About Vedas - Part I

In this Universe, created by the great Creator, among living things, which include humans, plants and animals, the humans are considered to be the most precious and great.  Humans are precious because of the intelligence they possess which gives them ability to analyze the things and decide what is good and what is not good.

Human life is a journey which starts from birth and ends in death. This journey should be such that all duties should be completed resulting in contended life and also achieving ultimate goal of life i.e. eternal bliss. The knowledge about these duties has been passed on to us by forefathers through scriptures such as Vedas and Puranas. There are 14 basic scriptures and additional 4 which together are called as ashtadasha-vidya

In this article we are enumerating names and short description of 18 vidyas - 4 vedas, 6 angas of Veda, 4 upangas of Veda and 4 upavedas 

Vedas (4)

1. Rgveda - "Rk" means a "stotra", a hymn. Rgveda samhita is a collection of hymns in praise of deities. Each rk is a mantra and the group of mantras chanted in praise of certain deity constitutes a sukta
2. Yajurveda - "Yajus" word comes from root "yaj" meaning "to worship". From same root there is also a word "Yajna". "Yajus" means worship associated with sacrifices. Whereas Rigveda is full of hymns, Yajurveda is an application of hymns to perform sacrifices or yajnas.
3. Samaveda - "Sama" means that when chanted or sang brings tranquility to the mind. The goal of Sama is to establish a friendship through affection. Sama, daana, danda and bheda are four ways to resolve conflicts or deal with people. Through sama one can establish friendship, even with God by singing His glories.
4. Atharvaveda - "Atharvan" means priest i.e. purohit. There was  sage with name Atharvan who saw this veda and hence it got his name. It contains mantras with the help of which one can overcome misfortunes and disasters. It is a mixture of prose and poetry.

Each veda is again divided in four parts Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad. Samhita is main part or text of a veda. Samhita means systematized collection. It is a collection of hymns. Usually when any veda is referred it points to its samhita part. Brahmana part of a veda describes various rites and procedure to perform them. Essentially it is a guide to conduct yajnas. Aranyaka part of veda explains hidden meaning of veda. Upanishad is the final part of veda. The main goal of upanishad is deep inquiry of ultimate reality and achieving a stage where one becomes detached from all karmas or rather detached from fruits of karmas and hence achieves eternal bliss. 

Personified Veda is called Vedapurusha. Scriptures listed below are called limbs (angas and upangas) of Vedapurusha.

Angas of Veda (6)

1. Shiksa - this is considered as nose of Vedapurusha. Nose helps in breathing. Shiksa is the life-breath of Veda mantras. Shiksa explains how the vedas should be pronounced to get exact sound (note) as Vedas were originally perceived as sound waves only. Efficacy of mantras chanted depends on how a syllable is vocalized. Hence this science deals with achieving perfection in vocalizing mantras from vedas. There are number of books on this subject like Vyasa Shiksha, Vyali Shiksha. Shiksha also explains the techniques involved in pronouncing a particular alphabet to get the exact pronunciation.
2. Vyakarana - this is considered as mouth of Vedapurusha.  Vyakarana lays down the principles of speaking the Sanskrit language. The method of pronouncing the alphabet differs when Sanskrit language is used in Vedas and in day-to-day life. There are a number of texts on this subject. It is presumed that Lord Hanuman knew nine different texts of this grammar and was known as the greatest knowledgeable person of Vyakarana.
3. Chandas - this is considered as foot of Vedapurusha. This deals with formation of sentences. Vedas consist of poetry and prose. The poetry has meters which are measurements for example there is a measurement for each syllable in mantra in terms of number of matras. The basic meters are Gayatri, Ushnik, Anushtubh, Brhati, Pankti, Trishtubh and Jagati.
4. Nirukta - this is considered as ear of Vedapurusha. This text deals with origins or roots of the words. So it serves as a dictionary. In Vedas we come across a term having different meaning and at same time different terms having the same meaning. Nirukta explains the context in which these have to be understood.
5. Jyotisha - this is considered as eye of Vedapurusha. This explains how to calculate the time for performing karmas. This is divided into parts. Phalashashtra – this deals with astrology i.e. effect of planet on human life due to their movement in the Zodiac. Besides this it helps in calculating the time and the date for performing various religious right and the effect of those rights when performed at that particular time. It explains about the Devatas connected with the planets and stars. The other part deals with astronomy i.e. examining position of planets and other heavenly bodies.
6. Kalpa - this is considered as hand of Vedapurusha. This explains the method and the places where the rites (karmas) have to be performed as stated in Vedas. It deals with details of how rituals are to be performed, how many priests are needed, how to construct Yajna mandap (Shala), what should be the size of the yajna kunda, in what directions they have to be placed and what are the methods of performing Homa etc. Kalpa contains Grihyasutras and Srautasutras which deal with 40 samskaras to be performed from the time of conception to the death. There are many sages who contributed to Kalpa for example Apastamba, Bodhayana etc.

