To remember the Vedic Mantras and for correct recitation, eight systems are followed for their learning: Jata, Mala, Sikha, Rekha, Dhvaja, Danda, Ratha and Ghana. The procedure of reciting a passage in Jata type formula as follow: 1 2 2 1 1 2 - 2 3 3 2 2 3 – 3 4 4 3 3 4 Procedure of Ganam: 1 2 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 2 3 - 2 3 3 2 2 3 4 4 3 2 2 3 4 The Vedangas are six Vedic classes such as, Siksha (phonetics), Vyakaranam (Grammar), Chandas (metre), Niruktam (etymology), Jothisham (astronomy), Kalpa (religious practice). Patanjali (not the yoga master) the author of MahaBhashyam a great grammatical work, says that these six Vedic supplements should be learned by a Brahmin.
The Secondary Vedasare: They are Gaandharva Veda (Music), Aayurveda (Indian Medicine), Dhanur Veda (Science of Archery and warfare), Artha Sastram (Economy and Politics), Sthaapathya Veda or Vaasthu vidya (Architecture). Each Veda has a subsidiary: ayurveda (knowledge of life) for rgveda, dhanurveda (knowledge of tools and weapon) for yajurveda, gandharvaveda (knowledge of arts) for samaveda and sthapatyaveda (architecture) for atharvaveda.
According to the Muktikopnishad they had 21, 109, 1,000 and 50 branches, respectively, having a total of approximately 100,000 verses in their 1,180 branches. Nowadays only 20,379 verses in total are available. 10,552 verses of Rigved (arranged in 10 sections called mandal), 1,975 verses of Yajurved (in 40 chapters), 1,875 verses of Samved (in 21 chapters) and 5,977 verses of Atharvaved (in 20 chapters). These verses are in the praise of celestial gods and goddesses and some of them are also for the Divine form of God. They are called mantra bhag or sanhita. Then there are the same number of branches (1,180) called the brahman, and the same number of branches (1,180) called the aranyak which have the same number of (1,180) Upanishads. These collectively are known as the Vedas.
According to our needs we had two sets of grammar, one for the Vedas (sanhita part) and the other for the Puranas and for common use, because the formation of certain words and their phrasing is different in the Vedas as compared to the language of the Puranas. It is just the character of the Vedas, not any seniority or juniority in their reproduction because all the Vedas, the Upnishads and the Puranas were produced at the same time and are all eternally in the same form. Nowadays only very few sections of ancient Vedic grammar are available; the rest are extinct.
Panini’s grammar has 4,000 sutras (short sentences) and they are arranged and categorized in such an easy-to-understand way that it reflects the marvel of his presentation of the Sanskrit grammar. For the convenience of the scholars, he added dhatu path at the end of Ashtadhyayi which is the dictionary of the root words of the Sanskrit language. There are also unadi sutras at the end of Ashtadhyayi. These sutras describe the formation of the words of the Vedic sanhita which could be used along with the Nighantu and the Nirukt. Nighantu is the special dictionary of the words of the Vedic sanhita, and Nirukt is the main book that gives further detail of the words of the Vedas which is like a detailed dictionary of the Vedic words. Thus, even though the ancient Vedic grammars are not available, still, with the help of the unadi sutras of Ashtadhyayi and the Nirukt, the true meaning of the Vedic words could be understood. But if someone tries to draw the meaning of the Vedic mantras only on the basis of the Ashtadhyayi without using the unadi sutras and the Nirukt, he will get the incorrect meaning. Out of 1,180 aranyakas only a few full branches are available nowadays.
The Upanishads, which are the main section of the aranyakas, number 200. The sanhita and the brahman part of the Vedas relate to the yagyas and Vedic rituals only along with the performance of general good karmas. Although they tell about the supreme God (as in Purush Sookt and Ishavasyopnishad), they never emphasize worship of the supreme God. Aranyakas start telling more about God and they prescribe some forms of worship to God. Their mode of worship relates to various forms and aspects of God and it is designed to be performed in a technical manner with some rituals. It is called the vaidhi bhakti, which means devotion to God in a strict formulative manner such as: how to sit, facing to which side, which part of the early morning is good for devotion, what mantra to repeat, what ritual to perform before and after the devotion, and so on. But the Upnishads which are the prime part of the aranyakas directly teach to renounce the worldly attachment and surrender to God to receive His Grace. So, Upnishads are called the gyan kand (the true knowledge) of the Vedas. If we consider in a voluminous manner, about 75% of the entire Vedas (sanhita, brahman and aranyak) relate to yagyas and rituals, 19% of it relates to the vaidhi bhakti, and only 6% of it relates to the gyan kand (the Upnishads).
There are four Upvedas (up means subsidiary). Arthved(science of sociology and economics) is related to Rigved; Dhanurved(science of defense and war and the making of its related appliances) is related to Yajurved; Gandharvaved (science of music, both singing and instrumental) is related to Samved; and Ayurved (the medical science) is related to Atharvaved. The Upanishads have their own Divine character and they are directly related to God and show the path to God realization.
