Born in what is now India, Hinduism is one of the oldest faiths in the world. Over hundreds of years beginning in about 1500 BC, the ancient Hindus wrote down their beliefs. The Vedas are the oldest Hindu writings. They are made up of hymns (songs and poems) written in the Sanskrit language. Hindus later added other sacred writings to the Vedas. Together all the sacred Hindu writings form a collection called the Veda, which means “knowledge.” Hindus today still study the writings in the Veda.

Hymns

The Vedas are divided into four parts. The first is the Rigveda, which is a collection of more than 1,000 hymns. The hymns are about early Hindu gods and rituals, including sacrifices, marriages, and funerals. The second part, the Yajurveda, helped priests to follow the rituals in the Rigveda. It includes the words that priests said during rituals. The third part, the Samaveda, is a collection of verses from the Rigveda along with some new ones. Priests generally chanted or sang the verses in the Samaveda. The fourth part, the Atharvaveda, includes magic spells, hymns, and rituals. It differs from the other Vedas because it is based more on the Indian people's everyday religious ideas than on the lives of the gods.

Other sacred texts

Three other sacred texts that are part of the Veda are the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads. All three texts comment on the earlier Vedas. The Brahmanas explain the importance of the early Hindu rituals. The Aranyakas discuss the deeper meanings of the rituals. People were meant to study the Aranyakas secretly in the forest, away from others. The Upanishads also focus on the deeper meanings of Hindu beliefs. Their teachings move away from the different Hindu gods and rituals and toward a belief in one supreme being. (See also Indian literature.)