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Vedanta

The name “Vedic” comes from the Sanskrit word “Veda,” which means “knowledge.” The Sanskrit word Vedanta (veda-anta) signifies "end " or "bound of the Vedas." It was originally given, at a somewhat advanced stage of their development, to the works called Upanishads, and subsequently to the various philosophies claiming to be based upon them. Besides the Upanishads, the system promulgated in the ninth century by Sankara in his great commentary Sariraka-bhashya was the epitome of Upanishadic doctrine commonly known as the Brahma-sutra, or "Aphorisms of Brahma," and traditionally ascribed to one or the other of the legendary sages Badarayana and Vyasa. The six branches of Vedic science, included under the term Vedanta, are as follows :—

(1) Siksha, or Phonetics. The privileged position of representing this subject is assigned to a small treatise ascribed to the great grammarian Pagini, viz., the Paniniasiksha, extant in two different (rik and Yajus) recensions. But neither this treatise nor any other of the numerous Sikshas which have come to light can lay claim to any very high age. Scholars, however, usually include under this head certain works, called Pratisakhya, i.e., "belonging to a certain sakha or recension," which deal minutely with the phonetic peculiarities of the several Samhitas, and are of great importance for the textual criticism of the Vedic Samhitas.

(2) Chhandas, or Meter. Tradition makes the Chhandah-sutra of Pingala tho starting-point of prosody. The Vedic meters, however, occupy but a small part of this treatise, and they are evidently dealt with in a more original manner in the Nidann-sutra of the Samaveda, and in a chapter of the Rik-pratisatkhya. For profane prosody, on the other hand, Pingala's treatise is rather valuable, no less than 160 meters being described by him.

(3) Vydkarana, or Grammar. Panini's famous grammar is said to be the Vedanga; but it marks the culminating point of grammatical research rather than the beginning, and besides treats chiefly of the post-Vedic language.

(4) Nirukta, or Etymology. Yaska's Nirukta is the traditional representative of this subject, and this important work certainly deals entirely with Vedic etymology or explanation. It consists, in the first place, of strings of words in three chapters:—(1) synonymous words; (2) such as are purely or chiefly Vedic; and (3) names of deities. These lists are followed by Yaska's commentary, interspersed with numerous illustrations. Yaska, again, quotes several predecessors in the same branch of science; and it is probable that the original works on this subject consisted merely of lists of words similar to those handed down by him.

(5) Jyotisha, or Astronomy. Although astronomical calculations are frequently referred to in older works in connexion with the performance of sacrifices, the metrical treatise which has come down in two different recensions under the title of Jyotisha, ascribed to one Lagadha, or Lagata, seems indeed to be the oldest existing systematic treatise on astronomical subjects. With the exception of some apparently spurious verses of one of the recensions, it betrays no sign of the Greek influence which shows itself in Hindu astronomical works from about the third century AD; and its date may therefore be set down as probably not later than the early centuries after Christ.

(6) Kalpa, or Ceremonial. Tradition does not single out any special work as the Vedanga in this branch of Vedic science; but the sacrificial practice gave rise to a large number of systematic sutra-manuals for the several classes of priests. The most important of these works have come down, and they occupy by far the most prominent place among the literary productions of the sutra-period. The Kalpa-sutras, or rules of ceremonial, are of two kinds:—(1) the Srauta-sutras, which are based on the sruti, and teach the performance of the great sacrifices, requiring three sacrificial fires; and (2) the Smartasutra, or rules based on tho smriti or tradition. Besides, the Srauta-sutras of the Yajurveda have usually attached to them a set of so-called Sulva-sutras, "rules of the cord," which treat of the measurement by means of cords, and the construction, of different kinds of altars required for sacrifices.