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The Hindu texts were memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to next, for more than a millennia before they were written down into manuscripts.<ref name="michaelwitzel68">[[Michael Witzel]], "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood, Gavin, ed. (2003), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., ISBN 1-4051-3251-5, pages 68-71</ref><ref name="graham67">William Graham (1993), Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521448208, pages 67-77</ref>  

The Hindu texts were memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to next, for more than a millennia before they were written down into manuscripts.<ref name="michaelwitzel68">[[Michael Witzel]], "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood, Gavin, ed. (2003), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., ISBN 1-4051-3251-5, pages 68-71</ref><ref name="graham67">William Graham (1993), Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521448208, pages 67-77</ref>  

There are four Vedas: the [[Rigveda]], the [[Yajurveda]], the [[Samaveda]] and the [[Atharvaveda]]. The Yajur Veda is again divided into two parts- The Sukla and the Krishna. The Krishna or the Taittirya is the older book and the Sukla or the Vajasaneya is a later revelation to sage [[Yagnyavalkya|Yajnavalkya]] from Sun-God.<ref name=":0" />

There are four Vedas: the [[Rigveda]], the [[Yajurveda]], the [[Samaveda]] and the [[Atharvaveda]]. The Yajur Veda is again divided into two parts- The Sukla and the Krishna. The Krishna or the Taittirya is the older book and the Sukla or the Vajasaneya is a later revelation to sage [[Yagnyavalkya|Yajnavalkya]] from Sun-God.<ref name=":0" /> The Rig-Veda is divided into twenty one sections, the Yajur Veda into one hundred and nine sections, the Sama Veda into one thousand sections and the Atharva Veda into fifty sections. In all, the Veda is thus divided into one thousand one hundred and eighty recensions.<ref name=":0" />   

Each Veda has been subclassified into four major text types – the [[Samhita]]s (mantras and benedictions), the [[Aranyakas]] (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the [[Brahmanas]] (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the [[Upanishads]] (text discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).<ref name="gflood">Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521438780, pages 35-39</ref><ref name="A Bhattacharya 2006 pages 8-14">A Bhattacharya (2006), Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology, ISBN 978-0595384556, pages 8-14; George M. Williams (2003), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195332612, page 285</ref><ref name="Jan Gonda 1975">Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature: (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas), Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447016032</ref>

Each Veda has been subclassified into four major text types – the [[Samhita]]s (mantras and benedictions), the [[Aranyakas]] (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the [[Brahmanas]] (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the [[Upanishads]] (text discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).<ref name="gflood">Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521438780, pages 35-39</ref><ref name="A Bhattacharya 2006 pages 8-14">A Bhattacharya (2006), Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology, ISBN 978-0595384556, pages 8-14; George M. Williams (2003), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195332612, page 285</ref><ref name="Jan Gonda 1975">Jan Gonda (1975), Vedic Literature: (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas), Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447016032</ref>