Samaveda

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The Samaveda (Sanskrit: , smaveda, from sman "song" and veda "knowledge"), is the
Veda of melodies and chants.[1] It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and part of the scriptures
of Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text whose 1,875 verses are primary derived
from the Rigveda.[2]Three recensions of the Samaveda have survived, and variant manuscripts of
the Veda have been found in various parts of India.[3][4]
While its earliest parts are believed to date from as early as the Rigvedic period, the existing
compilation dates from the post-Rigvedic Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit, c. 1200 or 1000 BCE,
but roughly contemporary with the Atharvaveda and the Yajurveda.[5]
Embedded inside the Samaveda is the widely studied Chandogya Upanishad and Kena
Upanishad, considered as primary Upanishads and as influential on the six schools of Hindu
philosophy, particularly the Vedanta school.[6] The classical Indian music and dance tradition
considers the chants and melodies in Samaveda as one of its roots. [7]
It is also referred to as Sama Veda.[8]

Contents
[hide]

1Text

o 1.1Recensions

o 1.2Organization

o 1.3Analytics

2Contents

o 2.1Upanishads

2.1.1Chandogya Upanishad

2.1.2Kena Upanishad

3Dating and historical context

4Manuscripts and translations

5Cultural influence

6See also

7References

8External links

Text[edit]

Geographical distribution of the Vedic era texts. Samaveda recensions from the Kauthuma (north India)
and Jaiminiya (central India) regions are among those that have survived, and their manuscripts have
been found in different parts of India.

The Samaveda is the Veda of Chants, or "storehouse of knowledge of chants".[9] According

to Frits Staal, it is "the Rigveda set to music".[10]It is a fusion of older melodies (sman) and the
Rig verses.[10] It has far fewer verses than Rigveda,[4] but Samaveda is textually larger because it
lists all the chant- and rituals-related score modifications of the verses. [10]
The Samaveda text contains notated melodies, and these are probably the world's oldest
surviving ones.[11] The musical notation is written usually immediately above, sometimes within,
the line of Samaveda text, either in syllabic or a numerical form depending on the
Samavedic Sakha (school).[12]
Recensions[edit]
R. T. H. Griffith says that there are three recensions of the text of the Samaveda Samhita: [3]

the Kauthuma recension is current in Gujarat, Uttar

Pradesh, Orissa and since a few decades in Darbhanga, Bihar,

the Rnyanya in the Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gokarna, few

parts of Orissa

and the Jaiminiya in the Carnatic, Tamil Nadu and Kerala

Organization[edit]
The Samaveda comprises two major parts. The first part include four melody collections (gna,
) and the second part three verse "books" (rcika, ).[2] A melody in the song books
corresponds to a verse in the arcika books.[2] The Gana collection is subdivided
into Gramageya and Aranyageya, while the Arcika portion is subdivided
into Purvarcika and Uttararcika portions.[13] The Purvarcika portion of the text has 585 single
stanza verses and is organized in order of deities, while Uttararcika text is ordered by rituals.
[13]
The Gramageya melodies are those for public recitations, while Aranyageya melodies are for
personal meditative use such as in the solitude of a forest.[13] Typically, the Purvarcika collection
were sung to melodies described in the Gramageya-Gnas index, and the rules of how the
verses mapped to verses is described in the Sanskrit texts such as the Puspasutra.[13]
Just like Rigveda, the early sections of Samaveda typically begin with Agni and Indra hymns but
shift to abstract speculations and philosophy, and their meters too shifts in a descending order.
[2]
The later sections of the Samaveda, states Witzel, have least deviation from substance of
hymns they derive from Rigveda into songs.[2] The purpose of Samaveda was liturgical, and they
were the repertoire of the udgtr or
"singer" priests.[2]
The Samaveda, like other Vedas, contains several layers of text, with Samhita being the oldest
and the Upanishads the youngest layer.[14]

Samaveda[14]

Vedic School Brahmana Upanishads Shrauta Sutras

Kauthuma-Ranayaniya Pancavimsa Sadvimsa Chandogya Upanishad Latyayana Drahyayana

Kena Upanishad
Jaiminiya or Talavakara Jaiminiya Jaiminiya
Jaiminiya Upanishad

Analytics[edit]
The Samaveda consists of 1,549 unique verses, taken almost entirely from Rigveda, except for
75 verses.[2][15] The largest number of verse come from Books 9 and 8 of the Rig Veda. [16] Some of
the Rigvedic verses are repeated more than once. Including these repetitions, there are a total of
1,875 verses numbered in the Samaveda recension translated by Griffith.[17]

