clarification needed

[Guest guest]

11-Oct

 

My question may not be relevant to the main topic in

this forum, but will appreciate if somebody can throw

some light on this.

 

Is Rg Veda the oldest Veda?

 

In one of his discourses, Sri B. Sundara Kumar

mentioned that the Vedas were divided into 4 by Veda

Vyasa, and prior to that, there was only a single

undivided Veda.

 

He further said that, Veda mantras from Rg, Yajur and

Sama are chanted during performance of yagnas, and

since the rsis & yagnas were created simultaneously,

there is no question of one veda being in existence

for a longer period of time than another.

 

When I was discussing this with another friend, he

disputed this, saying that it is said in Purusha

Sookta that Rg came first, then Yajur and Sama came

out of it.

 

Would like to know if someone in the list can clear

this out.

 

Hari Om

Narayanan

 

=====

Thanks and Best Regards

Narayanan.K.G.

Spansa Chennai

Tel/Fax: (44) 4925805

Home : (44) 4925807

Mobile : 98410-39894

e-mail : spansa_chennai

 

 

 

Make a great connection at Personals.

http://personals.

[Guest guest]

Namaste Nayanananji:

 

The book, "The Vedas" by Sri. Chandrasekharendra Saraswati (Kanchi

Paramacharya), published by the Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay

contains lots of useful information. The book starts with tributes to

the two greatest sages, Vedavyasa and Adi Sankara:

 

"I hail Thee, Vyasa, again and again,

Thou, God in human frame,

Thou, scion of Vasistha's ancient race,

It is from Thee that all knowledge springs."

 

"I salute the sacred feet of Sri Shankara, the

abode of Srutis, Smritis, Puranas and

compassion, and whoever accomplishes

the good of the world."

 

The Vedas have no beginning or end and it is considered the breath of

Brahman. During and before Vedavyasa's time numerous sages continue to

teach and chant the Vedas in bits and pieces. According to historical

facts, Vedavyasa was responsible for collecting and compiling the

Vedas in the present organized form.

 

Here is a brief outline of the four Vedas taken from the book , "Vedas

- Hinduism's Contemporary Holy Bible," By Professor Raimon

Panikkar,Motilal Banarsidass, Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi, 110

007 INDIA

 

Rig Veda

The hymns of the Rig Veda are considered the oldest and most important

of the Vedas. More than a thousand hymns are organized into ten

mandalas or circles of which the second through the seventh are the

oldest and the tenth is the most recent. The Hindu tradition is that

even the Vedas were gradually reduced from much more extensive and

ancient divine revelations but were perverted in the recent dark age

of Kaliyuga. As the only writings from this ancient period of India

they are considered the best source of knowledge we have, but the

ethical doctrines seem to have improved from the ancient hymns to the

mystical Upanishads. Essentially the Rig Veda is dominated by hymns

praising the Hindu gods for giving them wealth and prosperity. Agni,

Varuna, Indra, Sun and Mitra are the popular gods and Agni, the

fire-god considered a messenger of the gods. Surya the sun-god is

referred to as the eye of Varuna and the son of Dyaus and rides

through the sky on his chariot led by his twin sons, the Asvins who

represent his rays; Ushas the dawn is his wife or daughter. Maruts

are storm-gods shaped by Rudra. .

 

Sama Veda

The Sama Veda contains the melodies or music for the chants used from

the Rig Veda for the sacrifices; almost all of its written verses are

traceable to the Rig Veda, mostly the eighth and ninth books and most

to Indra, Agni, or Soma. These are considered the origin of Indian

music and probably stimulated great artistry to make the sacrifices

worthwhile to their patrons who supported the priests. The Sama Veda

helped to train the musicians and functioned as a hymnal for the

religious rites. The animal sacrifices did not use the Sama chants,

but they were used extensively in agricultural rites and in the soma

rituals for which the plant with inebriating and hallucinogenic

qualities was imported from the mountains to the heartland of India.

By this time the priests were specializing in different parts of the

sacrifices as professional musicians and singers increased. As the

sacrifices became more complex, the priestly class used them to

enhance their role in the society. Many considered this musical

portion the most important of the Vedas.

