Vedas: Purpose & Structure
The four Vedas - Riga,Yajur, Sama and Atharva are divided into the S
Nov 19, 2006
The Vedic scriptures consist of the four Vedas - Riga, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. Each Veda consists of four components known as Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. The exploration of the Riga Veda is now complete, but so significant is this scripture that it will be referred to again and again. Before moving on it is worthwhile to understand the purpose and structure of the Vedas.
The Riga Veda involves mainly a metaphysical consideration of the nature of God. The Yajur and Sama Vedas prescribe liturgical functions and are of a lesser importance in an academic study of Hinduism. The Atharva Veda is believed to be of a distinctly later period than the other three Vedas. In it one can visualize the amalgamation of the purely Vedic thought of the earlier Vedas with the other streams of thought prevalent at that time. This amalgamation laid the foundation of the Brahmanical period that succeeded the Vedic period. In this period the stress shifted to rituals and procedures. In the Vedic period the head of the household would normally perform the religious rituals himself. In the Brahmanical period it became essential for the priests to conduct all major rituals so that they were performed exactly as specified. It was believed that if the rituals were faulty the purpose of the rituals would not be achieved. It was during this period that the Brahmins or the priests became powerful.
Each of the four Vedas has a similar structure. It is divided into four parts known as the Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. The Samhitas are the collections of the Mantras or Hymns. They are said to be the work of poets. Sometimes the Vedas refer only to the Samhitas. The Brahmans lay out the precepts, rituals and religious duties. They are said to be the work of priests. It was prescribed that after a person fulfills his or her duty to the family and the children are well established, the person should retire to the forests and spend the remaining life in meditation and contemplation of God. The Aranyakas, derived from the word Aranya meaning forest, prescribe the practices to be followed during this period of life. The Aranyakas provide the link between the ritualistic Brahmanas and the philosophical Upanishads. The Upanishads are philosophical discussions that examine and propound the wisdom in the earlier part of the Vedas. Since they appear at the end of the Vedas they are also called Vedanta meaning the last part of the Vedas. All subsequent Hindu thought is derived from the discussions found in the Upanishads. The Upanishads are obviously the works of philosophers.
For ages the contents of the Vedas lay unstructured and became a complex and incomprehensible web. Then a sage by the name of Krishna Dwaipayana classified this collection of knowledge according to age and purpose giving the Vedas their present form. For this Herculean task he is today better known as Veda Vyasa or the Compiler of the Vedas.
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