Contents[edit]
Samaveda samhita is not meant to be read as a text, it is like a musical score sheet that must
be heard.[1]
Staal states that the melodies likely existed before the verses in ancient India, and the words of
the Rigveda verses were mapped into those pre-existing melodies, because some early words fit
and flow, while later words do not quite fit the melody in the same verse. [1] The text uses creative
structures, called Stobha, to help embellish, transform or play with the words so that they better
fit into a desired musical harmony.[18][19] Some verses add in meaningless sounds of a lullaby, for
probably the same reason, remarks Staal.[1] Thus the contents of the Samaveda represent a
tradition and a creative synthesis of music, sounds, meaning and spirituality, the text was not
entirely a sudden inspiration.[1]
The portion of the first song of Samaveda illustrates the link and mapping of Rigvedic verses into
a melodic chant:[1]

Vina (lute) is mentioned in Samaveda.[20]

Rigveda 6.16.10[21]
Agna yhi vtaye

Samaveda transformation (Jaiminiya manuscript):

o gn i / y hi v i / t y i t y i /

Translation:
O Agni, come to the feast.

Samaveda 1.1.1, Translated by Frits Staal[1]

Upanishads[edit]
Two primary Upanishads of Hinduism are embedded inside the Samaveda the Chandogya
Upanishad and the Kena Upanishad. Both are notable for the lifting metric melodic structure, but
it is Chandogya which has played a historic role in the evolution of various schools of Hindu
philosophy. The embedded philosophical premises in Chandogya Upanishad have, for example,
served as foundation for Vedanta school of Hinduism.[6] It is one of the most cited texts in
later Bhasyas (reviews and commentaries) by scholars from the diverse schools of Hinduism. Adi
Shankara, for example, cited Chandogya Upanishad 810 times in his Vedanta Sutra Bhasya,
more than any other ancient text.[22]
Chandogya Upanishad[edit]
Main article: Chandogya Upanishad
The Chandogya Upanishad belongs to the Tandya school of the Samaveda.
[23]
Like Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, the Chandogya Upanishad is an anthology of texts that must
have pre-existed as separate texts, and were edited into a larger text by one or more ancient
Indian scholars.[23] The precise chronology of Chandogya Upanishad is uncertain, but it is the
youngest layer of text in the Samaveda, and it is variously dated to have been composed by 8th
to 6th century BCE in India.[24][25]
The Chandogya text combines a metric, melodic structure with a wide range of speculations and
philosophical topics. The text in eighth and ninth volumes of the first chapter, for example,
describes the debate between three men proficient in Udgitha, about the origins and support
of Udgitha and all of empirical existence.[26] The text summarizes their discussion as,
What is the origin of this world?[27]
Space, said he. Verily, all things here arise out of space. They disappear back into space, for
space alone is greater than these, space is the final goal.
This is the most excellent Udgitha. This is endless. The most excellent is his, the most excellent
worlds does he win, who, knowing it thus, reveres the most excellent Udgitha (Om, ).
Chandogya Upanishad 1.9.1-1.9.2[26]
Max Muller notes that the term "space" above, was later asserted in the Vedanta Sutra verse
1.1.22 to be a symbolism for the Vedic concept of Brahman.[27] Paul Deussen explains the
term Brahman means the "creative principle which lies realized in the whole world". [28] The text
discusses Dharma and many other topics:
There are three branches of Dharma (religious life, duty): Yajna (sacrifice), Svdhyya (self
study) and Dna (charity) are the first,
Tapas (austerity, meditation) is the second, while dwelling as a Brahmacharya for education in
the house of a teacher is third,
All three achieve the blessed worlds. But the Brahmasamstha one who is firmly grounded in
Brahman alone achieves immortality.

Chandogya Upanishad 2.23.1[29][30][31]

Kena Upanishad[edit]
Main article: Kena Upanishad
The Kena Upanishad is embedded inside the last section of the Talavakara
Brahmanam recension of the Samaveda.[32][33] It is much shorter, but it too delves into
philosophical and spiritual questions like the Chandogya Upanishad. In the fourth chapter, the
Kena Upanishad states, for example, that all beings have an innate longing for spiritual
knowledge, for self-awareness.[34] This knowledge of Atman-Brahman
is Tadvanam (transcendental happiness, blissfulness).[35] In the final paragraphs, Kena Upanishad
asserts ethical life as the foundation of self-knowledge and of Atman-Brahman.
Tapas,[36] Damah,[37] Work - these are the foundations, the Vedas are the limbs of the same,
the Truth is its fulcrum.

