The word veda comes from the root sound vid,
which literally means, 'to know' or 'to understand'. This is the root sound from which words like
vidyA which means learning, and vidvAn and viduShI, which mean a learned-man and a learned-woman,
come from. The literal meaning of the word veda, is just
'Knowledge'. Knowledge of what? Of anything and everything in existence. This is the context in which it is said, anantA
vai vedAH, which means the systems of knowledge, are infinite! But we all have heard that there are four
vedas, each of which have four components of their own. You might have also heard that there are 6
fields of study to understand these four components of the vedas. If the vedas are anantAH or infinite, how
did this classification came about? How many such components of study actually
exist, and how to go about exploring each of them systematically? We'll explore all these topics in this video. The Sanskrit Channel is an effort to explore
a vast variety of topics, from Original Sanskrit Literature. If you wish to support this effort, consider
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below. In the tradition of sanAtana dharma, whenever
people realized something of immense value in their lives, they did not immediately hide
it and patent it, they sought others who are in the pursuit of that same knowledge, to
pass it on to them and establish a lineage, to pursue that knowledge-system further. This is called as guru-shiShya paramparA. All of such systems of knowledge could be
classified into two different categories. Those which are thought up, and created through
human intellect, and those that are perceived and realized by the human mind. The first category includes knowledge systems
like the creation and use of various tools of survival, like hunting and farming tools,
tools to enhance the external sense perceptions, and methods to make life more secure and comfortable. It also includes knowledge systems like the
rules of societal behavior and function, the responsibilities and duties between the individual
components of a family, of a society and so on... And then there are knowledge systems, which
are existential, like how the creation came about, how life functions within the human
body, and outside it, the relationship between creatures and the forces of creation, the
purpose and possibilities that this relationship comes with, and so on... While the first kind of knowledge systems
are subject to change with the times one lives in, and the society around, the second kind
of knowledge systems stay valid and true irrespective of societal structures and the needs of the
time. This is knowledge which is not a product of
the human mind. We might perceive it, and put it to use, but
it is not a product of human thought and imagination. This is the context in which these systems
of knowledge, are called as apaurusheya, or not-man-made. The son of sage parAshara called kRShNa-dvaipayana
took all of these apauruSheyas, and classified them into four broad groups. The first of them, is called as the Rg-veda. It is a compilation of various hymns, each
of which, is called as Rk=which means descriptive words of praise. The hymns of Rg-veda describe, and praise
the properties of various natural elements around us, giving them personified forms of
agni, indra, mitra, varuNa, soma and so on... The second classification is called as the
yajur-veda, where the word yajus literally means a practice or a ritual. This veda is a realization of the power of
performing rituals. It consists of instructions as to how to conduct
various kinds of rituals, which are conducive for specific aspects of human well-being. In terms of textual content, it shares a lot
of hymns in common with the Rg-veda. The third classification is called as the
sAma-veda, where the word sAman literally means a gentle song. This veda is a realization of the power of
musical notes. It delves into the utterance of specific chants
to a set tune. This veda is seen as the origin for the field
of sangIta=music in sanAtana dharma. This veda too, shares a lot of common text
with the Rg-veda, but in a more practical context of chanting it as a song. The fourth and the final categorization, called
as atharva veda has a lot of content which is unique from the rest of the three. But the realizations contained within it,
as perceived by sage atharvaN, are still apauruSheya, or not-made-up in the human mind. This veda deals with the knowledge of handling
life at a more physical level of existence. How to deal with discomfort and disease. What is considered as weakth in human life? How to acquire, consume and disseminate it
and so on... Because of this mammoth task of understanding
all the apauruSheyas, and then classifying them into four distinct categories, kRShNa
dwaipAyana is famously known by the name of veda-vyAsa=the one who described the vedas. Every year, the brightest full moon night,
called guru-pUrNimA, is also remembered by the name of vyAsa pUrNimA, in his memory. Let us now, go one level deeper, to understand
the components of each veda. All the four vedas can be thought of as having
four sections, called samhitA=A compilation of all the realized hymns; brAhmaNa=Explanations
of how to put them to practical use; AraNyaka=Various internal observances one needs to follow,
and upaniShad=Footnotes which capture the essence of the entire veda. Each of these four components, are meant to
be used for application in each of the four stages of one's life, called as the Ashramas. samhitA section is the object of focus for
someone in brahmacharya-Ashrama=during the stage of educational upbringing,
brAhmaNa section is of use to someone in gRhastha-Ashrama=during one's life as a householder, as the vital
component of the society AraNyaka section is supposed to be put to
practice during vAnaprastha-Ashrama=during one's withdrawal away from the society into
a secluded area for spiritual pursuits and finally, the upaniShad section is said
to be of practical use, during sannyAsa-Ashrama where one renounces the worldly pursuits in
search for the absolute truth of creation. The first two sections are called as the karma-khanDa,
or the Segment of action and the second two sections are called as the jnAna-khanDa or
the segment of knowledge. There were many other sages after vedavyAsa,
who explained the concepts of these four vedas and each of their four components further,
resulting in a lot of branching up of these knowledge systems into various shAkhas=branches. There are many many sub-divisions of samhitAs,
brAhmaNas, AraNyakas and upaniShads named after the sages who explored them uniquely. Each veda is also ascribed with an upa-veda
or a sub-system of knowledge, which is born out of the revelations of each veda. Ayurveda, the study of AyuH=life itself, is
ascribed to Rg veda, dhanurveda=the study of archery and warfare is ascribed to yajurveda,
gandharvaveda=the study of aesthetics, music and dance is ascribed to sAma-veda and artha-shAstra=the
study of the pursuit of wealth and prosperity is ascribed to atharva-veda. Sometimes people refer to a text of immense
importance as the fifth veda. vyAsa's mahabharatam, rAmcharitamAnas by goswami tulsidAs, and nATyashAstra
by bharatamuni are among the works which are often referred to as the fifth veda, indicating
their importance. Finally, various tools and methodologies to
understand the knowledge of the vedas have been authored by many sages. They are named as vedAngas and are classified
under 6 categories, called as shikShA=the study of phonetic aspects and accents of the
vedic chants, kalpa=the study of practices and proper-applications of these chants in
rituals, vyAkaraNa=the study of grammatical rules, nirukta=the study of intuitive etymology
of sanskrit words, Chanda=the study of poetic meter, and jyotiSha=the study of light, particularly
the light from celestial objects, which can be roughly correlated with today's astrology. The website vedicheritage.gov.in has an extensive
repository of text, audio and video resources pertaining to some of the vedas, their shAkhas,
the upavedas and vedangas. If you wish to do a deep-dive into the study
of these topics, definitely check this website out! To sum it all up, the knowledge of the vedas
and the tools to understand their essence, are highly varied, and branched out. It is a pursuit of a lifetime to study the
meanings encoded in them, and even more so to internalize their meanings and realize
them at an experiential level. This is the main reason why the traditional
gurukul systems prioritized memorization, before the analysis of meaning, because even
if the meanings of the vedas could be understood at a textual level, the real benefit happens,
only when their true essence dawns upon the sAdhaka's mind, as experiential truth. I hope you enjoyed watching this video, and
found this information useful. Share it across with those whom you think
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