Vedangas The Vedangas are the last treatises of the Vedic Literature Paniniya Shiksha 4142 narrates two verses on the importance of the Vedangas which describe Veda as a Purusha having six limbs as six Vedangas Chandas are His two feet Kalpa are His two arms Jyotisha are His eyes Nirukta is His ears Shiksha is His nose and Vyakarana is His mouthThe oldest record of their names occurs in the Mundaka Upanishad 115 where they are named as Shiksha or phonetics or pronunciation Kalpa or ritual Vyakarana or grammar Nirukta or etymology Chandas or meter Jyotisha or astronomy Now we shall briefly study about them in the order given in the Mundaka Upanishad 1 Shiksha Shiksha really means instruction then in particular instruction in reciting8217 ie in correct pronunciation accentuation etc of the Samhita texts Later it was a name given to works containing rules regarding the proper pronunciation of Vedic texts Thus the ShikshaSutras are treatises on phonetics They are related to the Samhita and therefore are almost as old as the KalpaSutras Shiksha lays down the rules of phonetics 8211 sounds of syllables of pronunciation The function of the Shiksha is thus to fix the parameters of Vedic words Phonetics is most important in the case of the Vedic language because we see that change in sound leads to change in results and effect Hence Shiksha which is Vedic Phonetics has been regarded as the most important of the six Angas organs of the Veda PurushaSome important Pratishakhyas are 1 RigvedaPratishakhya of Rigved 2TaittiriyaPratishakhya of Krishna Yajurveda 3 Vajasaneyi Pratishakhya of Shukla Yajurveda 4 AtharvavedaPratishakhya of Atharvaveda 2 Kalpa The second Vedanga is Kalpa ritual which is called the arms of the Veda Purusha It is especially intended for the proper application of the Vedic texts The oldest Kalpasutras are those which in their contents are directly connected with the Brahmanas and Aranyakas It was the ritual Kalpa the chief contents of the Brahmanas which first received systematic treatment in the manuals called the Kalpasutras They contain the rules in the Sutra style referring to sacrifices with the omission of all things which are not immediately connected with the ceremonial They are more practical than the Brahmanas which for the most part are taken up with mystical historical mythological etymological and theological discussions They are also considered significant for the study of Vedic culture and society There are four types of the Kalpasutras 1 Shrautasutrasdealing with Shrauta sacrifices 2 Grihyasutras dealing with the domestic ceremonies 3 Dharmasutras dealing with the religious and social laws 4 Shulbasutras dealing with the rules of measurement of the firealtars etc 3 Vyakarana The third Vedanga is Vyakarana or grammar which is necessary for the understanding of the Veda It is called the mouth of the Veda Purusha The old Vedangatexts on Vyakarana are entirely lost today In the Aranyakas we find some technical terms of grammar The only representative of this Vedanga is the Ashtadhyayi of Panini which belongs to a later period It is indeed the most celebrated textbook of grammar It is not associated with any Vedic school Due to its great merits this may be assumed that Panini superseded all his predecessors whose works have consequently perished Formation of the word is the main subject of grammar It discusses root Prakriti and suffix Pratyaya of a word to study its meaning Panini8217s Vyakarana is in the form of sutras or aphorisms The fourteen Sutras are referred to here as Maheswara Sutras They were originated from Nataraja8217s damuru sound They are considered the foundation of grammar Vararuci has written an elaborate commentary or Vartika Sage Patanjali wrote commentary or Bhashya on it 4 Nirukta Nirukta Vedanga is called the ears of the Veda Purusha 8216Nirukta8217 means 8216etymology8217 and it explains the reason why a particular word has been used ie the meaning of usage The only work which has survived as a specimen of this Vedanga 8216etymology8217 is the Nirukta of Yaska It is a commentary on Nighantu which is 8216list of words8217 found in the Vedas Tradition ascribes the Nighantu also to Yaska The Nighantus are five lists of words which are again divided into three sections The first section consists of three lists in which Vedic words are collected under certain main ideas The second section contains a list of ambiguous and particularly difficult words of the Veda while the third section gives a classification of the deities according to the three regions earth sky and heaven Yaska explained these lists in the twelve books followed The most interesting portion of the Nirukta is the discussion which covers the whole of the first book and a part of the second as well as the seventh book which was as an admirable introduction to the study of the Veda Yaska has mentioned a considerable number of important grammarians as his predecessors in the Nirukta such as Galava Shakapuni Katthakya Niruka is very important for several reasons Firstly it represents the type of the earliest classical style and in this respect stands by itself Secondly it is the oldest known attempt in the field of Vedic etymology As regards the importance of the etymology Yaska himself says that without it the precise meanings of the Vedic stanzas cannot be understood 5 Chandas Chandas Vedanga is regarded as the feet of the Veda Purusha The body of the Vedas rests on the Chandas which are in the nature of feet Each Mantra of the Veda has a special Chandas just as it has a presiding Devata According to Nirukta the term Chandas is derived from the root Chad to cover Meter is called Chandas because it covers the sense of the Mantra The Chandas is designed for the purpose of securing the proper reading and reciting of Vedic texts The literature comprising this Vedanga on metrics is equally small The texts dealing with Vedic meters are as follows 1 Rikpratishakhya 2 Shankhayana Shrautasutra 3 Nidanasutra of Samaveda 4 Chandassutras of Pingala Each of them contains a section varying slightly from each other on Vedic meters 6 Jyotisha The last Vedanga Jyotisha is called eye 8211 the organ of sight of the Veda Purusha The object of Jyotisha Vedanga is not to teach astronomy but to convey such knowledge of the heavenly bodies as is necessary for fixing the days and hours of the Vedic sacrifices It gives some rules for calculating and fixing time for sacrifices In the Brahmanas and Aranyakas we find frequent allusions to astronomical subjects and even in the hymns we find traces which indicate a certain advance in the observation of the moon It is unfortunate that there is no work available at present dealing with ancient Vedic astronomy Jyotisha in the Sutra style Only we have a small textbook called Jyotisha of Vedic astronomy in verses in two recessions Generally Maharshi Lagadha is regarded author of this Vedanga Jyotisha This is a very difficult text and therefore is not clear on several points to scholars even today Later we find many Sanskrit treatises on astronomy and mathematical calculations Bhaskaracharya Varahamihira and Aryabhatta are known ancient scholars conversant with these scientific subjects The principles established by them are in use in the modern world By DrShashi Tiwari Retd Sanskrit Department Delhi university Links वदङग क परचय ड शर नरश ज झ Multimedia Links छनद वदङग क समनय परचय जयतष वदङग क समनय परचय कलप वदङग क समनय परचय नरकत वदङग क समनय परचय शकष वदङग क समनय परचय शकष क परचय वयकरण वदङग क समनय परचय वदङग क समनय परचय आज क सनदरभ म वदङग times छनद वदङग क समनय परचय times जयतष वदङग क समनय परचय times कलप वदङग क समनय परचय times नरकत वदङग क समनय परचय times शकष वदङग क समनय परचय times शकष क परचय times वयकरण वदङग क समनय परचय times वदङग क समनय परचय times आज क सनदरभ म वदङग