
Lord Sri Lakshmi
HayagrIvan
The two kinds
of Knowledge: Para and apara
vidhyAs
The great tradition of
the transmission of knowledge thru AchArya Mukham is recorded in Mundaka
Upanishad as a conversation between BrahmA, the creator and his eldest
son, AtharvA about the knowledge of BRAHMAN, the corner stone of ALL
knowledge. AtharvA taught what he had learned from his father to AngirA,
who in turn taught it to SatyavAhA belonging to the clan of BharadvAjA;
SatyavAhA passed that supreme knowledge in succession to Sage Angiras
.
SaunakA, the
celebrated grahasthA approached Sage Angiras and asked humbly: “O
Illustrious sage! kasminnu BhagavO vig~nyAthE sarvamidham vig~nAtham
bhavathee ? (What is that by the knowing of which all this becomes
known?)
Sage Angiras replied:
"two kinds of knowledge needs to be known according to the knowers of
Brahman. They are the higher knowledge (parA) and the lower knowledge
(aparA)"
Sage Angiras explained
further that the lower knowledge is the Rig Veda, the Yajur VedA, the
Saama VedA and Atharva VedA, SikshA (phonetics), kalpA (rituals),
vyAkarNam (grammer), NirukthA (etymology), chandas (metre) and JyOthisham
(astronomy); and the higher knowledge is that by which the imperishable
Brahman is attained.
Sage Angiras said:"
dhvE vidhyE vEdhithavyE ithi ha sma yadh BrahmavidhO vadanthi ParA
chaivAparA cha "AparA are the four VedAs and their six angAs to understand
the nature of DharmA and the ParA is the knowledge about the imperishable
(akshaya) Brahman, which is the embodiment of DharmA. That omniscient,
Omnipotent, all merciful Brahman has been defined as the source/origin,
sustenance and dissolution of this multifaceted world according to the
second Brahma sUthrA (JanmAdhyasya yatha:). That Brahman is cognized only
through the scriptures, the sources of authoritative knowledge about
Brahman (Saasthra yOnithvAth: Brahma-sUthram 1.3).The next Brahma sUtram
goes on to point out that Brahman is the main purport of all Vedic and
upanishadic texts (tatthu samanvayAth). Thus one can not dismiss the VedAs
quickly as apara vidhyA and jump on to Para vidhyA. Rigorous study of the
VedAs reveal to us the appproach to Brahman, the para VidhyA, the ultimate
goal for us all.
The four
categories of Knowledge in the
VedAs
The four VedAs contain
four important categories of knowledge related to
DharmA:
(1) Injunctions and
Prohibitions (2) Valedictory (praise) and deprecatory passages (3)
MantrAs and (4) Names
All these four are
necessary to understand true DharmA or righteous duty from different
angles. Thus an inquiry in to them through the study of the VedAs becomes
an essential pre-requisite in one's journey towards the comprehension of
Brahman (para VidhyA). The authority of the VedAs for us is supreme and
final and hence a proper understanding of them with the help of a
qualified AchAryA sets us on a safe footing to comprehend Brahman and
achieve the parama purushArtham of Moksham. Our tradition is therefore
called Vaidhikam or the one based on the authoritativeness of the
VedAs.
The four kinds of
Veda SamhithAs:
Atharva
SamhithA
Rig, Yajur, Saama and
Atharva samhithAs constitute the four VedA samhithAs. Each of them have
more than one branch (SaakA). The oldest VedA is recognized as Rig Vedam
and the youngest is the Atharva Vedam. Latter has nine branches or
rescensions (navadhAatharvaNO veda:). These nine branches are: (1)
PaippalAda (2) Tauda (3) MuNda (4) SaunakIya (5) Jaajala (6) Jalada (7)
BrAhmaveda (8) Devadarsa and (9) ChAraNavaidya. Today, only two of the
nine branches of Atharva Vedam (Saunakha and PaippalAda) are available to
us. The Delhi Vedic trust has recorded the Saunakha sAkA
.
