Vedas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A set of ancient scriptures central to Hindu beliefs, containing philosophical teachings, hymns, and instructions for rituals
2. Revered as the foundational texts of Hinduism, these writings offer insights into spirituality, ethics, and religious ceremonies
3. Comprising a collection of sacred texts foundational to Hinduism, these writings encompass philosophy, hymns, and guidelines for rituals

Etymology: The Vedas are a body of texts whose name comes from a Sanskrit root meaning "knowledge" or "to know," the same root that gives English "wit" and "wisdom" through a distant Indo-European ancestor. In Sanskrit, "veda" means knowledge, and the plural "vedas" refers to the collection as a whole. The texts were transmitted orally for centuries before being written down, and their memorization was a precise discipline, with reciters preserving sounds and word order exactly. The collection is traditionally divided into four main parts, the Samhitas, which contain hymns, and later layers of prose commentary on ritual, including the Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads. The Upanishads are the portion most associated with philosophical speculation, and they are often treated as the foundation of later Hindu thought. The older hymns were used in sacrifice, and the surrounding texts explain how to perform those rites correctly.