Vedic Scriptures of India

1. The Meaning and Importance of ‘Veda’
2. Extent and Classification of the Vedic Literature
3. Vedic Sakhas and their Geographical Distribution
4. Extant Vedic Texts
5. Veda-Lakshana: The Oral Preservation of Vedic texts
6. The Contents of Samhitas, Brahmanas and Aranyakas – A Brief Survey
7. Ancillary Literature of the Vedas
8. Age of the Vedic Texts
9. Methods of Interpreting the Vedas
10. Rishis and Rishikas – Men and Women as Vedic Seers
11. Vedic Prosody and Poetry
12. Karmakanda – The Vedic Rituals and Worship
13. Devatakanda – Vedic Deities
14. Brahmakanda – Vedic Spirituality
15. Srshtividya – Cosmology and Cosmogony
16. Ethical Teachings in the Vedas
17. Human Existence – The Purpose of Our Lives
18. Family Values in the Vedas
19. Women in the Vedas
20. Ecology in the Vedas
21. Medicine in the Vedas
22. Social Sciences in the Vedas
23. Political Concepts in the Vedas
24. Physical Sciences in the Vedas
25. Vedic Arts and Music
26. Vedas on Wealth, Production and Commerce
27. Veda Rahasya – the Secret of the Veda

A. Meaning and Importance of ‘Veda’

The word Veda is often derived from 5 roots these days:
• Vid jnaane: To know
• Vid sattaayaam: To be, to endure
• Vid labhe: To obtain
• Vid vichaarane: To consider
• Vid chetanaakhyaananiveseshu: To feel, to tell, to dwell

To these roots is added the suffix ‘ghaw’ according to Ashtadhyayi 3.3.19, the celebrated text of Sanskrit grammar of Panini. Accordingly, the word Veda means ‘the means by which, or in which all persons know, acquire mastery in, deliberate over the various lores or live or subsist upon them.’

Traditionally, the Vedic literature as such signifies a vast body of sacred and esoteric knowledge concerning eternal spiritual truths revealed to sages (Rishis) during intense meditation. They have been accorded the position of revealed scriptures and are revered in Hindu religious tradition. Over the millennia the Vedas have been handed over generation to generation by oral tradition and hence the name “shruti” or “that which is heard”. According to tradition they are un-authored (apaurusheya) and eternal.

The Vedic literature is also called by several other names –

• Nigama: Traditional wisdom transmitted from generation to generation
• Amnaaya: The root texts or primordial texts of (Hindu) tradition
• Trayi: The Vedic texts comprising of Versified mantras, prose mantras, and melodies.

Theoretically, the Vedic corpus is held in deep reverence in the Hindu society. It constitutes the most authoritative genre of Hindu scriptures. Any other Hindu scripture must agree with the Vedas in order to be considered an authority. Schools of philosophy which reject the authority of the Vedas are considered ‘Naastika’ or heretical, while schools which accept Vedic authority, even if nominally, are considered ‘Aastika’ or orthodox, from a Hindu perspective.

While most Hindus never see Vedic texts in their lifetime, the term ‘Veda’ is used as a synonym for authoritativeness in religious matters. The Vedas are considered full of all kinds of knowledge, and an infallible guide for man in his quest for the four goals – Dharma, Artha (material welfare), Kama (pleasure and happiness) and Moksha (Salvation). In sacred Hindu literature, they are considered the very manifestation of God, and the ultimate source of all wisdom and of all Dharma.