Workshop on Indian

Knowledge Systems
20.08.2022

Multi-faceted
Knowledge Contained
in the Vedic Corpus
Vinayak Rajat Bhat
Associate Professor
Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems
Chanakya University - Bengaluru
What are Vedas?
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•
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•
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The Four Vedas
• Ṛgveda
• represents the earliest sacred book of India, oldest and biggest amongst all
the four Vedas
• utterances of the Vedic sages on several topics in the form of poetry
• Ṛgveda priest
• is known and Hotṛ
• employs the mantras to sing the praise of devatā invoked
• variety of topics discussed: Origin of the Universe, Marriage, Nature and its
importance etc.
• promotes a high sense of unity in diversity by proclaiming that the truth is one but
learned ones articulate it in different ways (ekam sat viprāḥ bahudā vadanti, RV1.164.46)
The Four Vedas
• Yajurveda
• derived from the root “Yaj”, meaning, the worship associated with
sacrifice
• confines itself to the major issue of conducting the sacrifices
• Yajurveda priest (Adhvaryu) is mainly charged with the
performance of sacrifices makes use of the yajus
• two major branches:
• Kṛṣṇa (Black) and Śukla (White)
• Kṛṣṇa portion is a mixture of prose and poetry
• Śukla portion is entirely in poetry
The Four Vedas
• Sāmaveda
• derived from the Sanskrit root, “Sāma” indicating “to
please, pacify or satisfy”
• The Sāmaveda priest
• Udgātṛ pleases the devatās by singing mantras after making
the offering
• Ṛgveda mantra set to music
• the mantras related to musical scales, similar to the seven
scales of classical music
• the origin of Indian classical music lies in the Sāmaveda
The Four Vedas
• Atharvaveda
• generally believed that the Atharvaveda is a later addition
to the original set of the three Vedas
• Atharvaveda priest
• is known as Brahma
• whose main job is overall coordination and monitoring of the
Vedic ritual
• plays the crucial role of quality control and compliance when
rituals are performed
• a sixth of Atharvaveda texts adapts verses from Ṛgveda
Organisation of a Yajña
Hotṛ-gaṇa (4) Adhvaryu-gaṇa (4)
Hotā + 3 Adhvaryu + 3

Yajamāna patnī

Brahma-gaṇa (4)
Yajamāna

Brahmā + 3
The Altar

Udgātṛ-gaṇa (4)
Udgātā + 3
Ṛgveda: - Hotṛ-gaṇa; Yajurveda – Adhvaryu-gaṇa
Sāmaveda – Udgātṛ-gaṇa; Atharvaveda – Brahma-gaṇa
Messages in the Vedas
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Messages in the Vedas
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A thematic
classification
of ideas
presented in
Atharvaveda
 Classification of each Veda into sub-components
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• Vedas

•
•
Mantra
•
Brāhmaṇa
(Saṃhitā)

•
Brāhmaṇa Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad
 Classification of each Veda into sub-components

•
•
Vedas
•

•
• Mantra
Brāhmaṇa
(Saṃhitā)
•

Brāhmaṇa Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad

Organisation of Ṛgveda Saṃhitā
Maṇḍalas Anuvākas Sūktas
(10) (85) (1028)
Mantras Ḍevatās
Ṛṣis (400)
(10,552) (14 categories)

Mantra Ṛṣi Devatā

• Called Ṛk • 400 Ṛṣis • 14 broad

• 25 Women categories
• Follows a
meter • Identified by • Agni, Indra,
two Names Marut, Soma,
• Revealed to a Uśā, Varuṇa …
Ṛṣi
 The word Upaniṣad means sitting near a Guru and receiving his wisdom through a teaching-learning process.

