Vaidika Vangmaya (वैदिकवाङ्मयम्)

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Vedic literature includes extensive volumes of texts which can be classified as the Ancillary and Subsidiary Texts of the Vedas. To clarify the Vedas and in understanding them, over a period of time, different explanatory shastras evolved to explain the subtle concepts presented in Vedas and they are grouped under Veda Vangmaya.[citation needed]

Understanding vedic literature itself developed into many branches covering different aspects of the subject. While some have developed independently (such as Jyotisha - to explain muhurtas in vedic rituals), others summarize (such as Kalpa which is a manual of material from different vedas) and a few others are simplified (like the Puranas in story format) for easy understanding (including the Mahabharata). Vaidika Vangmayam includes various texts collectively making up a huge volume of literature.[citation needed]

  1. वेदाङ्गानि || Vedangas (6)
  2. वेद-उपाङ्गानि || Veda-Upangas (4)
  3. उपवेदाः || Upa-Vedas (4)
  4. पुराणानि || Puranas (18)
  5. उपपुराणानि || Upa-Puranas (18)
  6. पञ्चमवेदः || Panchamaveda (1)
  7. दर्शनानि || Darshanas (6)
  8. परिशिष्टम् || Parishistas

 विद्यास्थानानि ॥ Vidyasthanas

चतुर्दशविद्याः ॥ Chaturdasha vidyas are called the विद्यास्थानानि ॥ Vidyasthanas as they give comprehensive knowledge of dharma. Attaining proficiency in them is said to be vidya or education in ancient days. These include learning the Chaturvedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvanaveda), Shadvedangas (Shiksha, Kalpa, Vyakarana, Nirukta, Chandas and Jyotish), and 4 Upangas (Puranas, Nyaya shastra, Mimamsa and Dharmashastra) of Vedas.[1]

वेदाङ्गानि || Vedangas

The word अङ्ग ॥ Anga is used in the sense of उपकारक ॥ Upakaraka (useful tool). And with reference to understanding vedajnana or the knowledge of vedas, these six shastras are extremely useful, hence they are called Vedangas.

शिक्षा कल्पो व्याकरणं निरुक्तं छन्दसां चयः । ज्योतिषामयनं चैव वेदाङ्गानि षडेव तु ॥

śikṣā kalpo vyākaraṇaṃ niruktaṃ chandasāṃ cayaḥ । jyotiṣāmayanaṃ caiva vedāṅgāni ṣaḍeva tu ॥

According to the above shloka, Vedangas are six in number namely Shiksha, Kalpa, Vyakarana, Nirukta, Chandas, Jyotish.[2]

 Title  Subject Dealt With
1.शिक्षा || Shiksha  Science of phonetics or pronunciation and intonation.
2.व्याकरणम् || Vyakarana  Science of the grammar of language
3.निरुक्तम् || Nirukta  Etymology or the science of origin, meaning and explanation of the Vedic words.
4.छन्दस् || Chandas  Prosody or science of composition of the hymns like meter, rhyme, पाद (quarter) etc. of the mantras
5.ज्योतिष् || Jyotish  Astronomy and astrology mainly directed towards fixing up of auspicious moments for the performance of the Vedic sacrifices 
6.कल्पः || Kalpa  Science or manual of yagna kriyas or rituals, both Vedic and domestic

छन्दः पादौ तु वेदस्य हस्तौ कल्पोऽथ उच्यते । ज्योतिषामयनं चक्षुर्निरुक्तं श्रोत्रमुच्यते ॥

शिक्षा घ्राणं तु वेदस्य मुखं व्याकरणं स्मृतम् । तस्मात् साङ्गमधीत्यैव ब्रह्मलोके महीयते ॥

chandaḥ pādau tu vedasya hastau kalpo'tha ucyate । jyotiṣāmayanaṃ cakṣurniruktaṃ śrotramucyate ॥

śikṣā ghrāṇaṃ tu vedasya mukhaṃ vyākaraṇaṃ smṛtam । tasmāt sāṅgamadhītyaiva brahmaloke mahīyate ॥

In पाणिनीयशिक्षा, these six vedangas are described in the above shloka which means - "Chandas forms the feet of the Vedapurusha, while Kalpas are the hands, Jyotish is the eye, Nirukta forms the ears, Shiksha is the nose, while the face (speech) is formed by Vyakarana. Only by studying vedas (Vedapurusha) along with vedangas (different parts) will one attain the brahmaloka".[3]

वेद-उपाङ्गानि || Veda-Upangas

Puranas, Mimamsa, Nyaya and Dharma shastras are included in Upangas of Vedas[1].

