Vedas << VAY duhz >> are the oldest sacred books of Hinduism. They were probably composed beginning about 1400 B.C. The Vedas include the basis of the doctrines about Hindu divinities. The books also present philosophical ideas about the nature of Brahman, Hinduism’s supreme divine being. The word veda means knowledge.
There are four Vedas. They are, in order of age beginning with the oldest, Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda. The Vedas are also called Samhitas. They are collections of chiefly verse texts that provided the liturgies of the holiest rites of the early religion. Attached to the Vedas are two important later texts. The Brahmanas are long prose essays that explain the mythological and theological significance of the rites. After the Brahmanas came highly speculative works called the Upanishads. The inward reflection of the Upanishads and their search for unity in existence gave rise to the development of Indian philosophy.
Hindu law permitted only certain persons to hear the Vedas recited, and so the works became surrounded by mystery. Nevertheless, ideas presented in the Vedas spread throughout Indian culture.
