of large circles 8211 at the time when these hymns originated Therefore the study of the philosophical ideas revealed in the Atharvaveda is important to understand the development of Indian Philosophical thought Atharvaveda is the only Veda which is related to both worldly happiness and spiritual knowledge Vedic commentator Sayana has praised this for fulfilling both ends 8211 this world and the other world Thus it appears to be an interesting text for a general reader of the Vedic literature B Contents The Atharvaveda is looked upon as the Veda of varied knowledge It contains numerous Mantras which according to their subjectmatter can be broadly divided into three categories 1 Related to the cure of diseases and destruction of adverse forces 2 Related to establish peace protection health wealth friendship and long life 3 Related to the nature of Supreme Reality time death and immortality Bloomfield has divided the subject of Atharvaveda into many categories such as Bhashijya Paushtika Prayashctta Rajakarma StrikarmaDarshana Kuntapa etc Here some Important and famous Suktas of Atharvaveda are listed to have a general view its subject 1 BhumiSukta 121 2 BrahmacaryaSukta 115 3 KalaSuktas 1153 54 4 VivahaSukta 14th Kanda 5 MadhuvidyaSukta 91 6 SamanasyaSukta 330 7 RohitaSukta 1319 8 SkambhaSukla 107 So the Atharvaveda is an encyclopedia of many subjects It reflects the life of the Vedic people Their thoughts related to philosophical social educational political agricultural scientific and medical matters are found in this Samhita Finally we can say that the Samhita literature of Veda is considered important for its nature form and contents This is the main part of Vedic literature consisting five famous Samhitas By DrShashi Tiwari Retd Sanskrit Department Delhi University