Samhita (संहिता)

Samhita (Samskrit: संहिता) literally means "put together, joined" and "a methodically, rule-based combination of text or verses". Samhita has been used as a synonym for Vedas and hence used in exchange for each other.

Each Veda has been subclassified into four major text types –

• Samhitas (mantras and prayers)
• Brahmanas (explanation of mantras and rituals)
• Aranyakas (texts which give philosophical interpretation of the rituals)
• Upanishads (texts discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge)

A collective study of Vedas and later text suggests that the compendium of Samhitas and associated Vedic texts were far larger than currently available. However, most have been lost at some point or over a period of Indian history.

परिचय || Introduction

The Samhitas are considered to be basic revealed texts. These are recited in chain like arrangements of words, with no break, no punctuation, and order not be disturbed by arbitrary human meddling

The subject matter of the whole Veda is divided into Karma-Kanda, Upasana-Kanda and Jnana-Kanda. The Karma-Kanda or Ritualistic section deals with various sacrifices and rituals. The Upasana-Kanda or Worship section deals with various kinds of worship or meditation. The Jnana-Kanda or Knowledge-Section deals with the highest knowledge of Nirguna Brahman. The Samhitas and the Brahmanas constitute Karma-Kanda; the Aranyakas constitute Upasana-Kanda; and the Upanishads constitute Jnana-Kanda. 

Another opinion states: "The Samhitas and the Brahmanas form the Karma-Kanda segment of the Vedas. They are apparently concerned with the ceremonial rites and rituals. The Aranyakas and the Upanishads form the Jnana-Kanda segment of the Vedas. They explicitly focus on the philosophy and spiritualism.

Another learned author says: These are four different modes of expressing the same truths, each as a cross check against others so that misrepresentations are avoided, a method used and valid even today.

According to Swami Sivananda, the Mantra-Samhitas are hymns in praise of the Vedic God for attaining material prosperity here and happiness hereafter. They are metrical poems comprising prayers, hymns and incantations addressed to various deities, both subjective and objective. The Mantra portion of the Vedas is useful for the Brahmacharins.

व्युत्पत्तिः || Etymology

Samhita is a Sanskrit word from the roots, sam (सं) and hita (हित), which mean "correct, proper" and "wholesome, arranged" respectively. The combination word thus means "put together , joined, compose, arrangement, place together, union" and "combination of letters according to euphonic rules, any methodically arranged collection of texts or verses".

Four Samhitas

The Samhitas form the first part of each of the Vedas. A Samhita is a collection of mantras, so the Samhitas are sometimes also referred to as the ‘Mantras’. Most of the mantras were concerned with the nature and the deities. Generally, the mantras are addressed to the devi and devatas.

The Samhitas are named after the Vedas they belong to. For example, the Samhita of the Rig Veda is called the Rig-Veda-Samhita or the Rig-Samhita. These mantras are structured metered verses in Rig veda while prose form is seen in Yajurveda mantras.

ऋक् - संहिता || Rig Samhita

The Rigveda is the oldest, biggest of the four Vedas and the most highly valued work of the Hindus. This Samhita (Collection) is unique in its nature. The present form of this Samhita clearly indicates that the collection is not a single work, but consists of multiple elements, thus, intact through thousands of years are the seeds of India's religious and philosophical development. Various indications of language, style and ideas prove this point. The value of the Rigveda today is not confined to India, for its well-preserved language and mythology have helped a better understanding of languages, literatures and cultures of the whole world.

Swami Sivananda says: The Rig-Veda Samhita is the grandest book of the Hindus, the oldest and the best. Its immortal Mantras embody the greatest truths of existence, and it is perhaps the greatest treasure in all the scriptural literature of the World. Its priest is called the Hotri.

Different mantras of this Samhita were composed long before they were systematically arranged. Being a compilation of different stages, there is something which stamps the Rigveda with an individuality of its own. It is much more natural in character and form than other Samhitas.

Origin of Rig Samhita

Purusha sukta states that Richas (ऋचाः) arose from the Thousand-headed Purusha (स॒हस्रशीर्षा पुरुषः) who is yajna-swaroopa Himself.

