The Hindu Literature

Transcription

1 The Vedas The Hindu Literature Rig Veda 10 bks r Mandals hymns (suktas) + 11 thers Valakhiyas, i.e., ttal 1028 hymns. 10,580 Richas. Only Veda that was created and cmpiled during early Vedic perid. Duratin f cmpilatin 1500BC-1000BC. The 7 th and the 2 nd mandals are called the Vansha Mandals are they were created at the very first cmpsitin. The 10 th and 1 st mandals are the last t be cmpiled, hence are called Kshepak Mandals. Sama Veda It cnsists f hymns taken frm Rig Veda and sets t tune fr the purpse f singing. The Samaveda is the cllectin f meldies. It has 1549 Slkas (richas) but except 78 all the rest were brrwed frm Rig Veda fr tuning purpses. Sama Veda has tw parts: Purvachika and Uttarchika. Purvachika has six divisins, called Apathaka and Uttarchika has nine, called Prapathaka. The bk f chants and is said t be the bk f rigin fr Indian music. Yajur Veda Mantras fr the purpse f recitatin & rules t be bserved at the time f sacrifice. The Yajurveda is bradly gruped int tw the "black" (Krishna) Yajurveda and the "white" (Shukla) Yajurveda. The term "black" implies "the un-arranged, unclear, mtley cllectin" f verses in Yajurveda, in cntrast t the "white" which implies the "well arranged, clear" prse versin f Yajurveda. It has 40 chapters and 2000 hymns. Ishpanishad, the last chapter f Yajurveda, is philsphical and metaphysical where as ther parts fcus n the subject matter f law and legislatin f varius yajnas. Atharva Veda Cmpiled by nn-aryan, esp. Atharva Sage. Veda f frmulas, hymns f charm, spells & magic. A cllectin f 731 hymns with abut 5,987 mantras, divided int 20 bks. Abut 1200 Mantras has been taken frm the Rig Veda. Shaunk and Pippalad are the tw available branches f Atharva Veda.

2 Als knwn as Brahm Veda r Atharvagiras Veda. NOTES Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda were cmpiled during later Vedic perid (1000BC- 600BC). Rig Veda & Sama Veda are cmplete verse while Yajur Veda has bth Verse & Prse type f mantras. In Rig Veda, we have 40 rivers and the Saraswati is called the mther f rivers. Indus/Sindhu is the mst mentined river in Vedas. The name f fur ceans in the Rigveda are Apar, Purva, Saraswat & Sharyajavat. Upvedas Vedas Upavedas Dealing with Rig Veda Dhanur Veda Warfare, mstly archery. Sama Veda Gandharva Veda Music & Dance Yajur Veda Sthapatya Veda/Silpa Veda Architecture Atharva Veda Ayur Veda Medical Brahmanas Ritual matter and prse cmmentary n the Vedas. They deal with the science f sacrifices and infrm us abut thelgy, philsphy, manners & custms in later Vedic perid. There are 18 brahmanas t be knwn. Each Veda has varius Brahmanas attached t it. Vedas (N. f Brahmanas) Name f Brahmana Ntes Rig Veda (2) Kaushitaki 40 chapters. Als called Sankhyayana Brahman. Aitareya Bth Rig Brahmanas deal with sacrifices. Sama Veda (3) Tandya Maha All three cntain a lt f Khadvinsa infrmatin abut the nn-arya Jaiminiya with the perspective f Aryans. Yajur Veda (2) Taittriya Brahmana f Krishna Yajur Shatapatha Brahamana f Shukla Yajur.

3 Atharva Veda (1) Gpatha Mst Imprtant Brahmana. Gives precius inf frm Kuru- Panchala t Videha. NOTES Aitareya, Kaushitaki (Shankhyayana), Taittiriya & Jaiminiya are als Aranyakas, as they als deal with jungle envirnment f Rig Vedic perid and mysticism & philsphy in particular parts. Aitareya, Kaushitaki & Taittiriya are again, Upanishads t. Unlike Brahamanas, Aranyakas d nt deal with rituals but mstly the philsphical aspects f Vedas. There are seven Aranyakas, remaining three are: Maitrayani, Madhyanandin & Talvakar. Upanishads r Vedantas There are 108 Upanishads, f which 12 are knwn be Shruti r the divine revelatin. The Upanishads are anti-rituals discussing the theries f creatins f the universe and defining the dctrine f actin with the gal t attain salvatin thrugh meditatin and self-cntrl. The famus dctrine f Adwaitism is ascertained in the Upanishads. These are assumed t be written arund BC. Imprtant Upanishads are: Jesh Kath r Kathaka Nachiketa & Yama dialgue. Yajnavalkya & his wife dialgue. Ken Mandukya Brihadaranyaka Idea f rebirth. Mundaka Unity in diversity. Chhandgya Tat tvam asi (thu art that), initial references f Lrd Krishna. Taittiriya - Aitareya Kaushitaki Svetasavatara initial references f Lrd Shiva.

