Vedic Religion
Aryans were the “noble” people that were around in 1500 BCE, they spoke Sanskrit, and composed the Vedas. The Vedas are the earliest literacy record of Aryan civilization, and are considered the most sacred books of India. The earliest of them are the Vedic Samhitas. The Vedic Samhitas are hymns of praise in worship of deities. The Aryans believe in heavens, atmosphere, and earth, and were divided into three groups. The first group was the Brahmins, which were the priests and they connected to the Gods. The second group was the Kshatriyas, which consisted of the warriors. Finally, the third group was the Viashyas, which were the food producers, farmers, and manual laborers. The verses of the Vedic Samhitas were: First, the Rg Veda, which consisted of 1,028 hymns to devas. The priests, Hotrs, had a leading role in chanting Sanskrit hymns. Second, the Sama Veda, whose leading priests were Udgatrs. They sang using reorganized hymns from Rg Veda verses “using sacrificial offerings of Soma” (Rodrigues, Introducing Hinduism, p.25). Third, the Yajur Veda, whose leading priests were Udhvaryu, the were in charge of the preparation for the sacrifice. Their duties were to measure the ground, build the altar, prepare the sacrifice ground, add fire and do the cooking. Together the Rg Veda, Sama Veda, and Yajur Veda “constituted early orthodox Aryan scripture” (Rodrigues, Introducing Hinduism, p.25). Finally, the fourth Vedic Samhita was Atharva Veda, which was different from the other three. It consisted of magic, spells, and incantations, and its leading priests were the Brahmans. “The Atharva Veda Samhitas reveals ancient techniques of medicinal practice, warfare, and ritual, as well as astrological knowledge and philosophical speculation” (Rodrigues, Introducing Hinduism, p.26). “Vedic rituals (yajna) were thought to maintain the very order of the cosmos by providing nourishment to the gods” (Rodrigues, Introducing Hinduism, p.28). People performed these rituals as