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The Vedas

• Vedas (वेदाः)

The Vedas (Samskrit : वेदाः) are a large body of ancient sacred texts which have originated in भारतवर्षः || Bharatavarsha (the ancient Indian subcontinent). The Vedic Seers have received the Vedas through revelation. Vedas are considered to be अपौरुषेयः ॥ Apaurusheya, or entirely superhuman, without any authorship. Composed in वैदिकसंस्कृतम् ॥ Vedic samskrit, these texts constitute the oldest layer of samskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of the world.

There are four Vedas: the ऋग्वेदः ॥ Rigveda, the यजुर्वेदः ॥ Yajurveda, the सामवेदः ॥ Samaveda and the अथर्ववेदः ॥ Atharvaveda. The यजुर्वेदः ॥ Yajurveda is again divided into two parts- The शुक्लः ॥ Shukla and the कृष्णः ॥ Krishna. The कृष्णः ॥ Krishna or the तैत्तिरीयः ॥ Taittiriya is the older version and the शुक्लः ॥ Shukla or the वाजसनेयी ॥ Vajasaneyi is a later revelation to sage याज्ञवल्क्यः ॥ Yajnavalkya from सूर्यः ॥ Surya. The ऋग्वेदः ॥ Rigveda is divided into twenty one sections, the यजुर्वेदः ॥ Yajurveda into one hundred and nine sections, the सामवेदः ॥ Samaveda into one thousand sections and the अथर्ववेदः ॥ Atharvaveda into fifty sections. In all, the वेदः ॥ Veda is thus divided into one thousand one hundred and eighty शाखाः ॥ shakhas (recensions).