The oldest texts are the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and the Atharvaveda. It is said in the Muktikopanishad that these four Vedas had 21, 109, 1000, and 50 branches respectively, with over 100,000 verses. Now, however, we can only find around 20,023 (some say 20,379) verses in total from these four Vedas.
The Rigveda, known as the “Veda of Praise,” comprises 1,017 hymns and 10,522 verses organized into ten books or mandalas. These hymns primarily offer praise to various demigods and are recited during Vedic ceremonies to fulfil material needs. The chants are performed by specialized priests to ensure accuracy in producing the intended effects. The main gods revered in the Rigveda include Indra, Agni, and Surya, with Surya also being associated with Narayana or Vishnu. Other celestial gods mentioned in the Rigveda include Dyos, Varuna, Soma, Marut, Rudra, and Vishnu.
The Rigveda, a mystical text, contains abstract imagery conveying the knowledge realized by the seers, including information on yoga, the spinal current, chakras, as well as the planets and their orbits, with many of these aspects also present in other Vedas. It is said to have had 21 branches, of which only two are still available, including much of the Shakal branch and the Brahmana and Aranyaka of the Shankhayana branch. Despite few historical records of the early Vedic kings, there are some stories in the Rigveda, and attempts to gain a historical understanding of the early Vedic kingdom and Aryans have been challenging for linguists and researchers studying the Rigveda.
The Yajurveda, also known as the “Veda of Rituals,” consists of 1975 verse mantras in 40 chapters, many of which are similar to those in the Rigveda. These verses are used in rituals, particularly by the adhvaryu, and are associated with different levels of knowledge and wisdom. Initially having 109 branches of knowledge, the Yajurveda now only has parts of seven branches, with the Vajasaneyi being the most prominent. It comprises two Samhitas: the White Yajurveda (or Vajasaneyisamhita) with hymns and rituals, and the Black Yajurveda (or Taittiriyasamhita) with their interpretations. These texts were created as guides for the priests to perform sacred rituals, such as the ashvamedha or rajasuya, also including directions and formulas used during the ceremonies.
The Samaveda, the “Veda of Melodies,” contains 1549 verses meant to be used as songs in various ceremonies, primarily for the udgata priest. Most of them are taken from the Rigveda and arranged according to their use as utilized in particular rituals. From the original 1000 branches of the Samaveda, three are still available, of which the Kauthumiya and Jaiminiya are prominent.
The Atharvaveda, also known as the “Veda of Chants,” originally had 50 branches, but only the Shaunak branch exists today. It comprises 5977 verses in 20 chapters with prayers, spells, and incantations resembling magical instructions found in various traditions. Additionally, the Atharvaveda contains verses of wisdom, descriptions of the soul and God, alongside rules for worship, oblations, sacrifices, prayers for averting evil, incantations for personal desires, mainly addressing material needs.
The department of Vedas was started in 2005. The department’s aims and objectives are to propagate and protect the vedic tradition of four vedas along with research work and study of life, works and ideas of special reference to his interpretation of the Vedas and related works. There is one permanent position on the faculty, and the other is a guest lecturer. At present, Dr. Prakash Chandra Satpathy, Asst. Professor heading the department has good experience and is a renowned Vedic Scholar and another Vedic Scholar is Shri Pranjali Mishra, a guest lecturer with a hard worker and a young one.