108 Upaniṣads in the four Vedas

• Praśna-upaniṣad: Teachings organised Ṛg Veda – 10 Upaniṣads
into six questions asked by the six
students and the Guru’s reply to it Yajur Veda
• Kaṭha-upaniṣad: Begins with a story of
a young boy Naciketas and the journey • Śukla – 19 Upaniṣads
of his quest to know the truth about
death and immortality
• Kṛṣṇa – 32 Upaniṣads
• Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad: Profound
conversation between King Janaka and Sāma Veda – 16 Upaniṣads
Yājñavalkya
• Muṇḍaka-upaniṣad: Indian emblem
“Satyam Eva Jayate” is mentioned Atharva Veda – 31 Upaniṣads
 Ṛg Veda Yajur Veda Sāma Veda Atharva Veda
Ṇo. 10,552 Kṛṣṇa: Taittirīya 1,549 (1,875); 6,077 (last kāṇḍa
Mantras Śukla: Vājasaneyī only 75 unique. is heavily
(Saṃhitā) borrowed from
Ṛgveda)

Content in Śākhās 21, only 5 Kṛṣṇa: 85, only 4

available available now
now Śukla: 17, only 2
1000, only 3 9, only 2 available
available now now

four Vedas: available now

Āraṇyakas Aitareya, Kṛṣṇa:Taittirīya Talavakāra or None

A summary Śāṅkhāy- Śukla:

Tabana Bṛhadāraṇyaka
Jaiminīya

Brāhmaṇas Aitareya, Kṛṣṇa: Taittirīya 9 Brāhmaṇas Gopatha

Kauṣītaki Śukla: Śatapatha, (Tāṇḍya-mahā- Brāhmaṇa
brāhmaṇa
important)
Major Aitareya, Kṛṣṇa: Taittirīya, Chāndogya, Praśna, Muṇḍaka,
Upaniṣads Kauṣītaki Kaṭhopaniṣad Kena Māṇḍūkya
Śukla:
Bṛhadāraṇyaka,
Īśāvāsya
The role of Vedāṅgas
Oral Preservation – Phonetics, Pronunciation etc. (Śikṣā)

Present Knowledge Properly – Grammar (Vyākaraṇa)

Ensure Correct Meaning – Book of Synonyms and Etymology (Nirukta)

Prevent Corruption – Rules for presenting knowledge (Chandas)

Establish norms, rules and practices – Manual (Kalpa)

When to do – Methodology for timing events (Jyotiṣa)

Śikṣā
•The word śikṣā means “to acquire knowledge”.
•is the science of pronunciation
•Śikṣā-śāstra, is a systematic approach to the art and practice of phonetics
•As preserving the Vedic text from any form of corruption is the most
important thing, śikṣā directs our attention to all the details of the
process involved in pronunciation
•The nāda (sound)
•generated by the confluence of air and space (in the vocal cord) takes the
form of a varṇa (the smallest component of a language)
•by the contact made between various parts of the tongue and the places
of articulation
Vyākaraṇa
• It means “to divide, separate, and analyse”
• Sanskrit grammar is unique - it devises unambiguous and rule-based
methods to construct a word
• one can generate new words
• “reverse engineer” by breaking a word into certain components and then
analysing it.
• Vyākaraṇa has several features that parallel what has been applied in
the modern-day data processing
• methods of creating lists-based processing logic
• the use of an algorithmic approach to process language
• application of recursive logic to process data, etc.
Word generation scheme in Sanskrit
Grammar

+ Required
Verb root Verb Form
Suffixes

+
Suffix Word
Suffix
+

+ Required
Noun Root Noun Form
Suffixes
Risks in translating Vedic Literature
Risks in translating Vedic Literature
• In normal usage, the word ‘ : (gauḥ)’ stands for a cow.

• There are 21 synonyms listed in a group in Nirukta. They are “Gauḥ,

gmā, jmā, kṣmā, kṣā, kṣamā, kṣoṇiḥ, kṣitiḥ, avaniḥ, urvī, pṛthvī, mahī,
ripaḥ, aditiḥ, iḻā, nirṛtiḥ, bhūḥ, bhūmiḥ, pūṣā, gātuḥ, gotrā”.

