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Which four collections make up the Vedas?
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Hinduism
Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma (left to right) pay homage to Mahadevi (the great goddess, in white in the form of Saraswati), attended by the elephant-headed deity Ganesha, in a painting dated c. 1750.
The Vedas, which constitute the primary revealed scripture of Hinduism, are composed of four distinct collections known as Samhitas. These four collections are:12
- Rigveda: The oldest and foremost collection, consisting of hymns or "Wisdom of the Verses".12
- Yajurveda: A collection of sacrificial formulas or "Wisdom of the Sacrificial Formulas".12
- Samaveda: A collection of melodic chants or "Wisdom of the Chants".12
- Atharvaveda: A collection of hymns, magic spells, and incantations known as the "Wisdom of the Atharvan Priests".12
Together, the Rigveda, Yajurveda, and Samaveda were historically referred to as the trayi-vidya ("threefold knowledge"). While the entire corpus of Vedic literature also includes Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads, these four Samhitas represent the foundational collections of the Veda.21