तस्माद्यज्ञात्सर्वहुत ऋच: सामानि जज्ञिरे । छन्दांसि जज्ञिरे तस्माद्यजुस्तस्मादजायत ॥९॥ (Rig. Veda. 10.90.9)

tasmādyajñātsarvahuta r̥ca: sāmāni jajñirē । chandāṁsi jajñirē tasmādyajustasmādajāyata ॥9॥ (Rig. Veda. 10.90.9)

Structure of Rigveda

• Shakala samhita is the one surviving shaka available in entirety for Rig veda.
• Veda Vargeekarana of Rig Samhita includes the vibhajana (classification) of Rig Veda into Mandalas and Ashtakas apart from elucidating the nature of Valakhilya Suktas.
• The Samhita of the Rigveda in general comprises of 10 Mandalas, 85 Anuvakas, 1028 Suktas and 10552 Mantras. Usually Anuvaka is not mentioned for the reference of a Mantra of the Rigveda. For example Rig. Veda. 3.16.7 simply means the seventh Mantra of the sixteenth Sukta of the third Mandala of the Rigveda.
• Vedic Language of Rigveda is believed to be the oldest even among the four vedas. The information regarding Vedic Language, the tones and accents used are explained in Siksha part of the Vedaangas.

 देवताः छन्दसः ऋत्विक् च ॥ Devatas, Chandas and Rtvik

Every Mantra has a Rishi (Mantra Drashta), a Devata (deity) and a Chandas (meter).   

Rigveda mantras are chanted by the होता || Hota (the Rigveda priest), to invoke the deities to the यज्ञः ॥ yajna.    

Important Rigvedic deities are अग्निः ॥ Agni, इन्द्रः ॥ Indra, वरुणः ॥ Varuna, उषस् ॥ Ushas, सविता ॥ Savita, पूषा ॥ Pusha, मित्रः ॥ Mitra, विष्णुः ॥ Vishnu, रुद्रः ॥ Rudra, मरुत् ॥ Marut and पर्जन्यः ॥ Parjanya. गायत्री ॥ Gayatri, जगती ॥ Jagati, बृहती ॥ Bruhati, पङ्क्ती ॥ Pankti and त्रिष्टुभ् ॥ Trishtubh and अनुष्टुभ् ॥ Anustubh are widely used meters (Page No 6 of Reference 8).   

विषयविभागाः ॥ Vishayavibhaga

Taittriya Samhita emphasizes that practicing of karmas as prescribed procedures given by Rks is stronger and those practiced by following the साम and यजुः will disintegrate.

यद् वै यज्ञस्य साम्ना यजुषा क्रियते शिथिलं तत् । यद् ऋचा तद् दृढम् । (Tait. Samh. 6.5.10.3)

yad vai yajñasya sāmnā yajuṣā kriyatē śithilaṁ tat । yad r̥cā tad dr̥ḍham । (Tait. Samh. 6.5.10.3)

While lot of yajnas involve chanting of Rks during their procedures, Rigveda samhita does not elaborate on any of the yajnas. The text material falls majorly into the following three categories.

स्तुतिपराः || Eulogical

The first group is in praise of the deities like Agni, lndra, Varuna, Mitra, Marut, Rudra, Ushas, Surya, Bhumi, and Soma,. The Vedic deities numbering 33 are assigned to the three regions of the universe  viz. पृथ्वी || Prithvi (earth), द्यौस् || Dyaus (heaven) and अन्तरिक्षम् || Antariksha (intermediary space). Although these deities appear as personifications of forces of nature, they are actually different facets of ब्रह्मन् ॥ Brahman, the Only One Supreme Reality. The famous mantra on this point occurs in this Samhita. 

एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः ॥४६॥ ||  (Rig. Ved. 1.164.46)

Meaning : Truth is one, learned call it by various names.

