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62-758: In the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, the Pandavas chose the Kamyakavana as their residence during their period of exile. The forest is described to be situated upon a plain, and replete with game and birds. A number of sages are described to have been performing a penance within this forest during this same period. Vidura and Sanjaya met the Pandavas within the Kamyakavana during their exile. The princes are also stated to have met personages such as Narada and Markandeya within this forest in this book of

124-538: A Mimamsa scholar, "thinks of the Veda as something to be trained and mastered to be put into practical ritual use", noticing that "it is not the meaning of the mantras that is most essential [...] but rather the perfect mastering of their sound form." According to Galewicz, Sayana saw the purpose ( artha ) of the Veda as the " artha of carrying out sacrifice", giving precedence to the Yajurveda . For Sayana, whether

186-488: A 15 volume set of the Mahabharata which includes a translation of Vana Parva by William Johnson. This translation is modern and uses an old manuscript of the epic. The translation does not remove verses and chapters now widely believed to be spurious. The entire parva has been "transcreated" and translated in verse by the poet Dr. Purushottama Lal published by Writers Workshop . The Kirata sub-parva of Aranya Parva has inspired several major poems and expanded works, such as

248-464: A common noun means "knowledge". The term in some contexts, such as hymn 10.93.11 of the Rigveda , means "obtaining or finding wealth, property", while in some others it means "a bunch of grass together" as in a broom or for ritual fire . The term "Vedic texts" is used in two distinct meanings: The corpus of Vedic Sanskrit texts includes: While production of Brahmanas and Aranyakas ceased with

310-823: A large body of religious texts originating in ancient India . Composed in Vedic Sanskrit , the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism . There are four Vedas: the Rigveda , the Yajurveda , the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda . Each Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas ( mantras and benedictions ), the Brahmanas (commentaries on and explanation of rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices – Yajñas ),

372-622: A number of older Veda manuscripts in Nepal that are dated from the 11th century onwards. The Vedas, Vedic rituals and its ancillary sciences called the Vedangas , were part of the curriculum at ancient universities such as at Taxila , Nalanda and Vikramashila . According to Deshpande, "the tradition of the Sanskrit grammarians also contributed significantly to the preservation and interpretation of Vedic texts." Yāska (4th c. BCE ) wrote

434-511: A particular area, or kingdom. Each school followed its own canon. Multiple recensions (revisions) are known for each of the Vedas. Thus, states Witzel as well as Renou, in the 2nd millennium BCE, there was likely no canon of one broadly accepted Vedic texts, no Vedic “Scripture”, but only a canon of various texts accepted by each school. Some of these texts have survived, most lost or yet to be found. Rigveda that survives in modern times, for example,

496-875: A region spanning the Indian subcontinent, Persia and the European area, and some greater details are found in the Vedic era texts such as the Grhya Sūtras. Only one version of the Rigveda is known to have survived into the modern era. Several different versions of the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda are known, and many different versions of the Yajur Veda have been found in different parts of South Asia. The texts of

558-441: A single god , agnosticism , and monistic beliefs where "there is an absolute reality that goes beyond the gods and that includes or transcends everything that exists." Indra , Agni , and Yama were popular subjects of worship by polytheist organizations. Each of the four Vedas were shared by the numerous schools, but revised, interpolated and adapted locally, in and after the Vedic period, giving rise to various recensions of

620-468: Is attested to by the preservation of the most ancient Indian religious text, the Rigveda , as redacted into a single text during the Brahmana period, without any variant readings within that school. The Vedas were orally transmitted by memorization, and were written down only after 500 BCE, All printed editions of the Vedas that survive in the modern times are likely the version existing in about

682-637: Is derived from the root vid- "to know". This is reconstructed as being derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *weyd- , meaning "see" or "know". The noun is from Proto-Indo-European *weydos , cognate to Greek (ϝ)εἶδος "aspect", "form" . This is not to be confused with the homonymous 1st and 3rd person singular perfect tense véda , cognate to Greek (ϝ)οἶδα ( (w)oida ) "I know". Root cognates are Greek ἰδέα , English wit , Latin videō "I see", Russian ве́дать ( védat' ) "to know", etc. The Sanskrit term veda as