The Atharva Veda
samhithA has 5977 verses spread over 20 KhAndams (books/chapters). The
khAndams are further subdivided into hymns and they in turn house a group
of manthrAs. Some prefer to catalogue the Atharva Veda Text (SamhithA)into
prapaathakAs (Lessons or lectures). Under this classification, there are
34 prapAthakAs that house the 5977 verses. Among NammAzhwAr's four Tamil
Prabhandhams, Periya ThiruvanthAdhi is considered as the essence of
Atharva Vedam.
The Delhi Vedic trust
has recorded the 20 KhAndhams of Atharva Vedam in 14 audio tapes and
lately into MP3 type of condensation .
" In the
external plane , Atharva Veda mantrams are known as hymns for solely
performing "Magic" and have incantations as thier goals . Wehn viewed in
the Spiritual plane described below , the Atharva Veda is recognized
as expounding universal truths of the oneness of the Universe , the way to
live in communion with the world of evolved souls , to pray for a healthy
life full of spiritual pursuits and finally reach the Supreme Being
".
Atharva Vedam stays as one of the four Kumbhams in the
PraNavAkAra VimAnam of Sri RanganAtha at Srirangam . The other three
Kumbhams represent the Yajur, Saama and Rig Vedams
.
Inview of the misunderstood purport of Atharva Vedam a
sbeing connected to balck magic and cures , adiyEn will devote some time
to specific sections of Atharva Vedam to highlight their grandeur and
universal vision
.
Rg Veda
SamhithA
This ancient Vedam has
1,028 sUkthams (hymns) and contains in all 10,589 verses. These are
grouped into either 8 KhAndAs or 10 MandalAs with 85 anuvAkAs
(subsections). There used to be 21 sakAs (redactions) of the Rig VedAs.
There is only one available today. That is Saakala SaakA. IythrEya
Upanishad belongs to Rig Veda SamhithA. NammAzhwAr's Thiruviruttham is
consdieres as the Veda SaarArtham of Rig Vedam.
Veda PrasAr Samithi summarizes
this way the purport of the RigVedam : " In the Rig Vedam , the
universal truths propounded explain the universal order of life
in three planes :
(1) Internal ( to
the Soul) , (2) External ( to the body inn terms of dharma or worldly
life), and (3) Spiritual ( interms of the Cosmos).
The universal
order of life in these three planes is then linked to the supreme
encompassing the three planes . Thus all terms /names mentioned such as
Indhra , Agni , Vaayu etc have exoteric and esoteric significance in each
of the three planes as understood by the individual Soul depending on the
spiritual evolution of the Soul .
There are thus multiple
interpretations of the meanings of the Veda Mantrams .
Yajur
Veda SamhithA
This Vedam has 1975
verses grouped under 40 chapters known as adhyAyAs. The longest chapter
has 117 "verses" and the shortest chapter has 13 "verses ". There are two
Yajur samhithAs: Sukla and KrishNa (White and Black) samhithAs. The White
Yajur Veda samhithA is also known as VajasanEyi -MadhyAndina Sukla Yajur
vedam to distinguish it from KrishNa Yajur Veda or Taittiriya SamhithA,
which is generally considered to be more close to a BrahmaNA rather than
to a Sruthi. Most of the people in AndhrA and Tamil Naadu are KrishNa
Yajur Vedins.
The two samhithAs have
number of recensions in view of their wide popularity. These variations
arose from a variety of textual differences and their applications in
Vedic rituals. The two popular recensions of the Sukla Yajur Vedam are:
MaadhyAndhina and KaaNva; the KrishNa Yajur Vedam has three recensions:
kAtaka, Kapishtala-Kata and MaithrAyaNee.
" The Yajur
Veda consists of hymns from the Rig Veda along with other hymns , which
when recited in the performance of a Yaj~naa will enable the soul or the
beneficiaries to understand the universal truths of the Veda in any or all
the three planes of its meanings depending on the individual's stage of
spiritual evolution .Though the Yajur Veda is associated with performance
of Yaj~naa for worldly gains , it is understood that the individual
beneficiaries will ultimately evolve spiritually and subsequently
undertake these Yaj~naas for the spiritual and material benefits of
Mankind as a whole".
Sukla
& KrishNa Yajur VedAs : Sukla Yajur Veda is
popular in the Northern parts of India , whereas the KrishNa Yajur
Veda prevails in the South (DakshiNa dEsams). Sukla (White) Yajur
Vedam is said to have been taught by Surya NaarAyaNan to Sage
Yaj~nyavalkya . It consists of Veda Mantrams and BrahmaNams (
explanatory notes to those mantrams) as seen in Sathapatha BrAhmaNa
.