उपासनापराः ॥ Philosophical

The second group is concerned with philosophical speculations like the origin of the Universe and the real nature of human beings. Although the Samhita contains mantras in praise of the devatas, the concept of Vedanta is present at least in a rudimentary form. However, advocacy of worship of devatas with form and qualities - सगुणोपासना || Sagunopasana - is predominant. Various Rigveda mantras show एकदेवतावादः || eka-devata-vada or monotheism and not polytheism.

For example, the Samhita states that प्रजापतिः ॥ Prajapati creates the world out of Himself and rules over it; He is omnipresent (present everywhere), omnipotent (all powerful) and omniscient (all knowing). He is ever perfect, infinitely compassionate, easily approachable by the devotees and He grants us immortality. But the idea about actual process of creation of the universe finds a place only in the later Vedantic literature i.e. the उपनिषदः ॥ Upanishads. The concept of ब्रह्मन् ॥ Brahman is clearer in the Upanishad parts.

इतिहासपराः ॥ Miscellaneous

The third group deals with several secular subjects like marriage, war etc., which show the nature of society of those times. A just and equitable social order existed. However, social life was conditioned by spiritual consciousness. There was समन्वयः || Samanvaya or harmony of life here and hereafter. सत्यम् || Satya (truth) and धर्मः || Dharma (righteousness) are glorified and अमृतत्वम् || Amritatva (immortality) as the goal of life was accepted.

It may be noted that starting from Mandala 2 to Mandala 7 the collection of suktas involve those given by rishis of great lineages. Mandala 8 contains suktas given primarily by Kanva rishi. Mandala 9 includes suktas on the topic of Pavamana (Soma) given by rishis of different lineages.

Mandala 10 is considered modern than all the other mandalas based on the language, chandas, the devatas praised, social conditions, praise of charitable actions (danastuti), and philosophical views in mantras. The concept of Universal Supreme Being (Hiranyagarbha, Purusha and Prajapati) first arose in this mandala.

 प्रसिद्धाः विषयाः ॥ Famous Aspects

Among the 1028 Suktas of the Rigveda Samhita some suktas are very popular and frequently referred by the readers of Vedas. Some of them are:

• Nasadiya Sukta (नासदीयसूक्तम्)
• Purusha Sukta (पुरुष-सूक्तम्)
• Hiranyagarbha Sukta (हिरण्यगर्भ-सूक्तम् )
• Vak Sukta (वाक्-सूक्तम्)

Apart from the suktas, some Samvada Suktas (dialogue hymns) are also widely discussed such as :

• Urvasi Pururava Samvada (ऊर्वसी-पुरूरवा-संवादः in Rigveda. 10.85)
• Yama Yami Samvada (यम-यमी-संवादः in Rigveda. 10.10)
• Sarama and Pani Samvada (सरमा-पणि-संवादः in Rigveda. 10.130)

Some of these discussions are presented in Puranas.

First and Last Suktas of Rigveda

It begins with a sukta to Agni and concludes with a sukta to the same deity. Agni sukta (01.01.01) by Rushi : Madhucchanda Visvamitra, Devata : Agni, Chandas: Gayatri goes as follows