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744-439: Is followed by artha - bodha , perception of their meaning." Mukherjee explains that the Vedic knowledge was first perceived by the rishis and munis . Only the perfect language of the Vedas, as in contrast to ordinary speech, can reveal these truths, which were preserved by committing them to memory. According to Mukherjee, while these truths are imparted to the student by the memorized texts, "the realization of Truth " and

806-465: Is in only one extremely well preserved school of Śåkalya, from a region called Videha , in modern north Bihar , south of Nepal . The Vedic canon in its entirety consists of texts from all the various Vedic schools taken together. There were Vedic schools that believed in polytheism in which numerous gods had different natural functions, henotheistic beliefs where only one god was worshipped but others were thought to exist, monotheistic beliefs in

868-514: Is remembered"). This indigenous system of categorization was adopted by Max Müller and, while it is subject to some debate, it is still widely used. As Axel Michaels explains: These classifications are often not tenable for linguistic and formal reasons: There is not only one collection at any one time, but rather several handed down in separate Vedic schools; Upanişads [...] are sometimes not to be distinguished from Āraṇyakas [...]; Brāhmaṇas contain older strata of language attributed to

930-478: Is the Vedic period itself, where incipient lists divide the Vedic texts into three (trayī) or four branches: Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. Each Veda has been subclassified into four major text types – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies such as newborn baby's rites of passage, coming of age, marriages, retirement and cremation, sacrifices and symbolic sacrifices),

992-487: Is virtue, forgiveness is sacrifice, forgiveness is the Vedas , forgiveness is Sruti , he who knows all this is capable of forgiving all. Forgiveness is Brahma , forgiveness is truth, forgiveness is accumulated and future (ascetic) merit, forgiveness is the devout penance, forgiveness is purity, and by forgiveness is the universe sustained. J. A. B. van Buitenen completed an annotated edition of Vana Parva, based on

1054-506: Is virtue; forgiveness is sacrifice, forgiveness is the Vedas, forgiveness is the Shruti. He that knoweth this is capable of forgiving everything. Forgiveness is Brahma; forgiveness is truth; forgiveness is stored ascetic merit; forgiveness protecteth the ascetic merit of the future; forgiveness is asceticism; forgiveness is holiness ; and by forgiveness is it that the universe is held together. and Manmatha Nath Dutt's translation: Forgiveness

1116-481: The Saṃhitās ; there are various dialects and locally prominent traditions of the Vedic schools. Nevertheless, it is advisable to stick to the division adopted by Max Müller because it follows the Indian tradition, conveys the historical sequence fairly accurately, and underlies the current editions, translations, and monographs on Vedic literature." Among the widely known śrutis include the Vedas and their embedded texts –

1178-527: The Nirukta , which reflects the concerns about the loss of meaning of the mantras, while Pāṇinis (4th c. BCE) Aṣṭādhyāyī is the most important surviving text of the Vyākaraṇa traditions. Mimamsa scholar Sayanas (14th c. CE) major Vedartha Prakasha is a rare commentary on the Vedas, which is also referred to by contemporary scholars. Yaska and Sayana, reflecting an ancient understanding, state that

1240-572: The Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), and the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation , philosophy and spiritual knowledge). Some scholars add a fifth category – the Upāsanās (worship). The texts of the Upanishads discuss ideas akin to the heterodox sramana traditions. The Samhitas and Brahmanas describe daily rituals and are generally meant for

1302-822: The Brahmacharya and Gr̥hastha stages of the Chaturashrama system, while the Aranyakas and Upanishads are meant for the Vānaprastha and Sannyasa stages, respectively. Vedas are śruti ("what is heard"), distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called smr̥ti ("what is remembered"). Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya , which means "not of a man, superhuman" and "impersonal, authorless", revelations of sacred sounds and texts heard by ancient sages after intense meditation. The Vedas have been orally transmitted since

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1364-494: The Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (text discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge). The Upasanas (short ritual worship-related sections) are considered by some scholars as the fifth part. Witzel notes that the rituals, rites and ceremonies described in these ancient texts reconstruct to a large degree the Indo-European marriage rituals observed in

