An Introduction to the Vedas 

The Vedas are the core of our Bharatiya Sanskruti. They are not just spiritual texts but knowledge sources which explain almost everything occurring in this Universe. They are said to be अनादि (Anaadi – without a beginning) and अनन्त (Ananta – without an end). Thus these are Eternal Universal Truths without a beginning and without an end, which pervade over all times. How can this be accepted ? Modern thinking would argue that if a text exists, it must be created by someone, and hence must not have existed prior to its creation by that author. It has been widely acknowledged therefore, that while the Vedas existed prior to them being compiled by वेद व्यास Veda-Vyasa, they were merely discovered by the ऋषिs Rishis, one by one, due to their penance, their meditation and intuition (or प्रतिभा Pratibha). Just as America existed before being discovered by Christopher Columbus, so also the वेद मन्त्रs Veda Mantras existed by their द्रष्टा ऋषि “drashta rishis” or the seers who discovered them. Therefore, the Rishis are said to be मन्त्र द्रष्टा Mantra Drashtas rather than मन्त्र कर्ता Mantra Kartas.Which is why, the Vedas are also referred to as being अपौरुषेय (Apourusheya – that which is not man-made) by a school of philosophy (or दर्शन Darshana) called the मीमांसा Meemamsa. This will be discussed in detail at a later instant. The Vedas are also referred to as the श्रुति Shrutis or that which were heard by the Rishis.

So what then, are the Vedas ? The Vedas are a collection of मन्त्र Mantras or सूक्त Sooktas, which contain Eternal Universal Truths explaining everything happening in this Universe. These Mantras are in Sanskrut language and are to be recited in a particular manner for manifesting the energy contained therein. Before reciting the Veda Mantra, it is customary to mention the name of the Rishi or the sage/seer concerned with the particular portion, the छन्दस् chandas or metre in which the mantra appears or is composed and the देवता Devata or the presiding deity for the mantra. For ex, before chanting or meditating upon the गायत्री मन्त्र Gayatri Mantra, it is customary to declare or announce the following:

गायत्र्या मन्त्रस्य, विश्वामित्र ऋषि:, परमात्मा देवता, दैवी गायत्री छंदः, जपे विनियोगः |

Gayatrya Mantrasya, Vishwamitra Rishihi, Paramatma Devata, Daivi Gayatri Chandaha, Jape Viniyogaha.

गायत्र्या मन्त्रस्य Gayatrya Mantrasya = Of the Gayatri Mantra

विश्वामित्र ऋषि: Vishwamitra Rishihi = The Drashta Rishi is Vishvamitra.

परमात्मा देवता Paramatma Devata = The Devata or the Deity is Paramatma or Supreme Being or Universal Godhead.

दैवी गायत्री छंदः Daivi Gayatri Chandaha = The Chandas or the poetic metre is the Divine Gayatri metre. (Actually, this mantra is known by its metre. In reality, it is the Savitri Mantra for meditating upon Goddess Savitri or the Sun.)

जपे विनियोगः Jape Viniyogaha = To be Used for Japa or meditation or mental chanting. (Viniyoga = purpose or use).

Likewise, all the major Sooktas and Mantras in all the Vedas are recited following an introductory announcement of the Mantra, its Drashta Rishi, the presiding deity, the poetic metre in which the mantra was revealed to that Rishi and the purpose or use. The purpose could be for Japa, Abhisheka, Anushthana, Yadnya as may the case be. Examples of such Mantras are the Purusha Sukta, the Shri Sukta, Ganapati Atharvashirsha, Shri Ramaraksha Stotra etc.

As said earlier, the Vedas are the core of our Bharata Varsha and Sanskruti. A modern thinker would question – why so ? That is because Vedas motivate people to follow Dharma and contain guidance, prescriptions and injunctions of Karmas to lead a righteous life, here on Earth, while achieving the main objective of our physical existence or the पुरुषार्थ Purusharthas – धर्म Dharma (righteousness), अर्थ Artha (values), काम Kaama (desires) and  मोक्ष Moksha (liberation from bondage). Why would they do so ? again, this would be a normal question by the modern thinker. Just as any product comes with a user manual to be able to use the product meaningfully, so also, if we are born on this planet, we need a user manual to be able to lead a meaningful life for contentment and fulfillment of the objectives of our existence. Such texts which gives the knowledge of Dharma are called धर्म प्रमाण Dharma Pramaana:

अंगानि वेदाश्चत्वारो मीमांसा न्याय विस्तरः |

पुराणं धर्मशत्रम् च विद्या ह्येताशचतुर्दश: ||

The above verse gives the list of the धर्म प्रमाण Dharma Pramaana texts:

The 04 Vedas – Rig, Yajur, Saama and Atharva.

The 06 वेदांग Vedangas or auxilliary texts viz –

शिक्षा – or pronounciation or metre.

व्याकरण – grammar or rules of language or linguistics.

छंदस् – metre.

निरुक्त – etymology.

ज्योतिष – astronomy and time keeping.

कल्प – procedures of Vaidika karma.

Additionally, four more उपांग or ancilliary sources to the Vedas as below:

मीमांसा – interpretation of Vaidika texts.

न्याय – Logic and Epistemology.

पुराण – also known as स्मृति or mythology explaining the gists of the Vedic texts.

धर्मशास्त्र – codes of conduct.

All the Vedic knowledge and wisdom is contained in these and hence these foureen are referred to as the चतुर्दश विद्यास्थान Chaturdasha Vidyasthanas or the fourteen knowledge sources.

Additionally, four more उपवेद or ancilliary sources to the वेदांग are

1) आयुर्वेद – Life Sciences.

2) अर्थशास्त्र – Economics and Political Science.

3) धनुर्वेद – Weaponry, Warfare and Military Science.

4) गांधर्ववेद – Fine Arts, Music, Dance and Drama.

The four Vedas form the core of our civilization, popularly referred to as Hinduism in modern times. The Vedas are the Supreme authority ie प्रमाण for the सनातन वैदिक धर्मी or Hindus. The Vedas form the basic structure from which have been derived the Vedaangas, the उपांग Upa-Angas and the उपवेद Upa-Vedas.

Article by Sandeep Natekar

References: The Vedas – Bhavan’s Book University, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.