अग्निसूक्तम् in प्रथमं मण्डलम्।

९ मधुच्छन्दा वैश्वामित्रः । अग्निः।  गायत्री।

अ॒ग्निमी॑ळे पु॒रोहि॑तं य॒ज्ञस्य॑ दे॒वमृ॒त्विज॑म् । होता॑रं रत्न॒धात॑मम् ॥१

अ॒ग्निः पूर्वे॑भि॒र्ऋषि॑भि॒रीड्यो॒ नूत॑नैरु॒त । स दे॒वाँ एह व॑क्षति ॥२

अ॒ग्निना॑ र॒यिम॑श्नव॒त् पोष॑मे॒व दि॒वेदि॑वे । य॒शसं॑ वी॒रव॑त्तमम् ॥३

अग्ने॒ यं य॒ज्ञम॑ध्व॒रं वि॒श्वत॑: परि॒भूरसि॑ । स इद् दे॒वेषु॑ गच्छति ॥४

अ॒ग्निर्होता॑ क॒विक्र॑तुः स॒त्यश्चि॒त्रश्र॑वस्तमः । दे॒वो दे॒वेभि॒रा ग॑मत् ॥५

यद॒ङ्ग दा॒शुषे॒ त्वमग्ने॑ भ॒द्रं क॑रि॒ष्यसि॑ । तवेत् तत् स॒त्यम॑ङ्गिरः ॥६

उप॑ त्वाग्ने दि॒वेदि॑वे॒ दोषा॑वस्तर्धि॒या व॒यम् । नमो॒ भर॑न्त॒ एम॑सि ॥७

राज॑न्तमध्व॒राणां॑ गो॒पामृ॒तस्य॒ दीदि॑विम् । वर्ध॑मानं॒ स्वे दमे॑ ॥८

स न॑: पि॒तेव॑ सू॒नवे ऽग्ने॑ सूपाय॒नो भ॑व । सच॑स्वा नः स्व॒स्तये॑ ॥९

As seen in the above example, the Vedic mantras are notated with lines above and below the letters which indicate the svara or tone of the particular letter in which it has to be uttered. The concluding sukta of the Rgveda (10.191) also has Agni as Devata and should be regarded as having a higher significance than the national anthem of any country: it is a prayer for amity among all nations, a true international anthem. Rushi : Samvanana Angirasa, Devata : Agni, Chandas: Anusthub and Tristubh

संगठन सूक्तम्

४ संवनन आङ्गिरसः। १ अग्निः,२-४ संज्ञानम्। अनुष्टुप्, ३ त्रिष्टुप्।

संस॒मिद्यु॑वसे वृष॒न्नग्ने॒ विश्वा॑न्य॒र्य आ । इ॒ळस्प॒दे समि॑ध्यसे॒ स नो॒ वसू॒न्या भ॑र ॥१

सं ग॑च्छध्वं॒ सं व॑दध्वं॒ सं वो॒ मनां॑सि जानताम् । दे॒वा भा॒गं यथा॒ पूर्वे॑ संजाना॒ना उ॒पास॑ते ॥२

स॒मा॒नो मन्त्र॒: समि॑तिः समा॒नी स॑मा॒नं मन॑: स॒ह चि॒त्तमे॑षाम् । स॒मा॒नं मन्त्र॑म॒भि म॑न्त्रये वः समा॒नेन॑ वो ह॒विषा॑ जुहोमि ॥३

स॒मा॒नी व॒ आकू॑तिः समा॒ना हृद॑यानि वः । स॒मा॒नम॑स्तु वो॒ मनो॒ यथा॑ व॒: सुस॒हास॑ति ॥४

Meaning : "May mankind be of one mind, " it goes. "May it have a common goal. May all hearts be united in love. And with the mind and the goal being one may all of us live in happiness".

यजुर्वेद-संहिता ॥ Yajus Samhita

Origin of Yajus samhita

Following texts clearly define the purpose of "Yajus" mantras in yajnas and hence the name Yajurveda is given.

• निरुक्तम् ॥ Nirukta, यजुः यजतेः । ७.१२ ।yajuḥ yajateḥ । 7.12 । यज्ञ-s || Yajnas are conducted with यजुस् ॥ Yajus (mantras).

• कठसंहिता ॥ Katha Samhita (27.1), यजर्भियजन्ति ॥ yajarbhiyajanti and (Kath. Samh. 200.21) यजुस्तस्माद् (यज्ञात्) अजायत ॥ yajustasmād (yajñāt) ajāyata

• ब्रह्माण्डपुराणम् ॥ Brahmanda Purana : यच्छिष्टं तु यजुर्वेदे तेन यज्ञमयुंजत । यजनात्स यजुर्वेद इति शास्त्रविनिश्चयः ।। ३४.२२ ।। yacchiṣṭaṃ tu yajurvede tena yajñamayuṃjata । yajanātsa yajurveda iti śāstraviniścayaḥ ।। 34.22 ।। (Brah. Pura. Purvabhaga 34.22)

In its character Yajurveda is quite different from the Rigveda & Samaveda Samhitas. It is principally in prose form. The Yajur-Veda Samhita is meant to be used by the Adhvaryu, the Yajur-Vedic priest, for explanation of rites, supplementing the Rig Vedic Mantras.

