Samaveda

The Brahmanas of the Samaveda are the Panchavimsha (“of 25 [books]”), the Shadvimsha (“of 26 [books]”), and the Jaiminiya (or Talavakara) Brahmana. They show almost complete accordance in their exposition of the “going of the cows” ceremony, the various soma ceremonies, and the different rites lasting from 1 to…

…Veda Composed in Verses”), the Sāmaveda (“The Veda of the Chants”), the Yajurveda (“The Veda of Sacrificial Formulas”), and the Atharvaveda (“The Veda of the Fire Priest”). The Yajurveda is in turn divided into two main branches, the White (śukla) Yajurveda and the Black (ḳṛṣṇa) Yajurveda. All of these Vedic…

…time, a third Veda, the Samaveda, was created for liturgical purposes. The Samaveda was also derived from the hymns of the Rigveda, but the words were distorted by the repetition of syllables, pauses, prolongations, and phonetic changes, as well as the insertion of certain meaningless syllables believed to have magical…

1100 bc), the Sāmaveda (Veda of the Chants), is in essence an anthology of the Rigveda. More literary interest attaches to the fourth Veda (1200 bc), the Atharvaveda (an atharvan was a special priest), which contains hymns, incantations, and many magic charms.

…as a separate Samhita, the Samaveda (“Knowledge of the Chants”). Those three Vedas—Rig, Yajur, and Sama—were known as the trayi-vidya (“threefold knowledge”). A fourth collection of hymns, magic spells, and incantations is known as the Atharvaveda (“Knowledge of the Fire Priest”), which includes various local traditions and remains partly outside…

The Yajurveda and Samaveda are completely subordinate to the liturgy. The Yajurveda contains the lines, usually in brief prose, with which the executive priest (adhvaryu) accompanies his ritual activities, addressing the implements he handles and the offering he pours and admonishing other priests to…

…for a later collection, the Sāmaveda (“Veda of the Chants”), the hymns of which are sung in a style that is more florid, melodic, and melismatic (one word to two or more notes) rather than syllabic, and the range of tones is extended to six or more.

The Samaveda, or “Veda of Chants,” is made up of a selection of verses—drawn almost wholly from the Rigveda—that are provided with musical notation and are intended as an aid to the performance of sacred songs. Finally, the Atharvaveda is a later compilation that includes incantations…