Description

About The Book

Vedic literature forms the basic source to know about the Aryan India. Each Veda consists of four parts namely the Samhita, the Brahmana, the Aranyaka and the Upanishads. Each Veda has one or more Brahmanas associated with it. It is unfortunate that much of the Brahmanical literature has been lost or destroyed and so has become extinct. Now, we are left with less than twenty Brahmanas only. As per scholars, the Brahmanical period is presumed to be between 900 BCE to 700 BCE. It almost co-exists with the period of Zoroastrianism which flourished in Persia between 1500 BCE TO 1000 BCE and the period of the Gautama Buddha who lived between 563 BCE TO 483 BCE and that of the Mahaveer of Jainism who lived between 540 BCE to 468 BCE. As per most of the scholars, the Brahmanical period is presumed to be between 900 BCE to 700 BCE.

The Brahmana texts of the Vedas, provide us crucial historical and religious information about the evolution of various Vedic rituals, their procedural details and philosophical thought of that time. The Brahmans give us the information of the transition period, the period between the early Vedic period and the later Brahmanical Aranyaka and Upanishadic period. The Brahmanas give interpretation to Samhita and application of the Vedic verses in performing the various sacrifices. The Satapatha Brahmana gives us detailed information of fire rituals, Soma rituals, Pashu-bandha and Ashvamedha sacrifices etc. The Brahmana literature forms the basis for emergence of deeper philosophical thought. The intention of the author is to throw some light on the much-ignored Brahmanical literature and the Vedic religion, and to introduce it to the current day readers, so that we can trace back the footprints of our culture at the times of Vedic Hinduism. Hope the readers will appreciate my attempt.

About The Author

The author is a distinguished researcher in Indology and cross-cultural studies. He had to his credit a good number of published research papers covering the unexplored areas of Vedic literature and the Kasmir Shaivism. Presently, he is director of Shree Gayathri Jyotish Vidya Peeth, Hyderabad which works on fixing the timing of Indian epics based on the position of the mentioned star constellations, at the time of the epic events. He is a postgraduate with engineering background and worked as a manager in a reputed public sector financial organization for more the three decades before turning to his research. With a profound dedication to understanding the cultural and spiritual fabric of societies worldwide, his work involves diligent exploration, the interconnectedness of traditions and their contemporary relevance that offers a truly global perspective.