Samhita (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...

: ''Saṃhitā'') literally means "put together, joined, union", a "collection", and "a methodical, rule-based combination of text or verses".saMhita
Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, page 1123 ''Saṃhitā'' also refers to the most ancient layer of text in the

Veda FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

s, consisting of

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

s, hymns, prayers,

litanies Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin ''wikt:litania, litania'' from Ancient Greek wikt:λιτα ...

and

benediction A benediction (, 'well' + , 'to speak') is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharisti ...

s.Lochtefeld, James G. "Samhita" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N-Z, Rosen Publishing, , page 587 Parts of ''Vedic Samhitas'' constitute the oldest living part of

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

tradition.

Etymology

''Samhita'' is a Sanskrit word from the prefix sam (सम्), 'together', and hita (हित), the past participle of the verbal root dhā (धा) 'put'. The combination word thus means "put together, joined, compose, arrangement, place together, union", something that agrees or conforms to a principle such as dharma or in accordance with justice, and "connected with". ''Samhitā'' (संहिता) in the feminine form of the past participle, is used as a noun meaning "conjunction, connection, union", "combination of letters according to euphonic rules", or "any methodically arranged collection of texts or verses".

Discussion

In the most generic context, a ''Samhita'' may refer to any methodical collection of text or verses: any

shastra ''Śāstra'' ( ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The word is ge ...

sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...

, or Sanskrit Epic, along with Vedic texts, might be referred to as a ''Samhita''. ''Samhita'', however, in contemporary literature typically implies the earliest, archaic part of the Vedas. These contain

s – sacred sounds with or without literal meaning, as well as panegyrics, prayers,

and

s petitioning nature or Vedic deities. Vedic Samhita refer to mathematically precise metrical archaic text of each of the ''

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

'' (

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' (, , from यजुस्, "worship", and वेद, "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Edito ...

Samaveda The ''Samaveda'' (, , 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 l ...

and

Atharvaveda The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda (, , from ''wikt:अथर्वन्, अथर्वन्'', "priest" and ''wikt:वेद, वेद'', "knowledge") or is the "knowledge storehouse of ''wikt:अथर्वन्, atharvans'', the proced ...

). The

have been divided into four styles of texts – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the

Brahmanas The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedas, Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rigveda, Rig, Samaveda, Sama, Yajurveda, Yajur, and Athar ...

(text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Aranyakas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the

Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...

(text discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge). The Samhitas are sometimes identified as ''karma-khanda'' (कर्म खण्ड, action / ritual-related section), while the Upanishads are identified as ''jnana-khanda'' (ज्ञान खण्ड, knowledge / spirituality-related section). The

Aranyaka The ''Aranyakas'' (; ; IAST: ') are a part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice, composed in about 700 BC. They typically represent the later sections of the Vedas, and are one of many layers of Vedic text ...

s and

Brahmana The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedas, Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rigveda, Rig, Samaveda, Sama, Yajurveda, Yajur, and Athar ...

s are variously classified, sometimes as the ceremonial ''karma-khanda'', other times (or parts of them) as the ''jnana-khanda''. The ''Vedic Samhitas'' were chanted during ceremonies and rituals, and parts of it remain the oldest living part of

tradition. A collective study of Vedas and later text suggests that the compendium of ''Samhitas'' and associated Vedic texts were far larger than currently available. However, most have been lost at some point or over a period of Indian history. Historically, there were five recensions of the Rigveda Samhita, but now only one survives. The Samaveda has three Samhitas, two of which are quite similar, while the Atharvaveda has two. The term "samhita" also appears in titles of some non-Vedic texts like the Pancharatra Samhitas and the Brhat Samhita, an astrological work, as well as in the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

, which self-references as a samhita.

Examples

Rig veda

The Gayatri mantra is among the famous Hindu

s. It is found in Rig Veda Samhita.Monier Monier-Williams (1893), Indian Wisdom, Luzac & Co., London, page 17

:ॐ भूर्भुवस्वः। तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम्। भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि। धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् – Rig Veda 3.62.10

Sama veda

Weber noted that the ''Samhita'' of

is an anthology taken from the Rigveda-Samhita. The difference is in the refinement and application of arts such as melody, meters of music, and literary composition. Thus, the root hymn that later became the ''Rathantara'' (Excellent Chariot) mantra chant is found in both Rigveda and Samaveda Samhitas, as follows, :''Rigveda form'': :Abhi tva sura nonumo 'dugdha iva dhenavah , isanam asya jagatah svardrsam isanam indra tasthusah :''Samaveda form'': :obhitvasuranonumova , adugdha iva dhenava isanamasya jagatassuvardrsam , isanama indra , ta sthu sa o va ha u va , as , , :''Translation'' (same for both): :We cry out for you, hero, like unmilked cows to the lord of the living world ! :To the lord of the unmoving world whose eye is the sun, O

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

Yajur veda

The Yajur Veda consists of: 1. Āpastamba-mantra-pāṭhá (Kr̥ṣṇa-yajur-vedá) 2. Kāṭha-saṁhitā́ (Kr̥ṣṇa-yajur-vedá) 3. Kapiṣṭhala-kāṭha-saṁhitā́ (Kr̥ṣṇa-yajur-vedá) 4. Māitrāyaṇa-saṁhitā́ (Kr̥ṣṇa-yajur-vedá) 5. Tāittirīya-saṁhitā́ (Kr̥ṣṇa-yajur-vedá) 6. Vājasaneya-saṁhitā́ (Şukla-yajur-vedá) with (Kāṇvá and Mā́dhyaṁdina as sub-divisions) Of these six, the Tāittirīya and the Vājasaneya saṁhitā́-s are the most extant ones. The Āpastamba-mantra-pāṭhá consists of mantras only found in the Āpastamba Kalpa sūtrá literature of the Kr̥ṣṇa-yajur-vedá. The hymns in Section 4.1.5 of the Yajurveda ''Samhita'', dedicated to several ancient deities, state:Edward F Crangle (1994), The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, , page 32

Atharva veda

A hymn in the Atharva Veda Samhita, for example, is a woman's petition to deity

Agni Agni ( ) is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of fire. As the Guardians of the directions#Aṣṭa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Eight Directions"), guardian deity of the southeast direction, he is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. ...

, to attract suitors and a good husband. Atharva Veda Samhita, Book 2 Hymn 36: To get a husband for a woman, Translator: William Dwight Whitney, Atharva Veda Samhita Series - Harvard University (Editor: Charles Rockwell Lanman), Wikisource

Post-Vedic Samhitas

There are many well known books written in the post-vedic period, also known as samhitas, because the word “samhita” also means “systematic compilation of knowledge”. Vedic samhitas should not be confused with these samhitas of post-vedic period. Some post-vedic Samhitas are – * Ashtavakra Gita * Bhrigu Samhita *

Charaka Samhita The ''Charaka Samhita'' () is a Sanskrit text on Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine). Along with the '' Sushruta Samhita'', it is one of the two foundational texts of this field that have survived from ancient India. It is one of the three w ...

* Garga Samhita * Gheranda Samhita * Kashyap Samhita * Shiva Samhita * Brihat Samhita * Sushruta Samhita (a treatise on food and medicine) * Yogayajnavalkya Samhita.

References

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External links

online edition in Sanskrit and English
Rigveda Samhita
First Mandala, (in Sanskrit) * s:Atharva-Veda Samhita, Atharva-Veda Samhita English translation of first 8 books of the Atharva Veda Samhita, (Editor: Charles Rockwell Lanman), Wikisource
Understanding of the Hinduism: Hindu Scripture VI
Just for Kids
Rigveda Samhita
Rigveda Samhita 5 Volumes in Hindi Hindu texts Sanskrit words and phrases Vedas