Vedanga

The Vedangas (Sanskrit, n, वेदाङ्ग, Vedanga, " member of the Veda " ) are auxiliary sciences to understand and correct tradition of the Veda, one of India's writing collections that are of particular importance in Hinduism.

The Vedangas include the following areas:

Phonetics and metrics to ensure the correct recitation of the Veda and pronunciation, grammar and etymology serve the proper understanding, and astronomy, and ritual to ensure the correct performance of rituals at the right time.

The Vedangas are first mentioned in the Mundaka Upanishad. Originally, the term was not meant to be independent books or schools, but only topics that should be addressed in the Veda - study in order to understand the Veda properly. Over time, these subjects were processed more systematically and developed special schools for the six Vedangas. This, she developed independent text books that were written in the sutra style.

Shiksha

Shiksha originally means " instruction ", then in particular instructions for recitation., Ie the correct pronunciation of the Samhitas ( hymns). It was not only necessary to know the rituals, but pronounce the sacred texts without errors.

The oldest text books on phonetics are the Pratishakyas. They contain rules for pronunciation, intonation and euphonic sound changes in the sentence ( sandhi rules). Such phonetic textbooks are available for all Samhitas. The Rigveda - Pratishakya is the oldest surviving text book on Vedic phonetics.

A Sanskrit text does not consist of single, isolated words; most words are according to precise rules of phonetics contracted ( sandhi rules). The Rigveda Samhita offer a good object lesson. In addition to the Samhita - pathas ( Text associated with euphonic sound changes ) a Pada - patha was created, in which the ( inflected ) words are listed individually.

Example from the Samhita - patha from the Rigveda Samhita:

• Agniḥ pūrvebhirṛṣibhirirīḍyonūtanairuta sa devāneha vakṣati

• अग्निः पूर्वेभिर्र्षिभिरीड्यो नूतनैरुत. स देवानेह वक्षति.

In Samhita - patha, the last letter is often a word and the first letter of the next word merged or last sound of a word is changed. This is done according to the rules of euphonic sound change. This long word structures that are composed of several words arise.

The same line from the Pada - patha:

• Agniḥ | pūrvebhiḥ | ṛṣibhiḥ | īḍyaḥ | nūtaniḥ | uta | sa | Devan | ā | iha | vakṣati

Here each word is listed individually. The word endings are recognizable.

( Translation of the line: " Agni is called by the previous and the current seers, he may bring the gods here .")

Kalpa

The ritual literature ( kalpa ) arose from the need to compress the rules for the sacrificial rituals in a shorter and more concise form, to be more suitable for the practical concerns of the priests. The Kalpasutras provide an aid to the Brahmanas, but because these texts the domestic ( Grihya ) ceremonies and sacrificial rites ( Shrauta ) treat, they are called Grihyasutras and Shrautasutras.

The Shrautasutras contain, for example, the rules for the lighting of the three sacred fires - for the fire victims ( agnihotra ), the new moon and the full moon sacrifice for the seasonal sacrifice, the sacrifice of animals (eg Ashvamedha, horse sacrifice ) and the Somaopfer (soma = sacred Vedic potion ).

The Grihyasutras contain the rules for domestic uses, ceremonies and sacrifices, with which every Indian is still familiar today. These ceremonies are related to conception, birth, postpartum, the naming, the first food of the child, the boy's first haircut. The Grihyasutras also describe the initiation rite by which a ( high caste ) students, the study of the Veda begins ( Upanayanam, applying the sacred thread ) and thus to the " twice-born " is. The second birth is understood by the natural birth as a cultural birth. The end of the life cycle are the rites of cremation.

For the everyday religious small daily offerings are described in the gods and sacrifice to the ancestors ( Shraddha ). Last were considered so important that the Shraddhakalpas created its own plant.

Quite a few of these rites are still popular today, others will no longer be practiced for over 1500 years, especially the horse-sacrifice and the Somaopfer.