 

Yajur Veda

Though also following many of the hymns of the Rig Veda, the Yajur

Veda deviates more from the original text in its collection of the

ritual formulas for the priests to use in the sacrifices, which is

what yaja means. It explains how to construct the altars for new and

full-moon sacrifices and other ceremonies. The Yajur Veda has two

collections or samhitas called White and Black, the latter being more

obscure in its meanings.

 

Atharva Veda

The latest and fourth Veda is in a different category. For a long time

many referred to only three Vedas, by which complete ceremonies could

be conducted with the Rig hotr reciting, the Sama udgatri singing, and

the Yajur adhvaryu performing the ritual. Even later the Atharvan

Brahman's part was often performed unaccompanied by the other three

priests. The Atharva Veda is much longer than the Sama and Yajur and

only about a sixth of it is from the Rig Veda. The Atharva Veda is

primarily magical spells and incantations. The line between prayer and

magic and between white and black magic is usually drawn by ethical

considerations. The bheshajani are for healing and cures using herbs

to treat fever, leprosy, jaundice, dropsy, and other diseases. Dr. K.

M. Munshi (known as kulapathi who is also the founder of the

Bharathiya Vidhya Bhavan) in his book on `Vyasa,' points out that

Vyasa married Sage Atharva's daughter. According to this book, Vyasa

was responsible for forcing the scholars of his time to appreciate and

accept the rich treasure of Atharva Veda.

 

You have raised so many interesting questions and no simple answer can

satisfy everyone. We should use both historical facts and our common

sense for getting a reasonable answer. One of the drawback of our

"Oral tradition" is that we do not have clear written documents to

support one way or another. Kanchi Paramacharya in the book Vedas also

pointed out the religion of Hinduism is very different from religions

such as Islam and Christianity. They have one authentic text defining

the rules to practice their religion. Historians want to see black and

white to accept any facts and oral statements become just heresay and

unacceptable!

 

regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

advaitin, "Narayanan.K.G" <courtallam> wrote:

> 11-Oct

>

> My question may not be relevant to the main topic in

> this forum, but will appreciate if somebody can throw

> some light on this.

>

> Is Rg Veda the oldest Veda?

[Guest guest]

Namastey !

 

As is my habit, i tend to quote from kamakoti.org.

 

The fact that the Vedas are eternal is well accepted by many. Sri

Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswamiji of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti

Peetham explains it in his inimitable style at

http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap9.htm (English

translation of a chapter from Deivathin Kural, part of a book "Hindu

Dharma" published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan)

 

The above URL will throw some light on why the Vedas are considered to

be Eternal.

 

In a book titled "Acharya's Call", the Mahaswamiji also mentions that

the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, are all different branches of the Vedas.

 

In http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part14/chap5.htm the

Mahaswamiji also mentions that Vyasa divided the Vedas to make them

easier for people to learn.

 

The most comprehensive link that i could find on kamakoti.org about

Mahaswamiji's explanation is

http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap38.htm .

 

I hope the above texts help answer your question(s).

 

Best regards

 

Venkatesh

 

 

--------------------------

| http://www.kamakoti.org/ |

| A website on Hinduism, |

| with a difference ... |

--------------------------

 

 

-------------------

> 11-Oct

>

> My question may not be relevant to the main topic in

> this forum, but will appreciate if somebody can throw

> some light on this.

>

> Is Rg Veda the oldest Veda?

>

> In one of his discourses, Sri B. Sundara Kumar

> mentioned that the Vedas were divided into 4 by Veda

> Vyasa, and prior to that, there was only a single

> undivided Veda.

>

> He further said that, Veda mantras from Rg, Yajur and

> Sama are chanted during performance of yagnas, and

> since the rsis & yagnas were created simultaneously,

> there is no question of one veda being in existence

> for a longer period of time than another.

>

> When I was discussing this with another friend, he

> disputed this, saying that it is said in Purusha

> Sookta that Rg came first, then Yajur and Sama came

> out of it.

>

> Would like to know if someone in the list can clear

> this out.

>

> Hari Om

> Narayanan

>

> =====

> Thanks and Best Regards

> Narayanan.K.G.

> Spansa Chennai

> Tel/Fax: (44) 4925805

> Home : (44) 4925807

> Mobile : 98410-39894

> e-mail : spansa_chennai

>

>

>

> Make a great connection at Personals.

