Question

How many are the Vedas? Name them. Give details in brief of each.

Answer 1

Hint: The meaning of the word 'Veda' is derived from a Sanskrit word that insinuates 'knowledge'. These Veda's are considered as the depository house of knowledge. The Vedic followers are usually referred to as the Aryans. Some of the Vedas are known to have 1028 hymns. Some Veda has the earliest reference for singing, some Veda’s are dated back to 1100-800 BCE.

Complete step-by-step solution:
There are only four types of Vedas namely - Samaveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda and Rigveda.
Rigveda: The earliest form of Veda and the oldest form of Veda is Rigveda. The meaning of the Rigveda asks to ‘Praise knowledge'. The Rigveda comprises 10,600 verses and 10 books in total. Out of the 10 books, books 2 to 9 are the oldest books and books 1 and 10 are the youngest out of the 10 as they were written after the others.
Samaveda: Samaveda is also known to be the Veda for chants and tunes. It is also known as the storehouse of melodies. As India is known for its classical music and dance, the roots start from the introduction of Samaveda. Samaveda consists of a total of 1549 verses, which are lesser in comparison to Rigveda, however, the texts in Samaveda are slightly bigger than Rigveda. The three revisions of Samaveda are -Ranayaniya, Kauthuma, and Jaimaniya.
Yajurveda: The meaning of Yajurveda stands for 'worshipping knowledge’. Yajurveda has two types – Krishna which is considered to be (Black/Dark) & Shukla which is said to be(White/Bright).
Atharvaveda: This Veda comprises the daily routines and procedures of a normal life. There are a total of 20 books in Atharvaveda. Atharvaveda also consists of a lot of hymns out of which the majority of them are magic spells that are to be spoken by the person who wishes to cast a spell on someone (Mainly by a sorcerer).

Note: The Vedas were written in simple Sanskrit and were meant to be heard by everybody. As these Veda’s were recited in the temples some people including women and Shudras were not allowed to study Vedas.