Vedic Literature – Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads and Vedangas

At a Glance

• Four Vedas Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva
• Oldest text Rig Veda, c. 1500 to 1000 BC
• Later texts Roughly 1000 to 500 BC
• Vedangas Six limbs of the Veda
• Transmission Oral, by brahmanas
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Vedic Age

Where Does It Fit?

This is the ninth and final topic of the category on the Vedic age. The previous topic covered later Vedic religion and philosophy, and this one surveys the literature. The next category begins with the religious movements of the sixth century BC. Previous topic: Later Vedic Religion, Rituals and Philosophy.

What Are the Vedas and Their Layers?

In short: the Vedas are four collections of hymns and rituals, each surrounded by explanatory texts.

The word Veda comes from the root vid, to know, and the Vedas are among the earliest known texts composed in India, in Vedic Sanskrit. There are four of them: the Rig Veda is the oldest, and the others are the Yajur, Sama and Atharva. The Vedic texts were memorised and orally transmitted by brahmanas from generation to generation and written down only later, after writing came into use; the earliest known manuscripts of the Vedas date to the tenth or eleventh century CE. The main collections of hymns are called samhitas, and the Rig Vedic samhita is the earliest text. The Rig Veda may be assigned to c. 1500 to 1000 BC, whereas the Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads date roughly to 1000 to 500 BC. Almost every Vedic text contains interpolations, which generally appear at the beginning or the end and seldom in the middle. The Rig Veda has ten books; books 2 to 7 are the earliest, and books 1, 8, 9 and 10 are assigned to a later period.

What Do the Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads Add?

The Samhitas are collections of hymns and ritual formulae. Each samhita has added texts called brahmanas, which comment on the hymns and rituals and explain their social and religious importance. Each brahmana has an aranyaka, a forest text, and an upanishad. The aranyakas contain mystical ritual instructions meant to be undertaken in secret by sages who lived in the forest, while the Upanishads contain philosophical speculations on the atman and Brahma, as described in Later Vedic Religion, Rituals and Philosophy. The Rig Veda mainly comprises prayers, whereas the later Vedic texts comprise prayers as well as rituals, magic and mythological stories. The Aitareya and Shatapatha Brahmanas, for example, are cited for the sacrifices and for varna relations in Later Vedic Social Organisation – Varna, Family and Women.

What Are the Vedangas and Sutras?

To understand the Vedic texts it was necessary to study the Vedangas, the limbs of the Veda. These supplements comprised phonetics (shiksha), ritual (kalpa), grammar (vyakarana), etymology (nirukta), metrics (chhanda) and astronomy (jyotisha), and much literature grew around each. They were written in the form of precepts in prose, and a precept was called a sutra because of its brevity. The most famous example is the grammar of Panini, written around 450 BC, which, while illustrating the rules of grammar, casts invaluable light on the society, economy and culture of his times.

The post-Vedic ritual literature is large. Grand public sacrifices of princes and men of substance belonging to the three higher varnas, including ostentatious royal coronation ceremonies, are set out in the Shrautasutras. Domestic rituals connected with birth, naming, sacred thread investiture, marriage and funerals are prescribed in the Grihyasutras. Both relate to c. 600 to 300 BC. The Sulvasutras prescribe measurements for the construction of sacrificial altars and mark the beginnings of the study of geometry and mathematics.

How Should the Evidence Be Used?

Hindu religious literature, including the Vedas, throws considerable light on social and cultural conditions of ancient times, but it is difficult to use in the context of time and place because the texts were compiled over centuries and interpolated. Their religious focus also means they reflect priestly concerns. The Vedic texts are best used together with archaeology, such as Painted Grey Ware, in Later Vedic Phase – Expansion, Iron and Agriculture, and compared with the Zend Avesta, an Iranian text of Zoroastrianism that contains terms linguistically similar to the Vedas and that is regarded as indirect evidence that the early home of the Aryans lay outside the subcontinent, as discussed in Identity of Aryan Culture and the Debate on Aryan Origins.

As an analytical point, the Vedic corpus shows a movement from prayer in the Rig Veda to ritual in the Samhitas and Brahmanas to philosophy in the Upanishads, so the order of texts is itself a source for the history of religious ideas. Other literary sources are surveyed in Literary Sources of Ancient Indian History.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Source base Foundation of Vedic history
• Terminology Frequent Prelims questions
• Chronology Layers of composition

What Came Next?

The next category begins with the religious movements of the sixth century BC. Next topic: Causes of the Rise of New Religious Movements in the Sixth Century BC.

Key People and Terms

• Samhita Collection of hymns
• Brahmana Ritual commentary
• Aranyaka Forest text
• Upanishad Philosophical text
• Vedanga Limb of the Veda
• Sutra Brief precept

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions on Vedic literature ask how it serves as a historical source. These points add depth.

• Layers Prayer to ritual to philosophy
• Limits Interpolation and oral transmission
• Supplements Vedangas and sutras