> http://personals.

>

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>

> Discussion of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy of

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> Advaitin List Archives available at:

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[Guest guest]

AUM shivaabhyannamaH

 

My only request to the original poster is to give the benefit of

doubt to the truth and tradition, and note the possibility that some

of the views expressed on this list could be totally wrong and

outright misleading.

 

In this context, I request you to listen to the audio lecture of shrI

rangapriya swami , you will find the link in the following link. He

explains the *true* significance of trayii, trividya etc. The lecture

is in Tamil.

 

http://www.escribe.com/religion/advaita/m9894.html

http://www.ramanuja.org/svss/rangapriya.html

 

I think the quotation by Ram (paNNikar) is not acceptable and so is

the view of Madhava. It is not acceptable to sampradaya. Please show

me a quote from a traditional Acharya which talks about atharvana

veda in that derogatory way you have described. Even though Ram's

post starts with reverent salutation to vyAsa and shankara by

paramAcharya ( a clever strategy), he answers the question with

paNNikar's quote. Which I think is unreliable.

 

Incidentally quotes from kAnchi paramAcharya indeed stresses the

importance of atharvana veda. vyAsa divided veda into 4 so that

people could learn at least one or a small part with the dull

intellect they have in kali yuga. He did not divide them into three.

And also note some very important upanishads are in atharvana veda.

All 4 veda-s are eternal and apourushheya, according to tradition. If

you suspect later additions, you should suspect in all 4. Not just in

atharvana veda.

 

In any case, I stress my request to all silent readers again. Please

consider the possibility that whatever that is written on lists like

these (I include advaita-l and ) could be totally wrong and

misleading. Better check your doubts with reputed sources.

 

By the same token you have the right to say whatever I have written

above is incorrect and baseless. I would not be offended, as I am

aware of my ignorance.

 

 

Respectfully,

Ravi

 

AUM kalidoshhaharaayai namaH

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Ravisankar S. Mayavaram" <miinalochanii>

link. He

> explains the *true* significance of trayii, trividya etc. The

lecture

> is in Tamil.

>

> http://www.escribe.com/religion/advaita/m9894.html

> http://www.ramanuja.org/svss/rangapriya.html

>

 

Lecture is in English and it is not in Tamil. I listened to the

lecture quite sometime back (Online). I hope still they have it

online. One thing that made very happy was, even though he is a

vaishhNava aachaarya he effortlessly quoted a verse from

shivAnandalaharii (in the context of animal sacrifice).

 

 

Ravi

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

Here is an excerpt from Kanchi Paramacharya's book:

 

http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap27.htm

 

"Atharvan" means a purohita, a priest. There was a sage with this

name. That which was revealed by the seer Atharvan is the Atharvaveda.

It contains mantras with which one wards off misfortunes and disasters

and brings about the destruction of one's enemies. The Atharvaveda is

a mixture of prose and poetry. The mantras of other Vedas also serve

the same purpose as those of the Atharvaveda. But what is special

about the latter is that it has references to deities not mentioned in

the others and has mantras addressed to fierce spirits. What has come

to be known as "mantrikam" (magical rites) has its source in this

Veda.

 

But it is to be noted that the Atharvaveda also contains mantras that

speak of lofty truths. It has the Prithvi-sukta, the hymn to earth,

which glorifies this planet with all its creatures.

 

The Atharvaveda is noteworthy for the fact that the brahma, the

supervisor of sacrifices, is its representative. The Atharvaveda, that

is its Samhita, is rarely chanted in the North and is not heard at all

in the South. But we must remember that of the ten important

Upanishads three belong to this Veda - Prasna, Mundaka and Mandukya.

It is believed that those who seek liberation need nothing to realise

their goal other than Madukya Upanishad.

 

We learn from stone inscriptions that the Atharvaveda had a following

until some centuries ago. Information about Vedic schools is provided

by such inscriptions found near Perani, not far from Tindivanam, at

Ennayiram and a place near Walajabad, in the neighbourhood of

Kancipuram. Even during the reign of the later Colas the Atharvaveda

was learned in the Tamil country.

