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Ancient Vedic Texts
YogaLondon on 30 September, 2010 |

The exact age of the ancient Vedic texts is still somewhat unknown to us; but they have been range-dated from anywhere between 4000 BCE and 1500 BCE. They can be separated into four primary groups:

1) Samhita – Hymns, written by poets.
These can be further subdivided into four categories often referred to at the Four Vedas:
-Rig Veda (Ritual Yoga)
-Yajur Veda
-Sama Veda
-Atharva Veda (Magical Yoga)

2) Brahmana – Methodology of rituals, written by priests

3) Aranyaka – “Forest Books”. The prelude to the Upanishads

4) Upanishads – Commentaries on the Vedas, Authors unknown.
The Four Vedas were written in very cryptic short-hand. The Upanishads set out to explain what the Vedas hinted at more fully. These texts are often known as Vedanta, meaning ‘Vedas end’, as they form the culmination of Vedic literature. There are said to be a total of 108 Upanishads, however the 14 main works are:
Upanishads that comment on the Rig Veda
1) Aitareya Upanishad
2) Kaushitaki Upanishad
Upanishads that comment on the Yajur Veda
3) Maitri Upanishad
4) Svetasvatara Upanishad
5) Taittiriya Upanishad
6) Katha Upanishad – The most philosophical
7) Isha Upanishad – Very small and sometimes not counted
Upanishads that comment on the Sama Veda
8) Kena Upanishad
Upanishads that comment on the Atharva Veda
9) Isavasya Upanishad
10) Prasna Upanishad
11) Mandukya Upanishad – Four states of consciousness
12) Mundaka Upanishad – The most poetic
Other Upanishads
13) Chandogya Upanishad – One of the best known Upanishads
14) Brihadaranyaka Upanishad – The oldest Upanishad

From this single base, three major religious paths developed: Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.