1426-457: The Kirātārjunīya by Bhāravi. Veda Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Vedas ( / ˈ v eɪ d ə z / or / ˈ v iː d ə z / ; Sanskrit : वेदः , romanized :  Vēdaḥ , lit.   'knowledge'), sometimes collectively called the Veda , are

1488-516: The Samhitas , the Upanishads , the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas . The well-known smṛtis include Bhagavad Gita , Bhagavata Purana and the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata , amongst others. Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeyā , which means "not of a man, superhuman" and "impersonal, authorless". The Vedas, for orthodox Indian theologians, are considered revelations seen by ancient sages after intense meditation, and texts that have been more carefully preserved since ancient times. In

1550-490: The Vedas , and venerated the Brahmins and the pitrs . Ghatotkacha lived with them during this period. Sage Lomasha was dispatched by Indra to reassure Yudhishthira of the well-being of Arjuna , and the prince was encouraged by the deity to undertake a pilgrimage to visit a number of sacred sites . The Pandavas returned to the Kamyakavana after the return of Arjuna, during which period they lived with Krishna and

1612-499: The Ŗik (words) without understanding their inner meaning or essence, the knowledge of dharma and Parabrahman . Mukherjee concludes that in the Rigvedic education of the mantras "the contemplation and comprehension of their meaning was considered as more important and vital to education than their mere mechanical repetition and correct pronunciation." Mookei refers to Sayana as stating that "the mastery of texts, akshara-praptī ,

1674-632: The "Book of the Forest", is the third of eighteen parvas in the Indian epic Mahabharata . Vana Parva traditionally has 21 parts and 324 chapters. The critical edition of Vana Parva is the longest of the 18 books in the epic, containing 16 parts and 299 chapters. The parva is a chronicle of the twelve-year journey of the Pandavas in a forest, where they learn life lessons and build character. Vana Parva contains discourses on virtues and ethics ; myths of Arjuna , Yudhishthara , and Bhima ; and

1736-536: The "correct tradition" ( sampradaya ) has as much authority as the written Shastra", explaining that the tradition "bears the authority to clarify and provide direction in the application of knowledge". The emphasis in this transmission is on the "proper articulation and pronunciation of the Vedic sounds", as prescribed in the Shiksha , the Vedanga (Vedic study) of sound as uttered in a Vedic recitation, mastering

1798-527: The 14th century BCE, the only epigraphic record of Indo-Aryan contemporary to the Rigvedic period. He gives 150 BCE ( Patañjali ) as a terminus ante quem for all Vedic Sanskrit literature, and 1200 BCE (the early Iron Age ) as terminus post quem for the Atharvaveda. The Vedas were orally transmitted since their composition in the Vedic period for several millennia. The authoritative transmission of

1860-419: The 16th century CE. The canonical division of the Vedas is fourfold ( turīya ) viz., Of these, the first three were the principal original division, also called " trayī vidyā "; that is, "the triple science" of reciting hymns (Rigveda), performing sacrifices (Yajurveda), and chanting songs (Samaveda). The Rig Veda most likely was composed between c. 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE. Witzel notes that it

1922-503: The 2nd millennium BCE with the help of elaborate mnemonic techniques . The mantras, the oldest part of the Vedas, are recited in the modern age for their phonology rather than the semantics , and are considered to be "primordial rhythms of creation", preceding the forms to which they refer. By reciting them the cosmos is regenerated, "by enlivening and nourishing the forms of creation at their base." The various Indian philosophies and Hindu sects have taken differing positions on

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1984-621: The Brahmin communities considered study to be a "process of understanding". A literary tradition is traceable in post-Vedic times, after the rise of Buddhism in the Maurya period , perhaps earliest in the Kanva recension of the Yajurveda about the 1st century BCE; however oral tradition of transmission remained active. Jack Goody has argued for an earlier literary tradition, concluding that