 

There are eighteen divisions among the Brahmins of Orissa. One of

them is made up of "Atharvanikas", that is Atharvavedins. Even today

Atharvavedins are to be met, though their number is small, in parts of

Gujarat like Saurashtra and in Kosala( in U. P).

 

Gayatri is the mantra of mantras and it is believed to be the essence

of the three Vedas - which means that the Atharvaveda is excluded

here. According to one view, before he starts learning the

Atharvaveda, a brahmacharin must go through a second upanayana

ceremony. Generaly, the Gayatri imparted to a child at Brahmopadesa

ceremony is called "Tripada- Gayatri" - it is so called because it has

three padas or three feet. Each foot encompasses the essential spirit

of one Veda, The Atharvaveda has a seperate Gayatri and if people

belonging to other Vedas want to learn this Veda they have to go

through a second upanayana to receive instruction in it. For the

followers of the first three Vedas, however there is only one Gayatri

and those belonging to any one of them can learn the other two Vedas

without another upanayana.

 

(See chapters 36 and 38 of this part for more on sakhas or

recensions of the Vedas).

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

 

 

 

advaitin, "Ravisankar S. Mayavaram" <miinalochanii>

wrote:

> AUM shivaabhyannamaH

>

>

[Guest guest]

--- "Ravisankar S. Mayavaram"

<miinalochanii wrote:

> All 4 veda-s are eternal and apourushheya, according

 

If so, how then would one explain the statements in

Upanishads (which are apaurusheya) which refer to Rg

and other vedas (which are divisions made by a

purusha), like in the Narada-Sanatkumara conversation

in Chandogya? or the ones in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

(yadR^igvedo yajurvedaH sAmavedo) which even talks of

the itihAsa, purANAs (clearly paurusheya-granthas)?

 

Because of this, I'd *fantasise* that the Vedas are

originally in these four divisions, which got messed

up in time and got sorted out by 'Veda vyAsa'. The

only thing that rejects this fantasy is Veda vyAsa

couldn't have been 'vyAsa' (which means division),

unless the word, 'vyAsa' means a 'sorter'.

>

> By the same token you have the right to say whatever

> I have written

> above is incorrect and baseless. I would not be

> offended, as I am

> aware of my ignorance.

>

 

Ditto.

 

 

 

Make a great connection at Personals.

http://personals.

[Guest guest]

12-Oct

 

Namaste!

 

Thanks for the responses. I re-realized one thing.

There can be no simple way to learn the truth. There

are several opinions, some of them may be misleading,

but let us not take any credit away from those. They

are just stating what they believe to be correct.

 

Thanks again for all the responses.

 

Hari Om

 

=====

Thanks and Best Regards

Narayanan.K.G.

Spansa Chennai

Tel/Fax: (44) 4925805

Home : (44) 4925807

Mobile : 98410-39894

e-mail : spansa_chennai

 

 

 

Make a great connection at Personals.

http://personals.

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sri Ravi:

 

You have made an excellent point by the statement: "the possibility

that some of the views expressed on this list could be totally wrong

and outright misleading." Your point nicely explain the purpose and

role a discussion list such as advaitin, advaita-L and others to get

corrections and clarifications. Those who look for clarifications and

those who offer clarifications are able to meet and exchange. Those

who offer the clarifications like you, me, Madhava, Sunder and

Venkatesh are trying to do our best in expressing our view points.

Sometimes our view points have the potentials to be considered wrong

and even misleading. As human beings, we are limited and bound to make

errors because of ignorance and/or arrogance. But `trust' is quite

fundamental in our tradition (Sampradhayam) and we should learn to

respect other view points even if we don't agree with them.

 

One of the objective of this list is get help from scholars like you

and others to correct such errors and misleading view points. As long

as humility prevails during the discussions, we will learn to tolerate

errors and mistakes and politely point out clarifications and

corrections. The list members do have the right to enjoy the freedom

to express their view points even if such viewpoints turn out to be

partially or totally wrong. No discussion list including this one have

ever claimed that everything what is said here is always correct. On

the other hand, I and most of other list moderators are fully aware of

our shortcomings and we always welcome corrections and clarifications.

