Vedic Civilization and Culture 2

Hi everybody.

This is the continuation of the post on Vedic civilization. If you have not already read the previous post, you can read it here.

In this post, I shall continue to discuss the Vedic literature.

1. The Rig Veda is the book of lyrics. In Rig Veda, the first and the tenth Mandalas are said to be added later.
2. The Sam Veda is the book of chants. It has approximately one thousand and five hundred verses.
3. The person reciting the chants of the Rig Veda is called the Hotri whereas the person reciting the hymns of the Sam Veda is called the Udgatri.
4. The Yajur Veda is divided into two parts- i) Shukla Yajur Veda and ii) Krishna Yajur Veda.
5. The Yajur Veda consists of sacrificial prayers. It is recited by the Adhvaryus.
6. The Atharva Veda is the last of the Vedas. It consists of various charms and spells to avoid evils and diseases.
7. The Brahmana explain the hymns of the Vedas. It is written in prose.
8. The Aranyaka was written for sages and students living in the jungle.
9. The Upanishads are philosophical in nature and are called Vedanta. There are one hundred and eight Upanishads.
10. Vrihadaranyaka Upanishad is the oldest Upanishad.