(tonal) accent (as in old Greek or in Japanese) has been preserved up to the
present.
On the other hand, the Vedas have been written down only during the early
second millennium ce, while some sections such as a collection of the Upanis.ads
were perhaps written down at the middle of the first millennium, while some
early, unsuccessful attempts (indicated by certain Smr.ti rules forbiddingto write
down the Vedas) may have been made around the end of the first millennium
bce. However, almost all printed editions depend on the late manuscripts that are
hardly older than 500 years, not on the still extant and superior oral tradition.
Correct recitation of many texts indeed continues in certain traditional areas,
such as Kerala, southern Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra, Orissa, Kathiawar, at
Poona or Benares. In the past few decades there have been attempts by local and
foreign scholars to preserve, or at least to record, the oral tradition. However, no
complete recording on tape or video of all Vedic recensions (s ́a ̄kha ̄) exists so far,
and some texts have been lost even during the past few decades.
According to Indian tradition, the Vedas are divided into four parts (R.g-,
Sa ̄ma-, Yajur-, and Atharva-Veda). This division corresponds to that of the mate-
rial as used in the post-R.gvedic ritual (see below); each Veda again is subdivided
into four levels: the Sam.hita ̄ “(Mantra) collections,” Bra ̄hman.a “(theological/
ritual) commentary,” A ̄ran.yaka “wilderness texts,” and Upanis.ad “(secret philo-
sophical) texts (of correlations and equivalences learned) sitting at the feet (of
the teacher).” One has to add the ritual Su ̄tra, which are regarded as belonging
to the Smr.tibut are late Vedic in content and language.
These traditional divisions into four kinds of texts, however, actually repre-
sent five historical layers (see the Appendix at the end of this chapter, also for
abbreviations of texts), as indicated by the development of the Vedic language
used: that of R.gvedic, of the Mantras, of Yajurveda expository prose, of the
Bra ̄hman.as (incl. A ̄ran.yakas, Upanis.ads) and of the Su ̄tras. These five layers only
partially overlap with the traditional divisions.
The R.gveda
The oldest Vedic text, the R.gveda (RV), is composed in archaic, highly stylized
poetical Sanskrit. It contains verses of praise addressed to the Vedic gods and to
some early contemporary chieftains; it also includes some speculative hymns and
some (probably) nonritual poetry. Most of the hymns, however, were intended to
be recited at the yearly Soma ritual, celebrated at the time of New Year.
The RV contains 1,028 hymns arranged in ten books, actually ten “circles”
(man.d.ala). Book 9 is a separate, fairly late collection containing the texts of
Sa ̄man hymns to be sung during the Soma ritual. Book 10 and part of book 1
are even later additions. The RV has been transmitted in one recension (the s ́a ̄kha ̄
of S ́a ̄kalya) while others (such as the Ba ̄s.kala text) have been lost or are only
rumored about so far.
vedas and upanis.ads 69