The Samaveda
Samhita is not meant to be
read as a text, it is like a musical score sheet that must be
heard. Staal states that the melodies likely existed before the verses in ancient India, and the words of the Rigveda verses were mapped onto those pre-existing melodies, because some early words fit and flow, while later words do not quite fit the melody in the same verse. Some verses add in meaningless sounds of a lullaby, for probably the same reason, remarks Staal. {{Quote| अग्न आ याहि वीतये –
Rigveda 6.16.10 Agna ā yāhi vītaye Samaveda transformation (Jaiminiya manuscript): o gnā i / ā yā hi vā i / tā yā i tā yā i / Translation: O
Agni, come to the feast.
Upanishads Two primary Upanishads of Hinduism are embedded inside the Samaveda – the Chandogya Upanishad and the Kena Upanishad. Both are notable for the lifting metric melodic structure, but it is the Chandogya which has played a historic role in the evolution of various schools of
Hindu philosophy. The embedded philosophical premises in the Chandogya Upanishad have, for example, served as foundation for the
Vedanta school of Hinduism. It is one of the most cited texts in later
Bhasyas (reviews and commentaries) by scholars from the various schools of Hinduism.
Adi Shankara, for example, cited the Chandogya Upanishad 810 times in his
Vedanta Sutra Bhasya, more than any other ancient text.
Chandogya Upanishad The Chandogya Upanishad belongs to the
Tandya school of the Samaveda. The precise chronology of the Chandogya Upanishad is uncertain, but it is the youngest layer of text in the Samaveda, and it is variously dated to have been composed by the 8th to 6th centuries BCE in India. The Chandogya text combines a metric, melodic structure with a wide range of speculations and philosophical topics. The eighth and ninth chapters of the first book, for example, describe a debate between three men proficient in
Udgitha, about the origins and support of
Udgitha. The text summarizes their discussion as, {{quote| What is the origin of this world? Space, said he. Verily, all things here arise out of space. They disappear back into space, for space alone is greater than these, space is the final goal. This is the most excellent
Udgitha. This is endless. The most excellent is his, the most excellent worlds does he win, who, knowing it thus, reveres the most excellent
Udgitha (
Om, ). Max Muller notes that the term "space" above, was later asserted in the Vedanta Sutra verse 1.1.22 to be a symbolic of the Vedic concept of
Brahman. The text discusses
Dharma and many other topics: {{Quote| There are three branches of
Dharma (righteous life, duty):
Yajna (sacrifice),
Svādhyāya (self study) and
Dāna (charity) are the first,
Tapas (austerity, meditation) is the second, while dwelling as a
Brahmacharya for education in the house of a teacher is the third, All three achieve the blessed worlds. But the
Brahmasamstha – one who is firmly grounded in Brahman – alone achieves immortality.
Kena Upanishad The Kena Upanishad is embedded inside the last section of the
Talavakara Brahmanam recension of the Samaveda. It is much shorter, but it too delves into philosophical and spiritual questions like the Chandogya Upanishad. In the fourth chapter, the Kena Upanishad states, for example, that all beings have an innate longing for spiritual knowledge, for self-awareness. This knowledge of Atman-Brahman is
Tadvanam (transcendental happiness, blissfulness). In its final paragraphs, the Kena Upanishad asserts ethical life as the foundation of self-knowledge and of Atman-Brahman. {{Quote|
Tapas,
Damah, Work - these are the foundations, the Vedas are the limbs of the same, the
Truth is its fulcrum. ==Manuscripts and translations==