Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism

199 Veda

married the seven daughters of Ähuka.

Devakï, the youngest, became the moth-

er of Kø•æa. After Kø•æa’s death he also

died and four of his wives became SATÏS

(2) with him.

Väsudeva

The patronymic of Kø•æa.

Vätsyäyaæa (1)

The author of a commentary on the

Nyäyasütra.

Vätsyäyaæa (2)

The author of the Kämasütra.

Väyu, also Pavana (‘air, wind’)

Personified in the Vedas, often associat-

ed with INDRA. In the Puräæas he is the

king of the GANDHARVAS(2), the father

of BHÏMA(2) and HANUMANT.

Väyu Puräæa

A Puräæa in which Väyu announces

dharma in connection with the Ÿveta-

ka¶pa, the age preceding the present

one. It is considered to be the oldest

among the MAHÄPURÄŒASand to con-

form most closely to the definition of a

Puräæa as pañcalak•ana(five topics).

Veda

From the root ‘vid’, to know; ‘knowl-

edge’, with the connotation of revela-

tion. The Vedas are the foundation of

Hinduism and their acceptance as ulti-

mate authority is the criterion of ortho-

doxy. Veda in the narrower sense

comprises the four saƒhitäs, collections

of hymns written in Vedic, an archaic

form of Sanskrit. The date of their com-

position, as well as the place, have been

the object of major scholarly disputes.

Indian tradition dates the Vedas to

about 4000 BCEand assumes a north-

west Indian origin. Western scholars,

since Max MÜLLER, assume a date of

1500–1200 BCEand consider them the

products of nomadic invaders of India

from the area of southern Russia. Veda

in the wider sense includes, besides the

saƒhitäs, the Brähmaæas, voluminous

treatises dealing with the technicalities

of sacrifice, the Äraæyakas, ‘forest

treatises’, and Upani•ads, texts for per-

sons who have renounced and no longer

participate in the routine of ritual.

The saƒhitäs consist of the Øgveda

(Veda of mantras), the Sämaveda (Veda

of melodies), the Yajurveda (Veda of rit-

uals), and the Atharvaveda (Veda of

incantations). The most important is the

Øgveda, a collection of 1,017 hymns

(with an additional 11 VÄLAKHILYAS(1))

divided into ten books or eight

maæõalas. Every hymn is addressed to

one or more Vedic deities, is attributed

to a Vedic ØÆI(some of them women),

and has to be recited at a certain pitch

to accompany a ritual. While much of

Vedic ritualism has become obsolete,

many Vedic hymns are still recited at

occasions such as birth-ceremonies, ini-

tiation, marriage and cremation.

The text of the Øgveda has been

meticulously preserved over thousands

of years through oral transmission.

Various mnemotechnic devices were

employed to ensure faultless memoriza-

tion and recitation. The various texts of

the Veda were transmitted by particular

ÿäkhäs(branches) of brahmin families.

For example, the White Yajurveda was

passed on by the Vajasaneyi ÿäkhä.

Certain Hindu schools of thought, such

as Pürva MÏMÄßSA, consider the Veda

apauru•eya (not the work of a person,

either divine or human) and pre-exis-

tent. Others consider it the utterance of

the Supreme Being revealed to ø•is.

Learning and recitation of the Veda was

the prerogative of brahmins. Persons

not belonging to the twice-born castes

were not allowed to either recite or lis-

ten to it and severe punishment was

meted out for transgressions. (See also

appendix 2, HINDUSCRIPTURES.)

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