• The meaning of “go” in this mantra must relate to the earth and not to
the cow.
 Organisation of Nighanṭu
• Nighaṇṭu Kāṇḍa Adhyāya No. of words Contents
• a collection of rarely used words in Naighanṭuka 1 415 17 groups of
the Vedas synonyms
• can be equated with a thesaurus, 2 516 22 groups of
where synonyms of various genres synonyms
are collated 3 410 30 groups of
• Yāska, wrote Nirukta in the 5th synonyms
Naigama 278 Words with
century BCE, a commentary on multiple
Nighaṇṭu meanings in 3
• Extracting the meaning of a groups
word using linguistic theories Daivata 151 Names of
Devatās in 3
and considering phonetic groups
changes
Chandas
• Saṁhitā portion of the Vedas are almost entirely in prosody.
Therefore, the study of the meters to which they are set is important
• Chandas is the meter of poetic composition
• There are seven main meters used in the Vedas. The majority of these meters
have four quarters in them. Some meters have three
• Any addition or removal of even a single syllable from a mantra will
become evident at once as the rhythm of the mantra will be lost.
• Chandas helps in preserving intact not only the Vedic texts but also
any literature set in prosody
The hierarchical structure of metre

Syllables Pādas Metre

Kalpa
• A guide or a user manual that provides instructions and directions to
lead all aspects of life including personal, family, and social
dimensions
• Kalpa-sūtras shed light on all important aspects of ancient Indian life
as it covers household life, ceremonies, and law
• Śrauta-sūtras: Guide for Vedic rituals
• Śulba-sūtras: Rules for measurements & construction of fire altars, sacrificial
place, etc.
• Gṛhya-sūtras: Deals with house-hold ceremonies
• Dharma-sūtras: Guide for social duties
A typical set of altars for Śrauta rites
दर्हपण
ू म
ह ासावेददिः
(Darśapūrṇamāsāvedi)

गाहहपत्याग्निः आहवनीयाग्निः
(Gārhapatyāgni) दक्षिणाग्निः (Āhavanīyāgni)
(West) (East)
(Dakṣināgni)
(South)
Jyotiṣa
• Knowledge of the movement of stars and planetary bodies is
called jyotiṣa
• Jyotiṣa is compared to the jewel on the hood of the snake and the
crest of the peacock
• Jyotiṣa-śāstra is classified into vaidika (related to Vedas) and
laukika (related to the world)
• Jyotiṣa which is connected to Vedas is called Vedāṅga-jyotiṣa
• classified into two recensions: Ṛgvedic Vedāṅga-jyotiṣa - 36 verses
and Yajurvedic Vedāṅga-Jyotiṣa - 43 verses
Details Chandas Number
of pādas
Number syllables per
pāda
pertaining Gāyatrī
Uṣṇih
3
3
8 + 8 + 8 = 24
8 + 8 + 12 = 28
to Vedic Anuṣṭup 4 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 32
Bṛhatī 4 8 + 8 + 12 + 8 = 36
Metres Paṅkti 5 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 40
Triṣṭup 4 11 + 11 + 11 + 11 = 44

Jagatī 4 12 + 12 + 12 + 12 = 48
 Classification of topics in Jyotiṣa

• Siddhānta deals with Gaṇita

• various measures of time; Siddhānta
• planetary theory,
• arithmetical computations as well
Gola

Jyotiṣa
as algebraical processes,
• location of the earth, the stars and Nimitta
the planets, Saṃhitā
• description and usage of
instruments
Muhūrta
• Saṃhitā consists of the scientific
and mathematical concepts of Jātaka
astrology Horā
Praśna
Pañca-mahā-yajña

• The critical aspect of Yajña is giving (or sharing) without a

sense of attachment
• Responsibility of a householder to provide for the
sustenance of the life around him is formalised with pañca-
mahā-yajña
• Bhūta-yajña is for all created beings. By offering Bhūta-yajña, we take care of
small living beings around us (such as birds, domesticated animals, worms,
insects etc.).
• By Manuṣya-yajña we derive the joy of helping destitute, orphans,
unexpected guests, poor and the needy by offering whatever we can (in cash
or kind, food) to them.
Pañca-mahā-yajña
• By Pitṛ-yajña we give away food for the sake of our ancestors and
offer our respects and deep sense of gratitude to the departed
souls
• By offering Deva-yajña, we express our thankfulness for what the
Gods bless us (in terms of rain, and other bounties of nature)
• By Brahma-yajña (by reciting the Vedic hymns, Upaniṣads etc. and
teaching them to others) we show our enormous respect to the
great seers and rishis, who gave us the wisdom that we can ever
have.