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Ved
see also     Sources of Ved     Division of Ved    Dharm Granth    Braahman,   Mahaabhaarat,   Raamaayan,   Upanishad

Most Hindoo religious literature is written and found in Sanskrit language as it was the first all-India language. Its early literature was memorized and recited, that is why it is just impossible to date it with any accuracy. Ved are the earliest literature of Hindoo Dharm. In the beginning there was only one Ved, but considering it difficult to grasp, Maharshi Ved Vyaas Jee divided it into four parts - Rig Ved, Yajur Ved, Atharv Ved and Saam Ved.

Rig Ved consists of religious hymns, which probably did not reach its final form until about the 6th century BC; but the earliest parts of which may go back as far as 1300 BC - approximately the fall of Myeenean Greece in Europe. It is collection of 1,028 hymns, not all directly religious. Its main function was to provide orders of worship for priests responsible for sacrifices which were very common to the religion of Indo-Aryan. Two further texts that began to be created towards the end of the period in which Rig Ved was being written down - the Yajur Ved and the Saam Ved, also served the same purpose. The Atharv Ved is largely a collection of magic spells.

Each Ved has a main book called "Sanhitaa" and three other ancillary sets of books called the "Braahman", "Aaranyak", and "Upanishad". Each Ved Sanhitaa can have more than one Braahman, more than one Aaranyak and more than one Upanishad attached to it. Most of the Braahman and Aaranyak have lost their religious usefulness over time. Upanishad, however, have retained their value till now.

There has been a practice of calling "Sanhitaa", the Ved. For example, Rig Ved Sanhitaa means Rig Ved. Since these Sanhitaa are the oral preservations, their texts slightly differ from region to region. While the most important sanhitaa, Rig Ved, is remarkably identical throughout the Hindoo world, Yajur Ved Sanhitaa is not. There are two main texts of Yajur Ved - (1) Shukla Yajur Ved, which is called Vaajsaneyee Sanhitaa also. This also has two texts differing slightly with each other. One is called Maadhyandin Rescension and the other one is called Kaanv Rescension. Maadhyandin is alsmost universally accepted now. (2) Krishn Yajur Ved - in this Ved there are four slightly varying texts available. Yet the text called "Tattireeya Sanhitaa" is practically universally accepted out of the four. For Saam Ved and Atharv Ved only one Sanhitaa each is universally accepted.

Subject Matter of the Sanhitaa

The verses of the Sanhitaa contain prayers, which seek contentment, courage, energy, fearlessness, forgiveness, mercy, good life, happiness, health, long life, mental growth, peace, progeny, success in general, victory, virtue, health and zeal etc. Besides these there are prayers singing the glory of God, including prayers for special people and special occasions. many verses deal with the beginnings of the Universe, value of charity, death and after, Divinity in man, idle talk, laziness, love, man to woman
[Aangiras, p 347-349]

Upanishad

Krishn Yajur Ved

There are two main texts of Yajur Ved: Krishn Yajur Ved (or black Yajur Ved), and Shukla Yajur Ved (or white Yajur Ved). The terms black and white have nothing to their colors. The most popular rescension (version) of Krishn Yajur Ved is called Tattireeya. Shukla Yajur Ved is also called Vaajsaneyee and its most popular rescension is Maadhyandiin. Krishn Yajur Ved is older and along with the text, it contains the explanation of Mantra with a view to their use in performing the Yagya. Since the two items are mixed it is called Krishn. The new Shukla Yajur Ved was prepared by including only the text. Upon a comparison of the two texts, it is clear that minor differences permeate the entire texts of the two Sanhitaa.

Praatishaakhya

The four treatises explaining the phonetics of the Ved. These four are -
(1) Rig Ved Praatishaakhya,
(2) Tattireeya Praatishaakhya - explaining the phonetics of Tattireeya Upanishad - which is one of the versions of Krishn Yajur Ved,
(3) Vaajsaneyee Praatishaakhya - explaining the phonetics of Vaajsaneyee Sanhitaa - which is Shukla Yajur Ved, and
(4) Shaunakeeya Chaturaadhyaayikaa- explaining the phonetics of Atharv Ved Sanhitaa.

Strange enough there is no Praatishaakhya for Saam Ved even though the hymns of Saam Ved are meant mostly for chanting and singing. Most of the Saam Ved hymns are borrowed from Rig Ved.

Vedaang

To understand Ved correctly, one has to know its six aspects - (1) Shikshaa - concerned with phonetics (2) Kalp - the procedures for the performance of religious ceremonies, (3) Vyaakaran - grammar, (4) Nirukt - the etymological explanation of words,  (5) Jyotish - the science of astronomy, and (6) Chhand Shaastra - concerning the meters or science of poetry.

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