4 As usual, Aitareya & Kaushitaki are related t Rig Veda, Taittirya, Kath & Brihanaranyaka are related t Yajur Veda, Mundaka is related t Atharva Veda. Vedangas These are supplementary texts fr prper understanding f the Veda Samhitas. These were created in c BC. There are six Vedangas: Shiksha (Phnetics/Prnunciatin) Kalpa Sutras (Sacrificial rituals) Pratisakhya is the ldest text n phnetics. It is divided int three classes: i. Shrauta Sutras / Shulva Sutras deal with sacrifices. ii. iii. Vyakarana (Grammar) Grihya Sutras deal with the dmestic ceremnies and sacrifices meant be perfrmed by the husehlders. Dharma Sutras deal with the laws, manners and custms f peple in general. Ashtadhyayi f Panini is the ldest grammar treatise. Nirukta (Etymlgy) Based n Nighantu f Kashyap, it is the cllectin f difficult Vedic wrds. Chhanda (Metrics) Chhandasutras f Pingal is a famus text fr metrics. Jytisha (Astrnmy) Vedanga Jytisha by Cagadh Muni is the ldest Jytisha text. The Smriti There are six famus smrities: Manu cmmentatrs: Vishwarupa, Meghatithi, Gbindraj, Kulluk Bhatt. It is the ldest smriti, created in Pre-Gupta perid. Yajnvaika cmmentatrs: Vishwarupa, Vijnyaneshwar, Aparaka. Created in Pre-Gupta perid. Narada - cmmentatrs: Vishwarupa, Vijnyaneshwar, Aparaka. Gupta Perid Parashara cmmentatr: Madhavacharya. Gupta Perid Brihaspati Gupta Perid Katyayan Gupta Perid Puranas

5 There are 18 Puranas, in which Matsya Purana is the ldest. Lmharsha & his sn Ugrashrava are said t be the cmpilers f Puranas. Epics Ramayana (Valmiki) ldest (prbably) as it is called the Adi Kavya. Original Ramayana had five kands with 6000 verses. First & Seventh kands, namely Bal & Uttar kand were added later t make the verses upt Nw it cnsists f 7 kands (Bal, Aydhya, Aranya, Kishkindha, Sundar, Lanka & Uttar) and 24,000 verses. Mahabharata (Ved Vyasa) Wrld s largest epic, cnsisting mre than 100,000 shlkas in 18 Parvans r chapters. Shanti Parvan is the largest parvan. The Bhagvad Gita is extracted frm Bhishma Parva. Originally, Jay Samhita it had 8,800 shlkas. Later it was extended t Chaturvinshati Shahastri Samhita r Bharata, cnsisting n 24,000 shlkas. It is als called Panchamveda, r the fifth Veda. Darshanas There are six schls f Indian philsphy (darshan) knwn as Khad-dharshans. Sankhya (Kapil) Yga (Patanjali) Nyaya (Akshapad Gautam) Vaishesika (Uluka Kanada) Purva Mimansa (Jaimini) Vedanta r Uttar Mimansa (Badarayana) The fur acns (yugas) : Krita, Treta, Dvapara, Kali. PREVIOUS YEARS QUESTIONS 1. Wh amng the fllwing was a Brahmavadini wh cmpsed sme hymns f the Vedas? a. Lpamudra b. Gargi Brahmavadinis are Lpamudra, c. Leelavati Vishwawara, Sikta, Nivavari & Ghsa. d. Savitri 2. The term Yavanapriya mentined in ancient Sanskrit texts dented: a. A fine variety f Indian Muslim. b. Ivry c. Damsels sent t Greek curt fr dance perfrmance

6 d. Pepper 3. The river mst mentined in the early Vedic literature? 4. Allwance f divrce t a wife by her husband, ancient mentin? 5. Ancient scripts t be written frm right t left? 6. The famus dialgue between Nachiketa & Yama. 7. Which Veda deals with magical charms & spells?