 

As one of the moderators of the list, I want you to know that this

list will always welcome and protect members to express their view

points as long as they meet the list guidelines. An open civil

discussion has the greatest potential for removing our ignorance,

errors and arrogance. Finally let me assure you that I and all my

fellow moderators have great respect for our traditions and beliefs. I

cherish our Vedic tradition and culture and the same tradition taught

me that "blind faith" is the greatest hindrance to Truth. Our

tradition also will accept the Truth wherever it comes from whether it

is coming from an orthodox Brahmin or a Christian scholar such as Dr.

paNNikar.

 

Here is another reference on Veda sited from the The Columbia

Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.

=================================================

Veda

Types of Vedic Literature

Composed according to an advanced poetic technique and complex

metrical system, the Veda consists of four types of literature:

Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka, and Upanishad. Most important are the

four Samhitas, which are the basic Vedas. The earliest is the Rig-Veda

(rig=stanza of praise), a collection of 1,028 hymns. The Sama-Veda

(saman=chant) consists of stanzas taken from the Rig-Veda meant to be

sung to fixed melodies. The Yajur-Veda (yajus=sacrificial prayer),

compiled a century or two later than the Rig-Veda, contains prose and

verse formulas that were to be pronounced by the priest performing the

manual part of the sacrifice. These three Vedas were recognized as

canonical and called Trayi Vidya [the threefold

knowledge]. The Atharva-Veda (atharvan=charm), written at a later

period, was included in the canon only after a long struggle.

Influenced by popular religion, it included spells and incantations

for the practice of magic. Each of these Vedas was taught in different

schools, and each school produced commentarial literature. The

Brahmanas are prose explanations of the sacrifice, while the

Aranyakas, or forest treatises, give instruction for the mental

performance of the sacrifice through meditation, thus forming a

transition to the Upanishads, works of mysticism and speculation.

 

Bibliography

M. Bloomfield, The Religion of the Veda (1908, repr. 1973);

A. B. Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Vedas and Upanishads

(1923, repr. 1976);

M. Winternitz, History of Indian Literature (3 vol., tr. 1927–33);

R. C. Majumdar, The Vedic Age (1951, repr. 1957);

E. V. Arnold, The Rigveda (1960, repr. 1972);

P. Olivelle, tr., Samnysa Upanishads (1992).

 

Source: http://www.bartelby.com/65/ve/Veda.html

============================================

 

Again I fully respect if you don't accept the above citation because

it is coming from a university of foreign origin. But many in this

list have the right to feel the other way and we have to respect their

opinion. In my previous posting, I did not make any disrespectful

statement regarding Sage Atharva and Atharva Veda. If you believe, I

did, please accept my apologies. I am fully aware of your good

intentions and thanks for sharing your view points.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

 

advaitin, "Ravisankar S. Mayavaram" <miinalochanii>

wrote:

> AUM shivaabhyannamaH

>

> My only request to the original poster is to give the benefit of

> doubt to the truth and tradition, and note the possibility that some

> of the views expressed on this list could be totally wrong and

> outright misleading.

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

Some additional notes for consideration are:

 

atharvaNa mantras are mentioned in the 'oldest' upanishads

- Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Taittiriya; as well as in Maitri and

Kaushitaki.

 

In a footnote to Chandogya I:i:9, S. Radhakrishnan states:

"Threefold knowledge relates to the three orders of priests in the

sacrificial rites. [shankara thinks that the reference is to Soma

sacrifice]."

 

This may also explain Gita's reference to 'traividyaa maa.n

somapaaH'- knowers of the three vedas and soma drinkers.

 

Brahma is the silent fourth priest who judges the faith and and

devotion of the sacrificers.

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

 

 

 

 

 

 

advaitin, "Madhava K. Turumella" <madhava@f...> wrote:

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Madhava K. Turumella" <madhava@f...> wrote:

>

> Also why is that Vedas are called "Trayi"? When they are four in

total?

>

 

 

Dear Madhava,

 

You did not read my links. I request you listen to audio file on

ramanuja site. Following is from my mail based on that to advaita-l.

 

 

------------------

Why is the word tribhiH translated as three veda-s? And what about the

fourth one? The three in tribhiH or trayii corresponds to the three

divisions in each veda, samhita, brahmaNa and AraNyaka-s. And there

is no reason to ignore atharva veda.