2046-640: The Brahmins. During this time, Jayadratha , the king of the Sindhu Kingdom , on his way to the Salva Kingdom , passed through the Kamyakavana. He tried to abduct Draupadi , but the Pandavas were able to rescue her. During the twelfth year of their exile, the Pandavas left Kamyaka forest for the final time and returned to the Dvaitavana. Vana Parva The Vana Parva , also known as

2108-608: The Hindu Epic Mahabharata , the creation of Vedas is credited to Brahma . The Vedic hymns themselves assert that they were skillfully created by Rishis (sages), after inspired creativity, just as a carpenter builds a chariot. The oldest part of the Rig Veda Samhita was orally composed in north-western India ( Punjab ) between c. 1500 and 1200 BCE, while book 10 of the Rig Veda, and

2170-509: The Upanishads discuss ideas akin to the heterodox sramana -traditions. Nasadiya Sukta (Hymn of non-Eternity): Who really knows? Who can here proclaim it? Whence, whence this creation sprang? Gods came later, after the creation of this universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen? Whether God's will created it, or whether He was mute; Only He who is its overseer in highest heaven knows, He only knows, or perhaps He does not know. — Rig Veda 10.129.6–7 The Rigveda Samhita

2232-444: The Upanishads. This has inspired later Hindu scholars such as Adi Shankara to classify each Veda into karma-kanda (कर्म खण्ड, action/sacrificial ritual-related sections, the Samhitas and Brahmanas ); and jnana-kanda (ज्ञान खण्ड, knowledge/spirituality-related sections, mainly the Upanishads'). Vedas are śruti ("what is heard"), distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called smṛti ("what

2294-454: The Veda can be interpreted in three ways, giving "the truth about gods , dharma and parabrahman ." The pūrva-kāņda (or karma-kanda ), the part of the Veda dealing with ritual, gives knowledge of dharma , "which brings us satisfaction." The uttara-kanda (or jnana-kanda ), the part of the Veda dealing with the knowledge of the absolute, gives knowledge of Parabrahma , "which fulfills all of our desires." According to Holdrege, for

2356-429: The Vedas bear hallmarks of a literate culture along with oral transmission, but Goody's views have been strongly criticised by Falk, Lopez Jr,. and Staal, though they have also found some support. The Vedas were written down only after 500 BCE, but only the orally transmitted texts are regarded as authoritative, given the emphasis on the exact pronunciation of the sounds. Witzel suggests that attempts to write down

2418-450: The Vedas is by an oral tradition in a sampradaya from father to son or from teacher ( guru ) to student ( shishya ), believed to be initiated by the Vedic rishis who heard the primordial sounds . Only this tradition, embodied by a living teacher, can teach the correct pronunciation of the sounds and explain hidden meanings, in a way the "dead and entombed manuscript" cannot do. As Leela Prasad states, "According to Shankara ,

2480-480: The Vedas. Schools of Indian philosophy that acknowledge the importance or primal authority of the Vedas comprise Hindu philosophy specifically and are together classified as the six "orthodox" ( āstika ) schools. However, śramaṇa traditions, such as Charvaka , Ajivika , Buddhism , and Jainism , which did not regard the Vedas as authoritative, are referred to as "heterodox" or "non-orthodox" ( nāstika ) schools. The Sanskrit word véda "knowledge, wisdom"

2542-414: The Vedic texts towards the end of 1st millennium BCE were unsuccessful, resulting in smriti rules explicitly forbidding the writing down of the Vedas. Due to the ephemeral nature of the manuscript material (birch bark or palm leaves), surviving manuscripts rarely surpass an age of a few hundred years. The Sampurnanand Sanskrit University has a Rigveda manuscript from the 14th century; however, there are

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2604-457: The advent of writing in the early first millennium CE. According to Staal , criticising the Goody -Watt hypothesis "according to which literacy is more reliable than orality", this tradition of oral transmission "is closely related to Indian forms of science" and "by far the more remarkable" than the relatively recent tradition of written transmission. While according to Mookerji, understanding

2666-488: The alphabet as a mnemotechnical device , "matching physical movements (such as nodding the head) with particular sounds and chanting in a group" and visualizing sounds by using mudras (hand signs). This provided an additional visual confirmation, and also an alternate means to check the reading integrity by the audience, in addition to the audible means. Houben and Rath note that a strong "memory culture" existed in ancient India when texts were transmitted orally, before

