I know that most of my friends know about the Vedas in general. But I thought I would like to tell them a little more about them. Many of you may be knowing this as well, nevertheless even if a few people gain some additional knowledge on account of this I would be very happy.
The Vedas consist of 4 parts:
1. Samhita, 2. Brahmana, 3. Aranyaka and 4. The Upanishads.
Again there are 4 samhitas:
1. Rik, 2. Sama, 3. Yajur and 4. Atharva.
A Vedic sacrifice needs 4 priests:
1. Hota who addresses hymns in praise of the Gods to invoke their presence and participation in the sacrifice.
2. Udgata who sings the hymns to entertain and please the Gods.
3. Adhvaryu who performs the sacrifice according to the strict ritualistic code and gives offerings to the Gods.
And
4. Brahma who is the general supervisor of the sacrifice.
Rik is for the Hota, Sama is for the Udgata, Yajur is for the Adhvaryu and Atharva is for the Brahma.
The Brahmanas are written in prose. They are the elaboration of the complicated ritualism of the Vedas. They deal with the rules and regulations laid down for the performance of the rites and the sacrifices. There is little philosophy in these.
The appendages to the Brahmanas are the Aranyakas. They mark the transition from ritualistic to philosophic thought. There is a mystic interpretation of Vedic sacrifices in them.
The concluding portions of the Aranyakas are the Upanishads. They are intensely philosophical and spiritual. There are said to be 108 different Upanishads in all. However, 10 of them on whom Sankaracharya has commented are considered important. They are:
1. Isha.
2. Kena.
3. Katha.
4. Prashna.
5. Mundaka.
6. Mandukya.
7. Aitareya.
8. Taittiriya.
9. Chandogya.
10. Brihadaranyaka.
The Upanishads regard Karma Kanda as secondary, being only a help to purify the mind which is made fit to receive the real teaching about Brahman.