Kena Upanishad, 4.8 (paragraph 33)[38]

Dating and historical context[edit]

Michael Witzel states that there is no absolute dating for Samaveda and other Vedic texts. [39] He
estimates the composition of the samhita layer of the text chronologically after the Rigveda, and
in the likely range of 1200 to 1000 BCE, roughly contemporary with the Atharvaveda and
the Yajurveda.[39]
There were about a dozen styles of Samavedic chanting. Of the three surviving versions, the
Jaiminiya preserves the oldest surviving tradition of Samavedic chanting. [11]

Manuscripts and translations[edit]

The Kauthuma recension has been published (Samhita, Brahmana, Shrautasutra and ancillary
Sutras, mainly by the late B.R. Sharma), parts of the Jaiminiya tradition remain unpublished.
[40]
There is an edition of the first part of the Samhita by W. Caland[41] and of the Brahmana by
Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra,[42] as well as the neglected Upanishad,[43] but only parts of the
Shrautasutra. The song books remain unpublished.[44]
A German edition of Samaveda was published in 1848 by Theodor Benfey,[45] and Satyavrata
Samashrami published an edited Sanskrit version in 1873.[46] An English translation was
published by Ralph Griffith in 1893.[47] A translation in Hindi by Mridul Kirti called "Samveda Ka
Hindi Padyanuvad" has also been published recently.[citation needed]
The Samaveda text has not received as much attention as the Rigveda, because outside of the
musical novelty and melodic creativity, the substance of all but 75 verses of the text have
predominantly been derived from the Rigveda. A study of Rigveda suffices.[48]

Cultural influence[edit]
The Indian classical music and dance, states Guy Beck, is rooted in the sonic and musical
dimensions of the Sama Veda, along with the Upanishads and Agamas.[7] The Samaveda, in
addition to singing and chanting, mentions instruments. The rules and suggestions for playing
various instruments form a separate compilation, called the Gandharva-Veda, and this Upaveda
is attached to the Samaveda.[7][49] The structure and theory of chants in the Samaveda have
inspired the organizing principle for Indian classical arts and performances, and this root has
been widely acknowledged by musicologists dealing with the history of Indian music. [7][50]
Our music tradition [Indian] in the North as well as in the South, remembers and cherishes its
origin in the Samaveda... the musical version of the Rigveda.

V. Raghavan, [7]

See also[edit]
Hinduism

Historical Vedic religion

Rigveda

Vedas

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas:
Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-
0143099864, pages 107-112

2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g Michael Witzel (1997), "The Development of

the Vedic Canon and its Schools : The Social and Political Milieu"
in Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts: New Approaches to the
Study of the Vedas, Harvard University Press, pages = 269-270

3. ^ Jump up to:a b Griffith, R. T. H. The Smaveda Samhit, ISBN

978-1419125096, page vi

4. ^ Jump up to:a b James Hastings, Encyclopaedia of Religion and

Ethicsat Google Books, Vol. 7, Harvard Divinity School, TT Clark,
pages 51-56
5. Jump up^ Michael Witzel The Development of the Vedic Canon
and its Schools : The Social and Political Milieu Harvard University

6. ^ Jump up to:a b Max Muller, Chandogya Upanishad, The

Upanishads, Part I, Oxford University Press, pages LXXXVI-
LXXXIX, 1-144 with footnotes

7. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Guy Beck (1993), Sonic Theology: Hinduism

and Sacred Sound, University of South Carolina Press, ISBN 978-
0872498556, pages 107-108

8. Jump up^ John Stevenson, Translation of the Sanhita of the

Sama Veda, p. PR12, at Google Books, page XII

9. Jump up^ Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins,

Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143099864, page
xvi-xvii, Quote: "The Vedas are an Oral Tradition and that applies
especially to two of the four: the Veda of the Verse (Rigveda) and
the Veda of Chants (Samaveda). (...) The Vedas are not a religion
in any of the many senses of that widespread term. They have
always been regarded as storehouses of knowledge, that
is: veda."

10. ^ Jump up to:a b c Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas:

Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-
0143099864, pages 4-5

11. ^ Jump up to:a b Bruno Nettl, Ruth M. Stone, James Porter and
Timothy Rice (1999), The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music,
Routledge, ISBN 978-0824049461, pages 242-245

12. Jump up^ KR Norman (1979), Smavedic Chant by Wayne

Howard (Book Review), Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3,
page 524;
Wayne Howard (1977), Samavedic Chant, Yale University
Press, ISBN 978-0300019568

13. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Guy Beck (1993), Sonic Theology: Hinduism

and Sacred Sound, University of South Carolina Press, ISBN 978-
0872498556, page 230 note 85

14. ^ Jump up to:a b Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins,
Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143099864, pages
80, 74-81

15. Jump up^ Axel Michaels (2004), Hinduism: Past and Present,
Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-08953-1, page 51

16. Jump up^ Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upanis ads", in The
Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood),
Blackwell, ISBN 0-631215352, page 76

17. Jump up^ For 1875 total verses, see numbering given in Ralph T.
H. Griffith. Griffith's introduction mentions the recension history for
his text. Repetitions may be found by consulting the cross-index in
Griffith pp. 491-99.

