Samaveda

The Samaveda or Sama-Veda (Sanskrit: सामवेद, IAST: Sāmaveda, from सामन्, "song" and वेद, "knowledge"), is the Veda of melodies and chants. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and is one of the sacred scriptures in Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,875 verses. All but 75 verses have been taken from the Rigveda. Three recensions of the Samaveda have survived, and variant manuscripts of the Veda have been found in various parts of India. While its earliest parts are believed to date from as early as the Rigvedic period, the existing samhita text dates from the post-Rigvedic Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit, between c. 1200 and 1000 BCE or "slightly rather later," roughly contemporary with the Atharvaveda and the Yajurveda. Along with the Samhita layer of text, the Samaveda includes Brahmana texts, and a final layer of the text that covers philosophical speculations (Upanishads). These layers of the compilation date from the post-Rigvedic Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit, likely around the 6th century BCE. Embedded inside the Samaveda are the widely studied Chandogya Upanishad and Kena Upanishad. These Upanishads are considered as primary Upanishads and have had influence on the six schools of Hindu philosophy, particularly the Vedanta school. The Samaveda laid important foundations for subsequent Indian music. In the Bhagavad Gita, ch.10 v.22 Krishna says 'Among the Vedas I am the Samaveda'.