By Swami Harshananda
Vedāṅgas literally means ‘limbs or subsidiaries of Vedas’.
Features of Vedas[edit]
The Vedas are difficult to understand mainly due to two reasons:
- Their archaic language
- Their complicated ritual system
Evolution of Vedāṅgas[edit]
Consequently, the six Vedāṅgas were evolved from the ancient times to make them intelligible and practicable. Though the word ‘aṅga’ literally means a limb, in a more technical sense, it signifies a subsidiary field of knowledge that helps us to understand the main work. Hence, Vedāṅgas are the subsidiary sciences that help us to understand the Vedas.
Classification of Vedāṅgas[edit]
The six Vedāṅgas are:
- Śikṣā - phonetics
- Chandas - prosody
- Vyākaraṇa - grammar
- Nirukta - etymology
- Jyautiṣa - astronomy
- Kalpa - religious practice
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore