An Introduction to the Vedas

The word ‘Veda’ is often derived from 5 roots:

•  Vid — jñāne: To know
• Vid — sattāyām: To be, to endure
• Vid — labhe: To obtain
• Vid — vicārane: To consider
• Vid — cetana-ākhyāna-niveśeṣu: To feel, to tell, to dwell

Accordingly, the word Veda means:— ‘the means by which, or in which all persons know, acquire mastery in, deliberate over the various branches of knowledge or live or subsist upon them.’

Traditionally, the Vedic literature as such signifies a vast body of sacred and esoteric knowledge concerning eternal spiritual truths cognized by sages (Rishis) during intense meditation. They have been accorded the position of revealed scriptures and are revered in Hindu religious tradition. Over the millennia the Vedas have been handed down by oral tradition and hence the name “śruti” or “that which is heard”. According to tradition they are un-authored (apauruṣeya) and eternal.

The Vedic literature is also called by several other names –

• Nigama: Traditional wisdom transmitted from generation to generation. It also means mankind’s attempts to reach the Divine. It is contrasted with Āgama which is the descent of the Divine into the Human Realm.
• Amnāya: The root texts or primordial texts of (Hindu) tradition
• Trayi: The Vedic texts comprising of Versified mantras, prose mantras, and melodies.

Theoretically, the Vedic corpus is held in deep reverence in the Hindu society. It constitutes the most authoritative genre of Hindu scriptures. Any other Hindu scripture must agree with the Vedas in order to be considered an authority.1

Schools of philosophy which reject the authority of the Vedas (Buddhists and Jains) are considered nāstika or heretical, while schools which accept Vedic authority, even if nominally, are considered ‘āstika’ or orthodox, from a Hindu perspective.

1. The Purāṇas and the itihāsas i.e. Rāmāyana and Mahābhārata are ‘commentaries’ upon the Vedas and elucidate the Vedic teaching. If there is a discrepancy between the secondary literature and the Vedas it is always the Vedas which have the final say.

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