Vedangas developed as ancillary studies for the Vedas, but its insights into meters, structure of sound and language, grammar, linguistic analysis and other subjects influenced post-Vedic studies, arts, culture and various schools of philosophy. According to some scholars,[4] the Shad-darshanas may be classified as Upangas of Vedas. However, traditionally the Chaturdasha vidyas consider the above given shastras as Veda Upangas.[citation needed]

Here, Puranas are dealt under an independent heading, it is to be noted that Dharma, Nyaya and Mimamsa are categorized and studied under other headings.[citation needed]

  • The Kalpa Vedanga studies, for example, expounded the Dharma-sutras (vaidika kriyas), which later expanded into Dharma-shastras (smritis). While Kalpa Dharmasutras generally lay down the code of conduct of a person during procedures related to vaidika yagna kriyas, Dharmasastras (classified under Upangas) lay down the general moral code of conduct applicable for every human being. Dharmashastras are also mentioned as Smritis, for ex: Manu Smriti, on which the present day Bharatiya judicial system is founded on.
  • The Nyaya shastra given by Gautama rishi is also studied as part of the Shad-darshanas. Nyaya shastra is the science of logic, also called as हेतुविद्या ॥ Hetu-vidya.
  • Mimamsa is divided into Purvamimamsa and Uttaramimamsa. Purva Mimamsa highlights the discriminating and decision making qualities of the Vedas by analysis. Here, Purva Mimamsa is generally what is considered for the term Mimamsa. Uttara Mimamsa is also called as Vedanta, which is classified under the Jnanakanda.

उपवेदाः || Upavedas

They are called the subsidiary Vedas. They are four in number one attached to each Veda[5] viz.

 Title  Subject Dealt with  Associated with
 आयुर्वेदः || Ayurveda  Science of healthy living including the prevention and cure of diseases  Rig Veda
 गान्धर्ववेदः || Gandharvaveda  Science of fine arts like music and dance  Sama Veda.
 अर्थशास्त्रम् || Arthashastra  Science of finance, economics, politics and statesmanship  Atharva Veda
 धनुर्वेदः || Dhanurveda  Science of archery and warfare  Yajurveda.

Vedas are thus a storehouse of knowledge needed for mankind, not merely spiritual but also secular or temporal. They are not compositions made in any one particular period. They are spread over a period of time; one group separated from the other probably by centuries and handed down from one generation to the other through word of mouth.[citation needed]

पुराणानि उपपुराणानि च ॥ Puranas and Upapuranas

The Puranas are a vast genre of encyclopedic Indian texts about a wide range of topics particularly legends and traditional lore. Several of these texts are named after major devatas such as Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. There are 18 Mahapuranas (Great Puranas) and 18 Upapuranas (Minor Puranas), containing over 400,000 verses.[6]

The 18 Mahapuranas and Upapuranas as listed in Agni Puranam are as follows

अष्टादश महापुराणानि
मत्स्यपुराणम् || Matsya Purana मार्कण्डेयपुराणम् || Markandeya Purana कूर्मपुराणम् || Kurma Purana
भागवतपुराणम् || Bhagavata Purana भविष्यपुराणम् || Bhavishya Purana ब्रह्माण्डपुराणम् || Brahmanda Purana
ब्रह्मवैवर्तपुराणम् || Brahmavaivarta Purana ब्रह्मपुराणम् || Brahma Purana वामनपुराणम् || Vamana Purana
वराहपुराणम् || Varaha Purana विष्णुपुराणम् || Vishnu Purana वायुपुराणम् || Vayu Purana
अग्निपुराणम् || Agni Purana नारदपुराणम् || Narada Purana पद्मपुराणम् || Padma Purana
लिङ्गपुराणम् || Linga Purana गरुडपुराणम् || Garuda Purana स्कन्दपुराणम् || Skanda Purana
अष्टादश उपपुराणानि
सनत्कुमारीयम् ॥ Sanatkumareeya नारसिंहम् ॥ Narasimha नन्दीयम् ॥ Nandeeya
शिवरहस्यम् ॥ Shivarahasya दौर्वासम् ॥ Daurvasa कपिलम् ॥ Kapila
नारदीयम् ॥ Naradeeya वामनम् ॥ Vamana वारुणम् ॥ Varunam
देवीभागवतम् ॥ Devibhagavata वासिष्ठम् ॥ Vasishta साम्बपुराणम् ॥ Samba
कल्की / कालिका॥ Kalki / Kalika हंसम् ॥ Hamsa सौरम् ॥ Saura
गाणपत्यम् / मुद्गलम् ॥ Ganapatya / Mudgala पराशरम् ॥ Parashara भार्गवम् ॥ Bhargava

The Puranas have been influential in the development of Bharateeya samskriti. They are considered Vaidika (congruent with Vedic literature) or pertaining to vedas.