18. Jump up^ R Simon and JM van der Hoogt, Studies on the
Samaveda North Holland Publishing Company, pages 47-54, 61-
67
19. Jump up^ Frits Staal (1996), Ritual and Mantras, Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814127, pages 209-221

20. Jump up^ Guy Beck (1993), Sonic Theology: Hinduism and
Sacred Sound, University of South Carolina Press, ISBN 978-
0872498556, pages 107-109

21. Jump up^ . Wikisource, Rigveda 6.16.10;

Sanskrit:

22. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, The System of Vedanta, ISBN 978-
1432504946, pages 30-31

23. ^ Jump up to:a b Patrick Olivelle (2014), The Early Upanishads,

Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195124354, page 166-169

24. Jump up^ Patrick Olivelle (2014), The Early Upanishads, Oxford
University Press, ISBN 978-0195124354, page 12-13

25. Jump up^ Stephen Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A
Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press, ISBN
978-0231144858, Chapter 1

26. ^ Jump up to:a b Robert Hume, Chandogya Upanishad 1.8.7 -

1.8.8, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press,
pages 185-186

27. ^ Jump up to:a b Max Muller, Chandogya Upanishad 1.9.1, The

Upanishads, Part I, Oxford University Press, page 17 with footnote
1

28. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume
1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, page 91

29. Jump up^ Chandogya Upanishad with Shankara

BhashyaGanganath Jha (Translator), pages 103-116

30. Jump up^ Max Muller, Chandogya Upanishad Twenty Third

Khanda, The Upanishads, Part I, Oxford University Press, page 35
with footnote

31. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume
1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 97-98 with
preface and footnotes

32. Jump up^ Johnston, Charles (1920-1931), The Mukhya

Upanishads, Kshetra Books, ISBN 9781495946530 (Reprinted in
2014)

33. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume
1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 207-213

34. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume
1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, page 208

35. Jump up^ Kena Upanishad Mantra 6, G Prasadji (Translator),

pages 32-33
 36. Jump up^ Meditation, Penance, Inner heat, See: WO Kaelber
(1976), "Tapas", Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda, History of
Religions, 15(4), pages 343-386

37. Jump up^ Self-restraint, see: M Heim (2005), Differentiations in

Hindu ethics, in William Schweiker (Editor), The Blackwell
companion to religious ethics, ISBN 0631216340, pages 341-354

38. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume
1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 211-213

39. ^ Jump up to:a b Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upanis ads", in
The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood),
Blackwell, ISBN 0-631215352, pages 68-70

40. Jump up^ A. Parpola. The literature and study of the Jaiminya
Smaveda. In retrospect and prospect. Studia Orientalia XLIII:6.
Helsinki 1973

41. Jump up^ W. Caland, Die Jaiminya-Sam hit mit einer Einleitung
ber die Smaveda-literatur. Breslau 1907

42. Jump up^ Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra. 1954. Jaiminya-
Brhmana of the Smaveda. (Sarasvati-Vihara Series 31.)
Nagpur. 2nd revised ed., Delhi 1986

43. Jump up^ H. Oertel. The Jaiminya or Talavakra Upanis a d

Brhmana. Text, translation, and notes. JAOS 16,1895, 79260

44. Jump up^ A. Parpola. The decipherment of the Samavedic

notation of the Jaiminyas. Finnish Oriental Society 1988

45. Jump up^ Theodor Benfey, Die Hymnen des Samaveda FA

Brockhaus, Leipzig

46. Jump up^ Satyavrata Samashrami, i9dRAAAAcAAJ Sama Veda

Sanhita at Google Books

47. Jump up^ Griffith, Ralph T. H. The Smaveda Samhit. Text,

Translation, Commentary & Notes in English. Translated by Ralph
T. H. Griffith. First published 1893; Revised and enlarged edition,
enlarged by Nag Sharan Singh and Surendra Pratap, 1991 (Nag
Publishers: Delhi, 1991) ISBN 81-7081-244-5; This edition
provides the text in Devanagari with full metrical marks needed for
chanting.

48. Jump up^ SW Jamison and M Witzel (1992), Vedic Hinduism,

Harvard University, page 8

49. Jump up^ H Falk (1992), Samaveda und Gandharva (German

language), in Ritual, State, and History in South Asia (Editors:
Heesterman et al), BRILL, ISBN 978-9004094673, pages 141-158

50. Jump up^ SS Janaki (1985), The role of Sanskrit in the

Development of Indian Music, Journal of the Music Academy, Vol.
56, pages 67, 66-97

External links[edit]
 Sanskrit Wikisource has
original text related to this
article:

Samaveda (original
Samskrit text)

Wikiquote has quotations

related to: Sama Veda

Ralph Griffith, Hymns of the Samaveda 1895, full text, (online at

sacred-texts.com)

Veda Prasar Samiti (MP3 examples of vedic chants)

Samaveda Song Books in Devanagari with svara marks and

musical notes file for download

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