A report on Vedas, Atharvaveda and Brahman

Four Vedas
Four Vedas
(Om) signifies the essence of Brahman, the ultimate reality.
The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the Atharvaveda.
A page from the Atharva Veda Samhita, its most ancient layer of text.
A drop in the ocean: an analogy for Ātman merging into Brahman.
Rigveda manuscript in Devanagari
Rishi Caraka (above), the author of Caraka Samhita credits Atharvaveda as an inspiration.
Swan (Hansa, हंस) is the symbol for Brahman-Atman in Hindu iconography.
A page from the Taittiriya Samhita, a layer of text within the Yajurveda

The text is the fourth Veda, and is a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism.

- Atharvaveda

There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda.

- Vedas

Brahman is a key concept found in the Vedas, and it is extensively discussed in the early Upanishads.

- Brahman

A brāhm a ṇ a (ब्राह्मण) (masculine, same pronunciation as above), means priest; in this usage the word is usually rendered in English as "Brahmin". This usage is also found in the Atharva Veda. In neuter plural form, Brahmāṇi. See Vedic priest.

- Brahman

The Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads, among other things, interpret and discuss the Samhitas in philosophical and metaphorical ways to explore abstract concepts such as the Absolute (Brahman), and the soul or the self (Atman), introducing Vedanta philosophy, one of the major trends of later Hinduism.

- Vedas

For example, the Book 10 of Paippalada recension is more detailed and observed carefully not doing a single mistake, more developed and more conspicuous in describing monism, the concept of "oneness of Brahman, all life forms and the world".

- Atharvaveda
Four Vedas

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A 17th-century manuscript page of Sadvimsha Brahmana, a Pañcaviṃśa-Brāhmaṇa supplement (Sanskrit, Devanagari). It is found embedded in the Samaveda.

Brahmana

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A 17th-century manuscript page of Sadvimsha Brahmana, a Pañcaviṃśa-Brāhmaṇa supplement (Sanskrit, Devanagari). It is found embedded in the Samaveda.
Page form the Mimamsa sutra of Jaiminimi, who also recorded the Jaiminiya Brahmana and other works.
Extract from a 13th-century manuscript of the Shatapatha Brahmana (Khanda 14).
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Atharva-Veda samhita page.

The Brahmanas (Sanskrit: ब्राह्मणम्, Brāhmaṇam) are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas.

M. Haug states that etymologically, 'the word ['Brahmana' or 'Brahmanam'] is derived from brahman which properly signifies the Brahma priest who must know all Vedas, and understand the whole course and meaning of the sacrifice... the dictum of such a Brahma priest who passed as a great authority, was called a Brahmanam'.

The four Vedas

Rigveda

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Ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (sūktas).

Ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (sūktas).

The four Vedas
Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript in Devanagari, early 19th century. After a scribal benediction ('), the first line has the first pada, RV 1.1.1a ('). The pitch-accent is marked by underscores and vertical overscores in red.
A map of tribes and rivers mentioned in the Rigveda.
Geographical distribution of the Late Vedic Period. Each of major regions had their own recension of Rig Veda (Śākhās), and the versions varied.
Rigveda manuscript page, Mandala 1, Hymn 1 (Sukta 1), lines 1.1.1 to 1.1.9 (Sanskrit, Devanagari script)
Devi sukta, which highlights the goddess tradition of Hinduism is found in Rigveda hymns 10.125. It is cited in Devi Mahatmya and is recited every year during the Durga Puja festival.
The hymn 10.85 of the Rigveda includes the Vivaha-sukta (above). Its recitation continues to be a part of Hindu wedding rituals.

It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (śruti) known as the Vedas.

Book 10 contributes the largest number of the 1350 verses of Rigveda found in Atharvaveda, or about one fifth of the 5987 verses in the Atharvaveda text.

The Rigvedic verses formulate this Rta as effected by Brahman, a significant and non-self-evident truth.

Vyasa, the sage who, according to tradition, composed the Upanishads.

Upanishads

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The Upanishads (उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts of Hindu philosophy which supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.

The Upanishads (उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts of Hindu philosophy which supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.

Vyasa, the sage who, according to tradition, composed the Upanishads.
Geography of the Late Vedic Period
A page of Isha Upanishad manuscript
Impact of a drop of water, a common analogy for Brahman and the Ātman
Adi Shankara, expounder of Advaita Vedanta and commentator (bhashya) on the Upanishads
German 19th century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, impressed by the Upanishads, called the texts "the production of the highest human wisdom".

They are the most recent part of the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, and deal with meditation, philosophy, consciousness and ontological knowledge; earlier parts of the Vedas deal with mantras, benedictions, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices.

Most of these sectarian Upanishads, for example the Rudrahridaya Upanishad and the Mahanarayana Upanishad, assert that all the Hindu gods and goddesses are the same, all an aspect and manifestation of Brahman, the Vedic concept for metaphysical ultimate reality before and after the creation of the Universe.

All Upanishads are associated with one of the four Vedas—Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda (there are two primary versions or Samhitas of the Yajurveda: Shukla Yajurveda, Krishna Yajurveda), and Atharvaveda.