2728-410: The cosmos is regenerated, "by enlivening and nourishing the forms of creation at their base. As long as the purity of the sounds is preserved, the recitation of the mantras will be efficacious, irrespective of whether their discursive meaning is understood by human beings." Frazier further notes that "later Vedic texts sought deeper understanding of the reasons the rituals worked", which indicates that

2790-460: The critically edited and least corrupted version of Mahabharata known in 1975. In 2011, Debroy notes that the updated critical edition of Vana Parva, with spurious and corrupted text removed, has 16 parts, 299 adhyayas (chapters) and 10,239 shlokas (verses). Debroy published a translated version of a critical edition of Vana Parva in Volume 2 and 3 of his series. Clay Sanskrit Library has published

2852-600: The end of the Vedic period, additional Upanishads were composed after the end of the Vedic period. The Brahmanas , Aranyakas , and Upanishads , among other things, interpret and discuss the Samhitas in philosophical and metaphorical ways to explore abstract concepts such as the Absolute ( Brahman ), and the soul or the self ( Atman ), introducing Vedanta philosophy, one of the major trends of later Hinduism . In other parts, they show evolution of ideas, such as from actual sacrifice to symbolic sacrifice, and of spirituality in

2914-486: The epic. In the Mahabharata , the Pandavas are described to have journeyed three days and three nights to reach the Kamyakavana. Upon their arrival, Bhima slew Krimira , a rakshasa who barred their passage. Duryodhana dispatched a number of assassins to kill Bhima , but to no avail. A rakshasi named Hidimbi fell in love with Bhima and urged him to flee, fearing that her brother, Hidimba , would devour him. In

2976-476: The exponents of karma-kandha the Veda is to be "inscribed in the minds and hearts of men" by memorization and recitation, while for the exponents of the jnana-kanda and meditation the Vedas express a transcendental reality which can be approached with mystical means. Holdrege notes that in Vedic learning "priority has been given to recitation over interpretation" of the Samhitas. Galewicz states that Sayana,

3038-534: The four kinds of mantras into four Samhitas (Collections). The Vedas are among the oldest sacred texts . The bulk of the Rigveda Samhita was composed in the northwestern region (Punjab) of the Indian subcontinent , most likely between c. 1500 and 1200 BCE, although a wider approximation of c. 1700–1100 BCE has also been given. The other three Samhitas are considered to date from

3100-589: The knowledge of paramatman as revealed to the rishis is the real aim of Vedic learning, and not the mere recitation of texts. The supreme knowledge of the Absolute, para Brahman - jnana , the knowledge of rta and satya , can be obtained by taking vows of silence and obedience sense-restraint, dhyana , the practice of tapas (austerities), and discussing the Vedanta . The four Vedas were transmitted in various śākhā s (branches, schools). Each school likely represented an ancient community of

3162-445: The mantras had meaning depended on the context of their practical usage. This conception of the Veda, as a repertoire to be mastered and performed, takes precedence over the internal meaning or "autonomous message of the hymns." Most Śrauta rituals are not performed in the modern era, and those that are, are rare. Mukherjee notes that the Rigveda, and Sayana's commentary, contain passages criticizing as fruitless mere recitation of

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3224-502: The meaning ( vedarthajnana or artha - bodha ) of the words of the Vedas was part of the Vedic learning , Holdrege and other Indologists have noted that in the transmission of the Samhitas , the emphasis is on the phonology of the sounds ( śabda ) and not on the meaning ( artha ) of the mantras. Already at the end of the Vedic period their original meaning had become obscure for "ordinary people", and niruktas , etymological compendia, were developed to preserve and clarify

3286-525: The meaning of the mantras, in contrast to the number of commentaries on the Brahmanas and Upanishads, but states that the lack of emphasis on the "discursive meaning does not necessarily imply that they are meaningless". In the Brahmanical perspective, the sounds have their own meaning, mantras are considered as "primordial rhythms of creation", preceding the forms to which they refer. By reciting them

