It begins with praising the Supreme Being and goes on to agriculture, cattle-raising, and horse racing. These include Indra – King of Devas, Agni-God of Fire, and Ishwara – the Supreme God, Soma- a sacred portion of the plant used as offering in Vedic sacrifices, the Aranyakas – the philosophy behind the rituals, and the Upasanas – one that focuses on worship. The Rig Veda is of four text types – the Samhitas (hymns) singing the praises of the Rig Veda deities. Sages composed the hymns and verses, with ardent believers of the Hindu Dharma claiming that God taught the Vedic hymns to the sages who passed it down to later generations through oral recitation. The more modern texts bordering on philosophy originated in and around the region of Haryana. The earliest of the Rig Vedas originated in Greater Punjab (North-west India and Pakistan). The written manuscripts of the Rig Veda belong to one millennium BCE, although the ones in existence point to somewhere between the 11th and 14th centuries. A collection of Vedic hymns, they are a collection of 1,028 hymns and 10,600 verses. The Rig Vedas are the oldest texts of the Indian civilization dating back to the Aryans. The Upasana – They focus only on worship.The Brahmanas – They form the commentary on the hymns of the four Vedas.The Aranyakas – They form the philosophy behind the ritual sacrifices.The Samhitas – This is the most ancient layer of the Vedic text and comprises of mantras, hymns, prayers, and benedictions that put together the three other three books.The primary Veda is the Rigveda, and all of them agree with each other in form, language, and content, except the Atharvaveda.Įach of the Vedas has four major text types: The Vedas are four in number – the Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda. It is mentioned in the Vedic hymns themselves that they were the creation of sages. The epic Mahabharata states that the Supreme Creator Brahma created the Vedas. In Sanskrit, the Vedas mean SvatahPramana (self-evident means of knowledge). Hindu followers believe the Vedas to be Apaurusheya – not of humans but the supernatural. They were handed down for generations through word of mouth. The surviving ones lie between the 11th and 14th centuries, going by the material of the manuscripts, which are in birch bark and palm leaves.Īccording to legend, the Vedic hymns were taught by God to the sages. The Vedas in written form date back to one millennium BCE. The Vedas date back to 1600 BC, and there is no specific date to validate the composition of the Hindu scriptures as they were handed down through generations by oral tradition over the ages. Dating back to the beginning of Indian civilization, they form a vast ocean of knowledge, detailing religious and spiritual teachings. Rishi Vyasa compiled the Vedas, and they are the oldest scriptures in Hinduism. The Vedas are the oldest written texts on earth, and people consider them the earliest literary records in Sanskrit.