Samaveda

The Samaveda is one of the four Vedas in Hinduism. It is known as the Veda of melodies and chants. “Sama” means song, and “Veda” means knowledge. It has 1,875 verses; almost 75 verses have been taken from another Veda called the Rigveda. The oldest parts are very ancient, dating back to around 1200 to 1000 BCE. It has different layers, including hymns (Samhita), explanations (Brahmana), and philosophical texts (Upanishads). It has important texts like the Chandogya Upanishad and Kena Upanishad, which influenced Hindu philosophy. It laid the foundation for Indian music.

 Dating and historical context 
Michael Witzel says we can’t know the exact dates for the Samaveda and other Vedic texts. He assumes that Samaveda was composed after Rigveda-from approximately 1200 to 1000 BCE-but at the same time as Atharvaveda and Yajurveda.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, , pages 68-70 There had been about twelve varieties of Samavedic chanting. Of the three versions we still have, the Jaiminiya version is the oldest.Bruno Nettl, Ruth M. Stone, James Porter and Timothy Rice (1999), The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Routledge, , pages 242-245

 Contents 
The Samaveda Samhita is not to be 'read' like other texts; it is more of a musical score to be 'heard'.Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, , pages 107-112 According to Staal, the melodies existed before the verses in ancient India. The words of the Rigveda were then fitted into these melodies.  Some early words fit well, while later words don’t fit as smoothly.  The text uses creative structures called Stobha to make the words fit better into the music.R Simon and JM van der Hoogt, Studies on the Samaveda  North Holland Publishing Company, pages 47-54, 61-67Frits Staal (1996), Ritual and Mantras, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 209-221 At times, the addition of meaningless sounds, much like those in a lullaby, serves to help in this respect. This shows that the Samaveda is a mix of music, sounds, meaning, and spirituality, and it wasn’t created all at once.

For example, the first song of the Samaveda shows how Rigvedic verses were turned into a melodic chant:

The veena (a musical instrument) is mentioned in the Samaveda. A number of songs were derived by various sages from a basic mantra known as Yonimantra. One example is Gautama’s Parka, mentioned by Dr. Damodar Satwalekar in his book on the Samaveda.

 References 

Category:Vedas