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| | Principles
and Practice of Hindu Religion | |
Chapter
- IV : The
Scriptures and The Sacred Works | An
Analysis of the Texts Available that gives the Divine Message
for
Every One to Study, Understand and Follow as a Way of Life |
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| | Lesson
- 55 : | Selections
and Collections of Rig and Yajur Vedas
What
are the divisions and how much of it we have got | |
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| | Rig
Veda Samhita consists of 10,170 Riks, or hymns, collected as 1028 Sookthas,
divided into 21 Sakhas [Sections]. Rig Veda is written wholly in the form of hymns
in praise of various devathas like Agni or fire. It is taken to elevate the Soul's
Consciousness or the glow of the soul's awakening. They are mostly prayers to
Vedic Deities and rituals of sacrifice for fire. In Rig Veda, one can see the
earliest human thoughts, prayers to natural elements and early versions of poetry
and drama with artistic dialogues in Hindu literature. There should have been
five Samhiathas for this: 1. Sakala, 2. Bashkala, 3. Asvalayana, 4. Sankhayana
and 5. Mandukayana. Of these we have Sakala and small fragments of Bashkala
that are scattered. We have Two Brahmanas, Two Aranyakas and Three Upanishads
in this Veda. We see the earliest ideas that Atman produces everything and we
see the thoughts of Evolution and Creation of the Universe in this Veda. Yajur
Veda contains 109 Sakhas.
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In
Yajur Veda, the term Yajus refers to worship, "Yajna" or sacrificial rites.
It gives the mantras of Rig Veda in the form of a Yajna or worship. It describes
in prose the procedural details of performing different rituals and Yajnas using
the hymns of Rig Veda. There are two branches of Yajur Veda. The earlier Krishna
Yajur Veda was taught by Sage Vaisampaayana. Later, Rishi Yaajnavalkya is
believed to have brought the Sukla Yajur Veda or Vaajsaneyi Samhitha from Sun-God
as a different version. Here "Krishna" means dark or impure, and this form of
Yajur Veda was said to be arranged in a wrong order. It is said that when Sage
Vaisampayana refused to teach his version Yajur to Yaagnavalkya, the latter is
said to have got his divine teachings directly from Sun-God himself in the correct
order and called it Sukla or Pure. Today we have two samhithas in Sukla Yajur
Veda, Madhyadhina and Kanva Samhitha. Krishna Yajur Veda has four,
Thaitthiriya, Maithrayani, Katha and Kapishthala Katha Samhithas.
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| | | Rig
Veda - First three verses | | Agnimeele'Purohitham
Yagyasya De'vam Rithvijam Hothaaram
Rathna Dhaathamam - [ Rik - 1 ] 1.
I pray to Agni, the household priest who is the god of the sacrifice, the
one who chants and invokes and brings most treasure. | Agnih'
Poorve'bhirrishibhi Ridhyo' Noothanairutha Sa
De'vaan E'ha Vakshathi - [ Rik - 2 ] 2.
Agni earned the prayers of the ancient sages, and of those of the present too;
he
will bring the gods here. | Agninaa
Rayimashshnavath Poshameva Dhive'dive' Yashasam
Veervaththamam - [ Rik - 3 ] 3.
Through Agni one may win wealth, and growth from day to day, glorious
and most abounding in heroic sons. |
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| Lessons:
-
49 , 50
, 51 , 52 , 53
, 54 , 55 , 56
, 57 , 58 , 59
, 60 , 61 , 62
, 63 , 64 . |
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