3348-598: The original meaning of many Sanskrit words. According to Staal, as referenced by Holdrege, though the mantras may have a discursive meaning, when the mantras are recited in the Vedic rituals "they are disengaged from their original context and are employed in ways that have little or nothing to do with their meaning". The words of the mantras are "themselves sacred", and "do not constitute linguistic utterances ". Instead, as Klostermaier notes, in their application in Vedic rituals they become magical sounds, "means to an end". Holdrege notes that there are scarce commentaries on

3410-574: The other Samhitas were composed between 1200 and 900 BCE more eastward, between the Yamuna and the Ganges rivers, the heartland of Aryavarta and the Kuru Kingdom ( c.  1200  – c.  900 BCE ). The "circum-Vedic" texts, as well as the redaction of the Samhitas, date to c.  1000 –500 BCE. According to tradition, Vyasa is the compiler of the Vedas, who arranged

3472-458: The sacred Vedas included up to eleven forms of recitation of the same text. The texts were subsequently "proof-read" by comparing the different recited versions. Forms of recitation included the jaṭā-pāṭha (literally "mesh recitation") in which every two adjacent words in the text were first recited in their original order, then repeated in the reverse order, and finally repeated in the original order. That these methods have been effective,

3534-475: The subsequent conflict between Hidimba and Bhima, the Pandava emerged victorious. He took Hidimbi as his wife, and sired Ghatotkacha from her. Following the birth of his son, Bhima and his brothers travelled to the region of Ekachakra. Following a conversation with the sage Vyasa , Yudhishthira and his brothers returned to the Kamyakavana from Dvaitavana , and are described to have practised archery, recited

3596-1034: The tales of " Nahusha the Snake and Yudhishthira" and "Ushinara and the Hawk". It also includes the love stories of " Nala and Damayanti " and " Savitri and Satyavan ". This book traditionally has 21 sub-parvas (parts) and 324 chapters. The following are the sub-parvas: Several translations of the Sanskrit book Vana Parva in English are available. Two translations from 19th century, now in public domain, are by Kisari Mohan Ganguli and Manmatha Nath Dutt. The translations vary with each translator's interpretations. Compare: The original Sanskrit: क्षमा धर्मः क्षमा यज्ञः क्षमा वेदाः क्षमा श्रुतम | यस ताम एवं विजानाति स सर्वं क्षन्तुम अर्हति || क्षमा ब्रह्म क्षमा सत्यं क्षमा भूतं च भावि च | क्षमा तपः क्षमा शौचं क्षमया चॊद्धृतं जगत || Kisari Mohan Ganguli's translation: Forgiveness

3658-484: The text. Some texts were revised into the modern era, raising significant debate on parts of the text which are believed to have been corrupted at a later date. The Vedas each have an Index or Anukramani , the principal work of this kind being the general Index or Sarvānukramaṇī . Prodigious energy was expended by ancient Indian culture in ensuring that these texts were transmitted from generation to generation with inordinate fidelity. For example, memorization of

3720-407: The texts "literally forward and backward in fully acoustic fashion". Houben and Rath note that the Vedic textual tradition cannot simply be characterized as oral, "since it also depends significantly on a memory culture". The Vedas were preserved with precision with the help of elaborate mnemonic techniques , such as memorizing the texts in eleven different modes of recitation ( pathas ), using

3782-526: The time of the Kuru Kingdom , approximately c. 1200–900 BCE. The "circum-Vedic" texts, as well as the redaction of the Samhitas, date to c.  1000 –500 BCE, resulting in a Vedic period , spanning the mid 2nd to mid 1st millennium BCE, or the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age . The Vedic period reaches its peak only after the composition of the mantra texts, with the establishment of

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3844-569: The various shakhas all over Northern India which annotated the mantra samhitas with Brahmana discussions of their meaning, and reaches its end in the age of Buddha and Panini and the rise of the Mahajanapadas (archaeologically, Northern Black Polished Ware ). Michael Witzel gives a time span of c.  1500 to c.  500 –400 BCE. Witzel makes special reference to the Near Eastern Mitanni material of

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