The Six Vedāṅgas

Vedāṅga · veda-aṅga, “a limb of the Veda”

The Vedāṅgas (वेदाङ्गम्, “limbs of the Veda”) are six helping sciences of the Vedic tradition. They were studied so that a person could recite the Vedic texts correctly, understand their meaning and perform yajña (sacred fire offering) properly. The name itself shows their place: they are the limbs (aṅga) that support the body of the Veda. The six are:

• Śikshā: phonetics, the correct pronunciation of Vedic sounds
• Vyākaraṇa: grammar, the rules of Sanskrit
• Chandas: metre, the rhythmic pattern of Vedic verses
• Nirukta: the explanation of Vedic words and where they come from
• Jyotisha: astronomy and astrology, used for keeping time and finding auspicious moments
• Kalpa: the procedures of ritual

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa names the same six, in the order Śikshā, Kalpa, Vyākaraṇa, Chandas, Jyotisha and Nirukta, when the guru Sāndīpani teaches them to Balarāma and Śrī Kṛshṇa.

Each is described below in turn, with the chapters that the Nārada Purāṇa gives to them.

Śikshā (phonetics)

Śikshā is the study of the sounds of the Vedic mantras: how each is pronounced, the accent and the intonation. Its purpose is the exact recitation of the Vedic mantras, since even a small change in sound could change their meaning or their power. It teaches the correct way to form each sound, the length of vowels and the right accent: udātta (raised), anudātta (not raised) and svarita (falling). In the Agni Purāṇa, Agni Deva gives a whole chapter to śikshā, the sixty-three or sixty-four varṇas, how speech arises and the eight places of sound; it is told in full on its own page.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 336

Vyākaraṇa (grammar)

Vyākaraṇa is the science of Sanskrit grammar. It gives the rules for forming words and sentences correctly and for using the language properly, above all in the Vedic mantras. The best-known work of this Vedāṅga is Pāṇini‘s Ashṭādhyāyī, which set Sanskrit grammar in order and is still the foundation for studying the language. Vyākaraṇa helps a reader understand the forms of words and the structure of sentences in Vedic Sanskrit.

In the Agni Purāṇa, Skanda, also called Kumārasvāmī, teaches Kātyāyana the essence of vyākaraṇa “for the knowledge of children”: the technical names, sandhi, the forms of nouns, kāraka, samāsa, the taddhita, uṇādi and kṛt suffixes, and the verb endings. This teaching is the Kaumāra Vyākaraṇa, the grammar of Kumāra.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 349–359

Chandas (metre)

Chandas is the study of Vedic metres. It describes the structure of the metres in which the Vedic mantras are composed, such as Gāyatrī, Trishṭubh and Jagatī. Knowing Chandas is needed to recite the mantras correctly and to keep their rhythm and music, so that each mantra is chanted in the form in which it was composed.

In the Agni Purāṇa, Agni Deva sets out the science of chandas as Piṅgala told it.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 328–335

Nirukta (explanation of words)

Nirukta is the science of explaining words, above all the difficult or rare words of the Veda. It sets out the meaning of Vedic words, especially old words and words that can be read in more than one way. Yāska’s Nirukta is the main text of this science. It explains Vedic words in a set order, and later Sanskrit dictionaries were built on its method.

In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Sūta Maharshi tells Śaunaka and the ṛshis that Jātūkarṇya Maharshi, a disciple of Śākalya, divided his saṃhitā-śākhā of the Ṛgveda into three and taught them, together with the Nirukta, the Vedāṅga that defines words, to Balāka, Paija, Vaitāla and Viraja.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 6

Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)

Jyotisha is the study of astronomy and astrology, used above all to fix the auspicious times for Vedic rites and yajñas. It covers the movements of celestial bodies, the reckoning of the calendar and the timing of the solstices and equinoxes. The Vedāṅga Jyotisha is the foundational text of this science, and it is concerned with the calendar.

Kalpa (ritual procedure)

Kalpa sets out the procedures and rules for Vedic rites and yajñas. It gives step-by-step instructions for the rites and ceremonies named in the Vedas. Kalpa has four parts:

• Śrauta Sūtras: the large public yajñas based on Śruti
• Gṛhya Sūtras: household rites and the saṃskāras (rites of passage)
• Dharma Śāstras: dharma, law and social custom
• Śulba Sūtras: the measuring and building of the fire altars, an early form of geometry

In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Brahmā tells Nārada Maharshi that when he came forth from the navel-lotus of Śrī Hari he saw no materials for yajña except the limbs of the Virāṭ Purusha, and from them alone he gathered everything the yajña needs. Among these he names the kalpa-sūtras, which teach the method of yajña, and the saṅkalpa, “I am beginning the yajña”. With that yajña he worshipped Parameśvara in the form of the Yajña Purusha.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 6

Nārada Maharshi, teaching Dharmarāja Yudhishṭhira the dharma of the householder, says: “If all the wealth needed for yajña is available to him, the householder should worship Parameśvara by performing agnihotra and the other karmas by the method told in the Kalpa-sūtras.”

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 7, Chapter 14

The Vedāṅgas in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa

Śrī Śuka Maharshi tells Parīkshit Mahārāja that Balarāma and Śrī Kṛshṇa went to live in the gurukula of Sāndīpani, of the Kāśyapa gotra, in the city of Avantī, and served him as one serves a devatā. Pleased, the guru taught them the four Vedas with the Upanishads and the Vedāṅgas, which the text names in full: Śikshā, Kalpa, Vyākaraṇa, Chandas, Jyotisha and Nirukta; and with them Dhanurveda, the Dharmaśāstras, the methods of reasoning such as Mīmāṃsā, Tarka-vidyā and the six kinds of rājanīti.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 45

The Vedāṅgas in the Nārada Purāṇa

The Purāṇas usually teach the Vedāṅgas in short form, as part of handing down the whole of Vedic knowledge. The Nārada Purāṇa‘s teaching, in its first half (Pūrvārdha), runs over five chapters:

Source: Nārada Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 53–57

Why the Vedāṅgas matter

Together the Vedāṅgas are the framework for understanding, preserving and correctly using the knowledge of the Vedas. They cover sound, grammar, metre, the meaning of words, astronomy and ritual. Their study was held to be necessary for anyone who wished to take part in the Vedic tradition fully and faithfully.

Sources

• Nārada Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 53–57
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 328–336, 349–359
• Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 6; Skandha 7, Chapter 14; Skandha 10, Chapter 45; Skandha 12, Chapter 6