• The Yajurveda is a ritual Veda for it is essentially a guide-book for the Adhvaryu priest who had to do practically all ritualistic works in a sacrifice. His works vary from the selection of a plot of land for the sacrificial altar down to offering oblations to the sacred fires. Just as the Samaveda-Samhita is the song-book of the Udgata priest, so the Yajurveda-Samhitas are the mantra-books for the Adhvaryu priest. It is solely meant for the purposes of sacrificial rituals.
• The Yajurveda is also important for its presentation of philosophical doctrines. It preaches the concept of Prana and Manas also. Many times, it is quoted for depicting religious and social life of the Vedic people. It is also known for giving certain geographical data.
• The Yajurveda is two-fold-     1. The Shukla Yajurveda             2. The Krishna  Yajurveda
• The Krishna Yajurveda is characterised by a mixture of mantra and brahmana whereas the Shukla Yajurveda maintains the clear separation of the two.
• The Shukla Yajurveda is related with the Aditya-school and the Krishna Yajurveda is related with the Brahma-school.
• Origin of Two Shakas: Rishi Vaishampayana taught the Yajurveda to Rishi Yajnavalkya and other pupils. Once Vaishampayana got angry with Yajyavalkya and asked him to give up what he had learnt. Then Yajyavalkya prayed to the Sun, who came to him in the form of a horse i.e. Vaji) and preached him the Veda. Hence this Shukla Yajurveda was also named Vajasaneyi.
• Shukla Yajurveda has two samhitas : Maadhyandina and Kanva
• Krishna yajurveda has four Samhitas : मैत्रायणि || Maitrayani, कथा || Katha, कपिस्थल-कथा || Kapisthala-Katha, तैत्रिय || Taittiriya
• The Vajasaneyi-Samhita gives a vivid description of many important sacrifices such as - Darsha-purnamasa,  Somayaga, Chaturmasya, Agnihotra, Vajapeya, Ashvamedha, Sarva-medha, Brahma-yajna, Pitrimedha, Sautramani, and so on. For a general idea the contents can be divided into three sections. The first section comprises the Darshapurnamasa, the second section deals with the Somayaga and the third section comprises the Agnicayanas. The last section of the Vajasaneyi-Samhita contains the popular Ishavasya-Upanishad.

 देवताः छन्दसः ऋत्विक् च ॥ Devatas, Chandas and Rtvik

The devatas are the same as in Rigveda because a majority of mantras in Yajurveda are drawn from there. The Yajurvedic procedural details are recited and conducted by अध्वर्युः || Adhvaryu priest for the proper performance of Yajnas. In Shukla Yajurveda, the mantras have the same chandas as in Rigveda from where they have been taken.

In the context of Rishis in Yajurveda, 3 types of categories are seen

1. आदिद्रष्टा ॥ Adidrasta is the first rishi to whom the veda was revealed to. It was महर्षिः वेदव्यासः ॥ Maharshi Vedavyasa who received Vedas in a single form but later codified them and gave the ऋग्वेदः ॥ Rigveda to पैलः ॥ Paila, यजुर्वेदः ॥ Yajurveda to वैशम्पायनः ॥ Vaishampayana. From Vaishampayana, his students याज्ञवल्क्यः ॥ Yajnavalkya and others received the knowledge. It is also said that since शुक्लयजुर्वेदः ॥ Shukla Yajurveda was received later from आदित्यघ् ॥ Aditya or विवस्वान् ॥ Vivasvan, he is also considered as the मन्त्रद्रष्टा ॥ mantra drashta.
2. प्रकरणऋषिः ॥ Prakaranarishi is one who is associated with each प्रकरणम् ॥ prakarana or section of the यजुर्वेदः ॥ Yajurveda. For example, for दर्शपूर्णमासप्रकरणम् ॥ Darsapurnamasa prakarana, the rishi is प्रजापतिः ॥ Prajapati.
3. वैयक्तिकऋषिः॥ Vaiyaktikarishi is the category which includes all the rishis who praised the deities and practiced particular rituals to attain मन्त्रसिद्धिः ॥ mantrasiddhi.