KrishNa Yajur Vedam is
known as the "Black " or "dark " Yajur Vedam and has alsothe Veda Mantrams
and BrahmanaNAs mixed together.
Saama
samhithA
In its importance in
YaagAs and sacredness, Saama Veda SamhithAs rank next to Rig VedA. The
Lord of GeethA however has put this Saama samhithA on the top of all four
SamhithAs with His declaration that He is Saama VedA among the VedAs. This
samhithA consists of hyms chanted by udhgAtri priests at the Soma YaagAs.
Many of the hymns originate from Rig Vedam and have been rearranged
without reference to the original order in the Rig Vedam and set to music.
Only 75 verses of the total of 1,875 verses of Saama Vedam are not to be
found in Rig Vedam. The remaining 1,800 verses are essentially the
repetitions of Rig Vedic verses. The important distinction however is that
they are sung instead of being recited. The Rig Vedam deals with knowledge
and Saama Vedam deals with UpAsanA, Worship and
DhyAnam.
According to one
classification, the Saama samhithA is catalogued under two sections:
PurvArchikA and UttarArchikA. Each archikA is subdivided into prapaathakAs
and adhyAyAs. In another classification, the 1875 verses are grouped under
FOUR categories:
1. PurvArchikA: 585
verses ( 1-585 ) 2. AraNya KhAndam : 55 verses ( 586-640 ) 3.
MahAnAmnyArchikA : 10 verses( 641-650 ) 4. UttarArchikA: 1225 verses (
651-1875)
In singing, the
priests of the Yaj~nams follow specific styles through alteration of
prolongation, repetition, modulation, rests et al. These become the
various styles of Saama GhAnams: congregational (GrAma gEya GhAnam),
AraNya ghAnam (Forest song style), Uha ghAnam and Uhya
GhAnam.
Saama Vedam had
originally 1001 branches. We have very few left now. NammAzhwAr's
celebrated Thiruvaimozhi is recognized as the Saama Veda
SaarArtham.
" The Saama
Veda consists of hymns ( many of them common with the Rig Veda ) , which
when combined in the appropriate mannenr will strike a chord in
enabling one to understand the universal truths and order of life
depending on their stage of spiritual evolution . The source of the
musical patterns of the Saama Veda hymns is derived from the
vibratioons/sounds of the cosmos . This reveals that the spiritual
evolution can be achieved thru Music ( by hearing as well as singing
)."
Upanishads
and Veda Saakaas
Upanishads are found
in the concluding sections of the Veda Saakaas and hence are known as
Vedanta or the end of the Vedas. There are four Veda Samhitas (Rg, Yajur,
Sama and Atharva). The Yajur Vedam has two Samhitas known as the Krishna
and Sukla Yajur Vedas. Hence, One can say that there are 5 Veda Samhitas,
if we take into account the 2 Samhitas of Yajur Veda. Each of the 4
Samhitas referred to above has several branches or Saakaas. Each Saaka has
a Karma Khanda dealing with the actions to beperformed and is made up of
Mantras and Btrahmanaas. Latter deals with Upasana or meditation and has
Aranyakas inside them for the benefit of those who have resorted to the
quiet habitat of the forest to pursue their spiritual Quest. The
Upanishads are found mostly in the Aranyaka section of the
Vedas.
The traditional view
is that Vysa Bhagavan has classified the four Vedas into 1180 Saakaas and
each of these Saakaa is associated with an Upanishad. Hence, One
anticipates 1180 Upanishads. According to this view, there must have been
21 Upanishads for the 21 Rg Saakaas, 109 for Yajurveda, 1000 for Sama Veda
and 50 for the Atharva Veda. Most of these Saakaas have been lost with the
passage of time and we are left with 108 Upanishads today. The breakdown
among the 108 Upanishads according to the 5 Veda Samhitas are as
follows:
1. Rg Veda :
10 2. Sama Veda :16 3. Atharva Veda: 31 4. Krishna Yajur Veda:
32 5. Sukla Yajur Veda: 19
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