The Atharva Veda is the "knowledge repository of atharvas, or ordinary life routines." The work is the fourth Veda, but it was just recently included to Hinduism's Vedic texts. It is a compilation of 730 hymns separated into 20 books, with about 6,000 mantras.
The Atharvaveda's main text dates from the 2nd millennium BC, during the classical Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit, and is roughly contemporaneous with the Yajurveda mantras, the Rigvedic Khilani, and the Smaveda. Any Vedic literature, including the Atharvaveda, has no absolute date. The Atharvaveda hymns were compiled in the early Indian Iron Age, around 1200/1000 BCE, corresponding to the early Kuru Kingdom. It mentions iron (as krsna ayas, literally "black metal"), and such mentions have led Michael Witzel to estimate that the hymns were compiled in the early Indian Iron Age, around 1200/1000 BCE, corresponding to the early Kuru Kingdom. In compared to priests who practised the Rigveda, Samaveda, or Yajurveda, those who practised the Atharvaveda were considered the lowest rung of Brahmins. The stigma attached to Atharvaveda priests has persisted in Odisha to this day.
Around 1200 BC – 1000 BC, the Atharvaveda was most likely composed as a
Veda with the Samaveda and Yajurveda. The Atharvaveda has a Brahmana text, as
well as a last layer of text that comprises philosophical ideas, in addition to
the Samhita layer of material.
The Atharva Veda (Sanskrit: अथर्ववेदः, Atharvavedaḥ from atharvāṇas and veda, meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of atharvāṇas, the procedures for everyday life". The text is the fourth Veda, but has been a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism.
The Atharvaveda is a compilation of 20 books including 730 hymns with around 6,000 stanzas each. According to Patrick Olivelle and other academics, the book is a historical collection of beliefs and practises dealing with practical concerns of Vedic society's everyday existence, rather than a liturgical Yajurveda-style collection.
There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda
The Atharva Veda, the fourth and final of
the Hindu dharma's Vedas, is portrayed as a "knowledge reservoir of
Atharvas," Atharvas meaning formulae and spells designed to fight
sicknesses and disasters, or "the processes for everyday living." The
term traces its origins to Sanskrit, and the frequently used moniker for the
scripture is "the Veda of Magic Formulas." Because it focuses on
popular culture and tradition rather than preaching theological and spiritual
truths, it is sometimes regarded as a separate text from the other three Vedas.
In addition to being known as the Veda of
Magic Formulas, Atharva Veda contains a collection of hymns, chants, spells,
and prayers that address topics such as disease healing, life extension, and,
according to others, black magic and rituals for eliminating ailments and
worries.
Many volumes of the Atharva Veda, on the
other hand, are devoted to non-magical rites and theosophy, a doctrine that
asserts that knowing God may be attained by spiritual effort or intuition.
It is a collection of 730 hymns containing
about 6,000 mantras, split into 20 books and containing three Upanishads:
Mundaka Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad, and Prashna Upanishad. Though not
entirely, a significant portion of it is based on the Rig Veda, the oldest of
the Vedic scriptures. According to legend, and like the other three Vedas, Hindu
dharma practitioners view the Atharvaveda as Apaurueya; that is, not of a man
or impersonal, and not belonging to a specific author.
The Rishis (or Sages) composed the hymns
and poems, and according to Hindu dharma devotees, the revered Lord himself taught
the Vedic hymns to the sages, who subsequently passed them down down the
centuries through word of mouth.
The core text of the Atharvaveda falls
within the classical Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit, during the 2nd millennium
BCE – younger than the Rigveda and roughly contemporaneous with the Yajurveda
mantras and the Smaveda. However, no definite date can be ascribed to the
composition of any Veda because the generational descend of the texts in Vedic
periods was by literary oral tradition.
The Atharva Veda's Samhitas contain
written descriptions of surgical and medical theories, as well as mantras and
poems for curing various illnesses. The lyrics in song 4.15 of the Paippalada
edition of the Atharvaveda, for example, describe how to deal with an open
fracture and how to bandage the wound with Rohini plant (Ficus Infectoria,
native to India). So there have been theories about herbal medicine as a cure,
the nature of man, life, good and evil, and even charms and prayers to attract
a partner. Some songs even dealt with calm prayers and philosophical musings,
as well as the creation of the cosmos and God's presence.
The Atharva Veda's Samhitas contain
written descriptions of surgical and medical theories, as well as mantras and
poems for curing various illnesses. The lyrics in song 4.15 of the Paippalada
edition of the Atharvaveda, for example, describe how to deal with an open
fracture and how to bandage the wound with Rohini plant (Ficus Infectoria,
native to India). So there have been theories about herbal medicine as a cure,
the nature of man, life, good and evil, and even charms and prayers to attract
a partner. Some songs even dealt with calm prayers and philosophical musings,
as well as the creation of the cosmos and God's presence.In the Rigveda we find
the people in a state of free activity and independence; in the Atharva we see
it bound in the fetters of the hierarchy and superstition.”
The Atharva Veda has influenced current medicine and healthcare, culture and religious festivals, and even literary tradition on the Indian subcontinent, since it contains the first known reference of the Indic literary form. For any Vedic scholar today, the fourth and final of the four Vedas is still one of the most revered texts.
Lakshami Prakshan
Mayuresh Prakashan (1 January 2009)
1200 BC – 1000 BC
2016