 विषयम् || Vishayam (Content)

Whether Krishna or Shukla, both the shakhas of Yajurveda deal primarily with the कर्मकाण्डः ॥ karmakanda and are also called यज्ञकाण्डः ॥ yajnakanda. All the shakha texts deal with detailed descriptions of श्रौतयज्ञाः ॥ Shrauta yajnas like राजसूयः ॥ Rajasuya, वाजपेयः ॥ Vajapeya, सोमयागः ॥ Somayaga etc. Krishna Yajurveda is considered older than the Shukla Yajurveda.

For example, in माध्यन्दिन-संहिता ॥ Madhyandina samhita, the यज्ञक्रियाः ॥ yajna kriyas for दर्शपूर्णमासः ॥ Darshapurnamasa, अग्निहोत्रम् ॥ Agnihotra, चातुर्मास्यम् ॥ Chaturmasya, अग्निष्टोमः ॥ Agnistoma, Nirudhapasubandha, Chayanayaga, Sautramani, अश्वमेधः ॥ Ashvamedha, वाजपेयः ॥ Vajapeya, राजसूयः ॥ Rajasuya etc among other yajnas and इष्टि-s ॥ ishtis are present. The 40th अध्यायः ॥ Adhyaya is the ईशावास्योपनिषद् ॥ Ishavasyopanishad; this is the only instance where an Upanishad is associated with the Samhita.

It may be noted that while in Rigveda the text is organized according to rishis as mantra drastas, in Yajurveda the text is given according to the yajnas. It is a compilation of ritual offering formulas that were said by a priest while a यजमानः ॥ yajamana performed ritual actions such as those before the yajna fire. Yajurveda samhita includes mantras that are distinct yet borrow and build upon the foundation of verses in Rigveda. Unlike the सामवेदः ॥ Samaveda which is almost entirely based on Rigveda mantras and structured as songs, the Yajurveda samhitas are in prose and linguistically, they are different from other Vedic texts. Yajurveda text is not just related to rituals or sacrifice, it includes the largest collection of primary Upanishads, influential to various schools of Hindu philosophy.

प्रसिद्धाः मन्त्राः ॥ Famous Mantras

The popular mantras in praise of Lord Siva - श्रीरुद्रप्रश्नः || SriRudraprashna – finds a place in this Veda (षोडशः अध्यायः ॥ Shodasha Adhyaya). The other famous sukta, पुरुषसूक्तम् || Purusha Sukta also occurs here with some modifications.

Sama samhita

The Sama Samhita contains mantras in the form of songs meant for liturgy or public worship. The Samaveda is shortest of all the four Vedas. It is closely connected with the Rigveda. is meant to be sung by the Udgatri, the Sama-Vedic priest.

It is important to note that the Samhita of the Samaveda is an independent collection (Samhita), yet it has taken many verses, a large number indeed, from the Samhita of Rigveda. These verses are chiefly derived from the eighth and the ninth Mandalas of the Rigveda.

• The Samaveda Samhita consists of 1549 stanzas, taken almost entirely (except for 75 mantras) from the Rigveda. 
• The Samaveda is compiled exclusively for ritual application, for its verses are all meant to be chanted at the ceremonies of the Soma-sacrifice and procedures derived from it. The Samaveda is, therefore, specially intended for the Udagatr priest.
• The Samaveda samhita comprises two major parts. The first part include four melody collections (gāna, गान) and the second part three verse books (ārcika, आर्चिक). The Archika is also separated in two. - the Purvarcika, and the Uttararcika.
• Its stanzas assume their proper character of musical samans or chants only in the various song-books called Ganas. According to the Jaiminiya Sutra - 'Melody is called Saman.'
• Saama Gana or singing of hymns as per the rules of Sama Veda is said to be the basis and source of the seven svaras or notes fundamental to the Indian music systems.
• According to the ancient tradition, told by Patanjali, the Samaveda had 1000 Shakhas. But at present there are only three Shakas. These are – (1) Kauthuma, (2) Jaiminiya, (3)Ranayaniya.
• Famous Chandogya Upanishad belongs to this veda.

