Upavedas (उपवेदाः)

There are four Upa-Vedas or subsidiary Vedas, viz., the Ayurveda, the Dhanurveda, the Gandharva Veda and the Sthapatya Veda forming auxiliaries to the four Vedas.

Some scholers consider Artha Shastra as the fourth Upaveda instead of Sthapatya Veda.

The Upavedas supplement the Vedas with more specific applications of Vedic teachings into the cultural field.

S. No.	Upaveda Name	Concerned with	Associated with Veda
1	Ayurveda	Science of Health and Life	Atharva Veda
2	Dhanurveda	Science of Warfare / Martial Arts	Rig Veda
3	Sthapatya Veda or Shilpa Veda	Science of Engineering and Architecture	Yajur Veda
4	Gandharva Veda	Music, poetry and dance	Sama Veda
4*	Artha Shastra	Public administration, governance, economy and polity	Yajur Veda

Upavedas in detail

1. Ayurveda: Ayurveda is related to the secret of life and the science of long life. The originator of Ayurveda is supposed to be Lord Dhanwantari. Apart from him, other prominent names are Aitareya, Kashyapa, Harit, Agnivesha, and Bhedamuni. At present, three important books of Ayurveda are: Charak Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Vaagbhatta Samhita. These three books are collectively called Brihat-trayi. Patanjali has also authored text on Ayurveda.
2. Dhanurveda: This Upveda explains civil and military defense, war and politics. In the Ramayana and Mahabharata a good deal of light is thrown upon this science and art, particularly in the descriptions of battles. The most ancient books of Dhanurveda are not available, but some of the known books are Dhanurvidhi, Drauna Vidya, Kodanda Mandana and Dhanurveda Samhita.
3. Gandharva Veda: Gandharva veda is the science of music, derived from the Sama-Veda. Apart from Devotional Music it also deals with some subjects of Spiritual Sciences.
4. Shilpa Veda (Sthapatya Veda): It deals with architecture and various arts. According to Shukra-niti there are a number of arts but 64 are considered to be more prominent. More commonly called Vastu, it shows the right design of structures to bring in wholesome earth and spatial energies. Yoga uses Vastu for the orientation of temples, ashrams and meditation rooms.