The Essence of SamVeda

VACHAHA RIERASAHA RICHAHA SAMARASAHA | SAMNA UDVITHO RASAHA

The beauty of speech lies in the Richas, The beauty of richas lie in the sama and the beauty of the sama lies in the style of pronunciation and singing. Therefore it is now clear that the knowledge of Sama, itself is Samaveda. The singing of the sama can make the mind stable and can give peace to the vagrant mind. The singing of the Sama begins initially on the high pitch and gradually the pitch is lowered. These sound waves of the sama are capable of giving peace to the mind.

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Rig Veda 1

The hymns of the Rig Veda are considered the oldest and most important of the Vedas, having been composed between 1500 BC and the time of the great Bharata war about 900 BC. More than a thousand hymns are organized into ten mandalas or circles of which the second through the seventh are the oldest and the tenth is the most recent. The Hindu tradition is that even the Vedas were gradually reduced from much more extensive and ancient divine revelations but were perverted in the recent dark age of Kaliyuga. As the only writings from this ancient period of India they are considered the best source of knowledge we have, but the ethical doctrines seem to have improved from the ancient hymns to the mystical Upanishads.

Essentially the Rig Veda is dominated by hymns praising the Aryan gods for giving them victories and wealth plundered from the local Dasas through warfare. The Aryans apparently used their advances in weaponry and skill in fighting to conquer the agricultural and tribal peoples of the fading Harappan culture. Numerous hymns refer to the use of horses and chariots with spokes which must have given their warriors a tremendous advantage. Spears, bows, arrows, and iron weapons are also mentioned. As a nomadic and pastoral culture glorifying war they established a new social structure of patriarchal families dominated by warriors and, eventually with the power of the Vedas themselves, by priests also.

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