The
Vedas (
/ˈveɪdəz/,
[4] IAST:
veda,
Sanskrit: वेदः,
lit. 'knowledge') are a large body of
religious texts originating in
ancient India. Composed in
Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of
Sanskrit literature and the oldest
scriptures of
Hinduism.
[5][6][7]
There are four Vedas: the
Rigveda, the
Yajurveda, the
Samaveda and the
Atharvaveda.
[8][9] Each Veda has four subdivisions – the
Samhitas (
mantras and
benedictions), the
Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the
Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the
Upanishads (texts discussing
meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).
[8][10][11] Some scholars add a fifth category – the
Upasanas (worship).
[12][13] The texts of the Upanishads discuss ideas akin to the heterodox
sramana-traditions.
[14]
Vedas are
śruti ("what is heard"),
[15] distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called
smṛti ("what is remembered"). Hindus consider the Vedas to be
apauruṣeya, which means "not of a man, superhuman"
[16] and "impersonal, authorless,"
[17][18][19] revelations of sacred sounds and texts heard by ancient
sages after intense meditation.
[20][21]
The Vedas have been orally transmitted since the 2nd millennium BCE with the help of elaborate mnemonic techniques.[22][23][24] The mantras, the oldest part of the Vedas, are recited in the modern age for their phonology rather than the semantics, and are considered to be "primordial rhythms of creation", preceding the forms to which they refer.[25] By reciting them the cosmos is regenerated, "by enlivening and nourishing the forms of creation at their base."[25]
The various
Indian philosophies and
Hindu denominations have taken differing positions on the Vedas; schools of Indian philosophy which acknowledge the primal authority of the Vedas are classified as "orthodox" (
āstika).
[note 2] Other
śramaṇa traditions, such as
Charvaka,
Ajivika,
Buddhism and
Jainism, which did not regard the Vedas as authorities, are referred to as "heterodox" or "non-orthodox" (
nāstika) schools.
[14][26]
