THE SAMHITAS (RIG VEDA, SAMA VEDA,
YAJUR VEDA AND ATHARVA VEDA): CONTEXT, CULTURE, RELIGION AND SOCIETY
Introduction
The Indian literature
has a great history spanning at least three millennia expressed in speech and
writing. Among the Indian literature, Vedas are the oldest Indian literary
monuments in the history of world literature. The Vedas[1]
are divided into two parts: Karma-kanda (consisting of Samhitas[2]
and Brahmanas[3])
and Gnana-kanda (consisting of Aranyakas[4]
and Upanishads[5]).
This paper focuses on Samhitas, the first part of each Vedas, which is a
collection of mantras; the Samhitas are sometimes also referred to as the ‘mantras’.
The focus will be on the context of Samhitas, comprising of its cultural,
religious as well as social backgrounds.