The Bhagavata Purana has been among the most celebrated, popularly studied and the principles practiced with reverence presently by people all over the world.[citation needed] The Puranic literature has become more popular with the Bhakti movement in India. Both Dvaita and Advaita scholars have given bhasyas or commentaries on the various vedantic philosophies of the Mahapuranas.[citation needed]

== परिशिष्टम् || Parishishtam ==[citation needed] Parishishta (supplement, appendix) is the term applied to various ancillary works of Vedic literature, dealing mainly with details of ritual. They are elaborations of the texts logically and chronologically prior to them namely Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Sutras. Naturally, classified with the Veda to which each pertains, Parishishta works exist for each of the four Vedas. However, only the literature associated with the Atharvaveda is extensive.

The Ashvalayana Grhya Parishishta is associated with the Rigveda.

The Gobhila Grhya Parishishta is a short text consisting of two chapters, with 113 and 95 verses respectively.

The Katiya Parishishtas, ascribed to Katyayana, consist of 18 works enumerated self-referentially in the fifth of the series (the Charanavyuha) and the Katyayana Shrauta Sutra Parishishta.

The Krshna Yajurveda has 3 Parishishtas - The Apastamba Shrauta Parishishta, which is also found as the second prashna of the Satyasadha Shrauta Sutra', and the Varaha Shrauta Sutra Parishishta.

षड्दर्शनानि ॥ Shad Darshanas

कणादेन तु संप्रोक्तं शास्त्रं वैशेषिकं महत् । गौतमेन तथा न्यायं सांख्यं तु कपिलेन वै ॥

kaṇādena tu saṃproktaṃ śāstraṃ vaiśeṣikaṃ mahat । gautamena tathā nyāyaṃ sāṃkhyaṃ tu kapilena vai ॥

Meaning : The great Vaisheshika shastra has been given by Kanada, while the Nyaya shastra was elucidated by Gautama Rishi, and Sankhya shastra was by Kapila Rishi.

Above Shloka from from Padma Purana shows that these darshanas belong to ancient period and are not of later time period as popularly believed.[citation needed]

These are the six systems of Hindu philosophy which are known as Shad Darsanas. They are:

  1.  न्यायः || Nyaya
  2.  वैशेषिकः || Vaiseshika
  3.  साङ्ख्यः || Samkhya
  4.  योगः || Yoga
  5.  पूर्वमीमांसा || Poorva Mimamsa
  6. उत्तरमीमांसा || Uttara Mimamsa or वेदान्त || Vedanta. 

पञ्चमवेदः || Panchamaveda 

भारतः पञ्चमो वेदः || bhārataḥ pañcamo vedaḥ ||

As given in Mahabharata, expounds that Mahabharata which covers numerous topics related to human relationships is considered as the "Fifth Veda".

पुराणं पञ्चमो वेद इति ब्रह्मानुशासनम् || (Skan. Pura. 5.3.1.18)[7]

purāṇaṃ pañcamo veda iti brahmānuśāsanam || (Skan. Pura. 5.3.1.18)[7]

Puranas are also considered as Panchamaveda according to the Skandapurana.

Apart from the Mahabharata and the Puranas, later texts such as Bharata's Natyashastra are also called as Panchamaveda by a few scholars.[citation needed]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Venkateswara Rao. Potturi (2010) Paaramaathika Padakosam Hyderabad: Msko Books
  2. http://vedicheritage.gov.in/vedangas/ Introduction
  3. Dr. S. Yegnasubramanian, The Vedangas (Organs of the Vedas).http://svbf.org/journal/vol1no3/vedas.pdf
  4. Introduction about Upangas (Maharshi Vedic University)
  5. Introduction to Upavedas
  6. 18 Puranas - English Translation by Dharmic Scriptures Team
  7. 7.0 7.1 Skanda Puranam (Reva Khanda)