Traditional the Vedas are spoken as'Trayi', because thay are composed of three kinds in mantras- Rcs or verses, Yajus or prose, Saman or chants.

Among the four Vedas, the Samaveda is regarded as the foremost. In the Bhagavadgata, where Lord Krishna has declared "Among the Vedas I am Samaveda"-Vedanama Samavedosmi (Gita, 10.22). Here Indra, Agni and Soma deities are mainly invoked and praised but most of the time these prayers seem to be the invocations for the Supreme Being. In the spiritual sense Soma represents All-pervading, Glorious Lord and Brahman, who is attainable only through devotion and musical chanting.

Thus major theme of the Samaveda can be regarded as worship and devotion (Upasana).

Atharva Samhita

The Atharva-Samhita contains mantras meant for routine rites and rituals.

The Atharva-Veda Samhita is meant to be used by the Brahma, the Atharva-Vedic priest, to correct the mispronunciations and wrong performances that may be accidentally be committed by the other three priests.

Atharvan denotes directions and mantras especially in connection to ward off evil and hardship and also contains philosophical thoughts. 'Atharvan' originally means 'priest' and the Mantras in the Atharvaveda-Samhita were brought to light by Rishi Atharva.

• According to Patanjali, Atharvaveda had nine Shakhas, but the Samhita of the Atharvaveda is today available only in two rescensions - the Shaunaka and the Paippalada.
• It is the Shaunaka-Samhita that is frequently meant when the Atharvaveda is mentioned in ancient and modern literature. It is a collection of 730 hymns containing 5987 Mantras, divided into 20 books (Kandas). Some 1200 verses are derived from the Rigveda. About one sixth of the text of the Atharvaveda including two entire books (15 and 16) is written in prose, similar in style and language to the Brahmanas, the rest of the text is in poetic verses.
• The Atharvaveda is the oldest literary monument of Indian medicine. It is believed to be the origin of Ayurveda, the Indian science of medicine.
• There are a series of Mantras related to cure various physical and mental diseases. Another class of hymns includes prayers for protection from the bite of snakes or injurious insects. We find mention and application of medicines and medicinal herbs. This feature distinguishes the Atharvaveda from the rest of the Vedas.
• It contains numerous Mantras, which according to their subject-matter, can be broadly divided into three categories: 1. Related to the cure of diseases and destruction of adverse forces. 2. Related to establish peace, protection, health, wealth, friendship and long life. 3. Related to the nature of Supreme Reality, time, death and immortality.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati made extraordinary efforts to bring out the significance of the mantras of the Vedas. Shri Aurobindo also challenged the Western philosophers and opined that the mantras are found to express esoteric truths which the Westerners can not grasp. He strove hard to elucidate the cryptic meanings of the Vedic words and the hymns.

Famous Examples

Rig veda

The Gayatri mantra is among the famous Hindu mantras. It is found in Rig Veda Samhita.

ॐ भूर्भुवस्व: | तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम् | भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि | धियो यो न: प्रचोदयात् (Rig Veda 3.62.10)

Oṁ Bhūr Bhuva~Swah', Tat savitur varenyam, Bhargo devasya dhīmahi, Dhiyo yo nah prachodayāt (Rig Veda 3.62.10)

Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine Light (Sun). May he inspire our thoughts, stimulate our understandings.

References

1. Narayanacharya, K S. (2006). Insights Into the Taittiriya Upanishad. Mysore : Kautilya Institute of National Studies.
2. Bhattacharya, A. (2006). Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology. United States : iUniverse.
3. http://indianscriptures.50webs.com/partveda.ht
4. Rigveda Samhita, First Mandala (in Sanskrit).
5. Sri Sri Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi MahaSwamiji. (). Hindu Dharma, Part 5 ,Chapter 27. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
6. Rigveda Samhita,Overview.