The Upanishads
are the most important portion of the Vedas. The Upanishads contain
the essence or the knowledge of the Vedas. The Upanishads speak
of the identity of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. They
reveal the most subtle and deep spiritual truths and are meant
for Sannyasins. The collection of teachings generated by the ascetics
who meditated on the mysteries of human existence came to be known
as the Upanishads, which literally means "sitting near" the gurus.
Over a hundred Upanishads exist, but only a dozen, or so, are
considered authentic. They are:
1) Isa 2) Kena 3) Katha 4) Prasna 5) Mundaka 6) Mandukya 7) Taittiriya
8) Aitareya 9) Chandogya 10) Brhad-aranyaka 11) Svetasvatara
Rig Veda
The Rig-Veda is divided into twenty-one sections. The Rig-Veda
Samhita is the grandest and oldest book of the Hindus. Its immortal
Mantras embody the greatest truths of existence. and Its priest
is called the Hotri. There are two Brahmanas to the Rig-Veda namely
the Aitareya and the Sankhayana. The Rig Veda is composed of ten
books (called mandalas in Sanskrit). Of these, seven books relate
primarily to one great seer and the family he belongs to- Gritsamada
and his family, the Bhrigus; Vishwamitra and his family; Vamadeva
and the Gotama family; Atri and his family; Bharadvaja and his
family; Vasishta and his family; and the eighth to the Kanwas.
The first book is a collection of hymns from seers of different
families, mainly earlier ones. The tenth book is a collection
of various earlier and later hymns. The ninth book is the collection
of Soma hymns mainly from the Bhrigus and Angirasas. The Soma
book is the oldest of them all.
Yajur Veda
The Yajur-Veda is divided into two parts, the Sukla and the Krishna.
The Krishna or the Taittiriya is the older book and the Sukla
or the Vajasaneya is a later revelation to sage Yajnavalkya from
the resplendent Sun-God. The Yajur-Veda is divided into one hundred
and nine sections. The Yajur-Veda Samhita is mostly in prose and
is meant to be used by the Adhvaryu, the Yajur-Vedic priest, for
superfluous explanations of the rites in sacrifices, supplementing
the Rig-Vedic Mantras. The Satapatha Brahmana belongs to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
The Krishna-Yajur-Veda has the Taittiriya and the Maitrayana Brahmanas.
Sama Veda
The Sama-Veda Samhita is mostly borrowed from the Rig-Vedic Samhita,
and is meant to be sung by the Udgatri, the Sama Vedic priest,
in sacrifices. The Tandya or Panchavimsa, the Shadvimsa, the Chandogya,
the Adbhuta, the Arsheya and the Upanishad Brahmanas belong to
the Sama-Veda. The Sama-Veda has one thousand sections.
Atharva Veda
The Atharva-Veda is divided into fifty sections. 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
accidentally be committed by the other three priests of the sacrifice.
The Brahmana of the Atharva-Veda is called the Gopatha. Each of
the Brahmanas has got an Aranyaka
Yajurveda and Saama Veda use the hymns of Rig-Veda and Atharva
Veda and rearrange them in a manner suitable for rituals.
Agamas (emanated scriptures) are books which are classified into
five for the following purposes:
Energy - Shakti - Sakta Agamas
Visible source (Sun) - Surya - Soura Agamas
Controller - Ganapati - Ganapatya Agamas
Destroyer - Siva - Saiva Agamas
Ultimate source - Vishnu - Vaikhanasa Agamas
