the Vedas

(noun)

The oldest scriptures of Hinduism composed in Vedic Sanskrit, and originating in ancient India during the Vedic Period (c. 1750-500 BCE).

Related Terms

Examples of the Vedas in the following topics:

  • The Vedas

    • The Indo-Aryan Vedas remain the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, which is considered one of the oldest religions in the world.
    • There are four Indo-Aryan Vedas: the Rig Veda contains hymns about their mythology; the Sama Veda consists mainly of hymns about religious rituals; the Yajur Veda contains instructions for religious rituals; and the Atharva Veda consists of spells against enemies, sorcerers, and diseases.
    • The verses of the Sam Veda are taken almost completely from the Rig Veda, but arranged differently so they may be chanted.
    • The Atharva Veda includes charms and magic incantations written in the style of folklore.
    • The Aryan pantheon of gods is described in great detail in the Rig Veda.

  • The Rise of Hinduism

    • There are four Indo-Aryan Vedas: the Rig Veda contains hymns about mythology; the Sama Veda consists mainly of hymns about religious rituals; the Yajur Veda contains instructions for religious rituals; and the Atharva Veda consists of spells against enemies, sorcerers and diseases.
    • The Rig Veda is the largest and considered the most important of the collection, containing 1,028 hymns divided into ten books, called mandalas.
    • The Aryan pantheon of gods is described in great detail in the Rig Veda.
    • The Upanishads are found in the conclusion of the commentaries on the Vedas, and have been passed down by oral tradition.
    • The Rig Veda describes the varied deities of Vedic religion.

  • Vedic and Upanishadic Periods

    • The Vedic period in India (c. 1700 - 500 BCE) is marked by the composition of the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.
    • The Vedic period (or Vedic age) in India was a period in history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed.
    • The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in from the Vedic period.
    • The Rigvedic text: the oldest of the Vedas, thought to have been composed roughly between 1700 and 1100 BCE .
    • The Rigveda text is the oldest of the Vedas, thought to have been composed roughly between 1700 and 1100 BCE.

  • The Sramana Movement

    • Most history of this period is derived from the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the Hindu religion.
    • Vedas, meaning "knowledge," were composed by the Aryans in Vedic Sanskrit between 1500 and 500 BCE, in the northwestern region the Indian subcontinent.
    • There are four Indo-Aryan Vedas: the Rig Veda contains hymns about their mythology; the Sama Veda consists mainly of hymns about religious rituals; the Yajur Veda contains instructions for religious rituals; and the Atharva Veda consists of spells against enemies, sorcerers, and diseases.
    • (Depending on the source consulted, these are spelled, for example, either Rig Veda or Rigveda.)
    • The Sramanas rejected the authority of the Brahmins, who were considered the protectors of the sacred learning found in the Vedas.

  • The Caste System

    • These roles and their importance, including the levels of power and significance based on patriarchy, were influenced by stories of the gods in the Rig-Veda epic.
    • The Vedas were ancient scriptures, written in the Sanskrit language, which contained hymns, philosophies, and rituals handed down to the priests of the Vedic religion.
    • One of these four sacred canonical texts, the Rig-Veda, described the origins of the world and points to the gods for the origin of the caste system.
    • A page of the Rig-Veda, one of the four sacred Veda texts, which described the origins of the world and the stories of the gods.
    • The Rig-Veda influenced the development of the patriarchal society and the caste systems in Aryan India.

  • Sanskrit

    • Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, the most ancient Hindu scripts, compiled c. 1500-500 BCE.
    • The Vedas contain hymns, incantations called Samhitas, and theological and philosophical guidance for priests of the Vedic religion.
    • Believed to be direct revelations to seers among the early Aryan people of India, the four chief collections are the Rig Veda, Sam Veda, Yajur Vedia, and Atharva Veda.
    • (Depending on the source consulted, these are spelled, for example, either Rig Veda or Rigveda.)
    • Sanskrit evolved from Proto-Indo-European languages and was used to write the Vedas, the Hindu religious texts compiled between 1500-500 BCE.

  • Jainism

    • The ultimate aim of Jainism is to achieve liberation of the soul.
    • Sramana existed in parallel to, but separate from, Vedic Hinduism, which followed the teachings and rituals found in the Vedas, the most ancient texts of the Vedic religion.
    • Sramana, meaning "seeker," was a tradition that began around 800-600 BCE, when new philosophical groups, who believed in a more austere path to spiritual freedom, rejected the authority of the Vedas and the Brahmins (the priests of Vedic Hinduism).
    • The word Jain derives from the Sanskrit word jina, meaning conqueror, and the ultimate aim of Jain life is to achieve liberation of the soul.
    • The predominance of karma is one of the key features of Jainism.

  • The Indo-Aryan Migration and the Vedic Period

    • Most history of this period is derived from the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in Hinduism, which help chart the timeline of an era from 1750-500 BCE, known as the Vedic Period.
    • Most history of this period is derived from the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the Hindu religion, which were composed by the Aryans in Sanskrit.
    • The Rigveda describes the most notable of these conflicts, the Battle of the Ten Kings, between the Bharatas tribe and a confederation of ten competing tribes on the banks of what is now the Ravi River in northwestern India and eastern Pakistan.
    • The Indo-Aryans settled various parts of the plain during their migration and the Vedic Period.
    • Describe the defining characteristics of the Vedic Period and the cultural consequenes of the Indo-Aryan Migration

  • Buddhism

    • Sramana existed in parallel to, but separate from, Vedic Hinduism, which followed the teachings and rituals found in the Vedas, the most ancient texts of the Vedic religion.
    • Sramana, meaning "seeker," was a tradition that began when new philosophical groups who believed in a more austere path to spiritual freedom rejected the authority of the Vedas and the Brahmins, the priests of Vedic Hinduism, around 800-600 BCE.
    • Early texts suggest Siddhartha Gautama was born into the Shakya Clan, a community on the eastern edge of the Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE.
    • He taught what he called the Middle Way or Middle Path, the character of the Noble Eightfold Path.
    • It marks the release from the cycle of rebirths, known in the Sramana tradition as samsara.

  • Ulna and Radius (The Forearm)

    • The forearm contains two bones—the radius and the ulna—that extend in parallel from the elbow, where they articulate with the humerus to the wrist, where they articulate with the carpals.
    • The space between the two bones is spanned by the interosseous membrane.
    • The cornoid process, together with the olecranon, forms the trochlear notch where it articulates with the trochlea of the humerus.
    • Laterally to the trochlear notch lies the radial notch, which articulates with the head of the radius to form the proximal radioulnar joint.
    • Distally the radius expands, medially the ulnar notch articulates with the head of the ulnar.