SAM
VED
Like
the other veds the Sam Ved too has two portions incantation and
explanation. The incantation portion in the Sam Ved is about half
as long as the Rig Ved. Like the Yajur Ved, the Sam Ved too borrows
heavily from the Rig Ved. You may begin to feel that the Rig Ved
is the mother of all Veds. It's almost true but the fact is that
the other Veds capture simpler moods of existence. Sam Ved is
the path to salvation through devotion, perhaps the most popular
approach of Man at any given point in time.
The
Sam Ved derives its name from the word Sam or hymn. This ved is
full of hymns naturally the best tool of blind devotion. What's
interesting to note is that in all religions, across the globe,
devotion is best expressed through songs. There is a school of
thought that suggests that a vast majority of people cannot comprehend
the Supreme Being through knowledge or a fervent sense of destiny.
The world is materialistic it always was Music somehow unites
the material world with a higher plane. That is why hymns like
in Sam Ved are so significant. For the overwhelming majority who
are limited by intellect, hymns bring them closer to the maker.
Having learnt that, we should know that Sam Ved is not purely
songs. It has its share of monotonous chants.
Though
there is a theory that suggests that the Sam Ved, over the centuries,
was divided into thousand different branches, records show only
thirteen branches. Of the thirteen, the physical evidence of only
three branches is now available. We should understand that while
some people documented the veds, it was originally transferred
from mouth to ear.
Therefore
it should be surprising that a huge chunk of the veds are actually
lost today. The three branches that have survived to grace us
today are Ranayana, Kuthuma and Jaimini. Sadly only these three
branches pass off as Sam Ved today. They contain between them
1875 mantras nearly by 184 seers which is set to tune of music
by 285 seers. About 4000 hymns are based around these mantras.
These are further divided into two categories purvarchika which
contains 650 mantras and uttarachika which contains 1225 mantras.
In purvarchika, each mantra is divided into chapters but in uttarchika
the mantras are not divided into chapters. But the entire collection
of 1225 mantras are categorized as chapters. The reason of this
is not known but some say there may be a hidden significance that
is lost on us.
What's interesting to note is that while most of the verses in
the Rig Ved and the Yajur Ved run deep in philosophical content,
the mantras in the Sam Ved are mere prayers. They presume that
God is a physical entity who has to be believed in and prayed
to.
The veds remind one of the most unique natures of what is called
Hinduism. While most religions are one-dimensional in the sense
that they teach devotion, the veds addresses different kinds of
people on basis of their intellectual growth.