 

This explanation of trayii was given by shrI rangapriya swamiji.

Audio

file is available in the following site. Lecture is English.

 

http://www.ramanuja.org/svss/rangapriya.html

---------------

 

 

You can not get a very solid proof on many of these matters. It is

well known that veda-s are four. So the burden is on you to show me a

single reference which says "vyAsa divided and classified the single

veda into three" that is instead of four. The onus is on you not me.

It is not adequate to show trividya is commented as three veda-s.*

 

 

In ancient tamil literature is called as nAn-mARai ( 4 veda-s). Also

the count you gave for length of veda-s is wrong. Because only a few

are extant. If your read paramacharya's book on veda-s, he points to

the tamil reference "Ayiram shAkai uDaiyan" in the context of

praising shiva. That is sAma veda had 1000+ shAka-s.

 

 

Finally, veda-s are eternal. To give an example, gravity is a part of

structure of creation. It existed before Newton discovered it and

Einstein tried to explain it. shruti is seen by Rshhi-s. That is why

they are called seers. In Tamil they are called pArpAn which means

the same. They say in kali there are no seers. When we are back in

ssatya yuga, all that was lost will be recovered. That will not make

something late and something old. That is the difference between

discovery and invention.

 

 

I do not wish to continue this discussion further. Because I am not a

scholar and my only intention of the original post was to not the

possibility that what is posted may be totally incorrect. I came out

strong because, as similar discussion happened in the past with Mr

Ram (partly in advaita-l and partly in private), to which I was a

witness. May be you can call it my durvAsana.

 

AUM shivAbhyAnnamaH

 

Respectfully,

Ravi

 

* as an aside, I could say (my opinion) that trayii is that which

protects and trividya is shrii vidya as it has three parts. It may be

a baseless assertion. But till I prove, it will be unfair on me to

ask you to prove. This is because I am the one who is saying contrary

to the prevalent opinion.

[Guest guest]

Namaste Madhavaji,

 

It is referred to in several different places.

 

Interestingly, Taiitiriya II:iii:1, has this passage:

 

"This life is indeed the embodied soul of the former (physical

sheath). ...............The Yajurveda is its head; The Rigveda is its

right side; Sama veda the left side; teaching, the body; the hymns of

the Atharvans and Angirasas, the lower part, the foundation. "

 

[s.Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanishads].

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

 

 

advaitin, "Madhava K. Turumella" <madhava@f...> wrote:

> I think you are referring here Taittiriyopanishad "Om iti adhvaryuH

> pratigaraM pratigRUNAti" --- is it correct?

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Madhava K. Turumella" <madhava@f...> wrote:

>

>>

> I believe, there are four divisions to Vedas, not three! Samhita

(mantra),

> brahmaNa, Aranyakas AND Upanishads.

>

 

Not correct. Most upanishads come in final part of AraNyaka-s. But

they can be in other places too. For instance, the famous

ishaavasyopanishhad comes in samhita portion. Hence it is called

samhitopanishhad or mantropanishhad. Hence the division is only

three: samhita, brahmaNa and aaraNyaka.

 

This is my last post on this topic. As I am in no mind to flaunt my

ignorance.

 

Thank you.

 

Ravi

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Madhava K. Turumella" <madhava@f...> wrote:

 

Namaste,

 

The following excerpts from Kanchi Paramacharya's discourses may

help reconcile some of the divergent viewpoints:

 

http://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap27.htm

 

"Anantah vai Vedah", the Vedas are unending. The seers have, however,

revealed to us only a small part of them but it is sufficient for our

welfare in this world and next. We are not going to create many

universes like Brahma that we should know all the Vedas. We need to

know only as many as are necessary to ensure our good in this world.

 

____________________

 

http://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap30.htm

 

The Upanisads come at the close of the Aranyakas. If the Samhita is

the tree, the Brahmana the flower and the Aranyaka the fruit (i. e. in

its unripe stage), the Upanishads are the mellow fruit - the final

fruit or "phala".

____________________

 

http://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap32.htm

 

"Sruti" by which we mean the Vedas, contains not only the Samhitas

but also the Brahmanas, Aranyakas and the Upanisads.

__________________

 

Regards,

 

Sunder