Upangas of Veda (4)

1. Mimansa - Mimansa word comes from the root "Mam", "san" is pratyaya (qualifying prefix). "Mimansa" means sacred inquiry of Vedas
2. Nyaya - science of reasoning. It seeks to prove existence of god through inference.
3. Purana- this is magnifying glass of Vedas. Puranas contain stories that elaborate principles and rules of dharma from Vedas
4. Dharmashastra - This deals with describing orderly way of doing things pertaining to household and personal matters. It provides answers to questions such as how we build our houses, how we should dress, what to eat, what not to eat with the goal of performing actions that do not accumulate any sin. 

Upavedas (4)

1. Ayurveda - This is the veda which pertains to medicines as well as method to be adopted to lead healthy and peaceful life. It gives guidelines for maintaining healthy mind and body. This was perceived by Maharshi Dhanvantari. The medicines and methods stated in this Veda are useful even in these modern days. There are other granthas also about this Ayurvedic Shastra written by Madhava, Charaka, Vagbhata etc.
2. Arthashastra - This deals with justice and governance i.e. guideline and rules for the kings (rulers) for ruling the kingdom and for delivering judgments. It also deals with collection of taxes from people and other smaller rules. Besides this it explains the methods of escaping from the enemies and the rajatantra to overthrow enemies and other rulers.
3. Dhanurveda - This has 2 branches namely, Astra and Shastra. Astra deals with use of weapons like arrow, blades of sacred grass to be launched by reciting mantras. Shastra deals about weapons like sword, lance, axe, shield etc. Dhanurveda deals with manufacturing of above weapons. Besides this it also deals with methods of deployment of army in a battle field like Garuda or Padma, shape of deployment.
4. Gandharvaveda - This explains various aspects of music, dance and musical instruments.

This information is based on study of lectures of His Highness Shri Shankaracharya of Kanchi published in a Tamil Spiritual magazine. Apologies for any mistakes or omissions in conveying the information.

Char Dham Yatra 2018

Following advise of Shri Raghupathi Sir and taking his blessings, our trust members and their friends - Sudhakar, Pravin Salaskar (Pravin Anna), Swapnil Gupte, Mahesh Bhide, Deepali Chousalkar, Nayana Dhule and her brother Vijay Dhule, Sachin Kale, Manisha Gawli performed Char Dham Yatra between May 14 to May 26. Pilgrimage included visits to four sacred places - Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.

Here is a chronological log of our journey from Mumbai and back to Mumbai. The pictures of this yatra can be found here.

Prior to yatra:
Preparation for yatra started almost 2 months before yatra. It included activities such as coordination with all interested people, planning a window of dates that is suitable for all, identifying tour operator who arranges for car and hotel accommodation at all places, registering information about each traveler to Uttarakhand tourism and many more planning activities even during yatra. All this major planning activities were performed by Sudhakar, Pravin Salaskar (Pravin Anna) and Nayana Dhule. Thanks to them. It is because of these planning efforts the yatra was smooth and enjoyable.


May 12:
Started train journey to New Delhi

May 13: 
Noon: Reached New Delhi.
Night: Started train journey to Haridwar.

May 14: 
Morning: Arrived in Haridwar.
Noon till evening: Visited Mansa Devi temple and Chandi Devi temple.
Evening: Attended famous Ganga arti at Hari ki Paudi.

May 15: 
Morning: - Started journey, in our rented vehicle for the whole journey, to reach Janki Chatti, base of Yamunotri.
Morning: On the route visited Shri Jagadguru Sanyas Ashram and had darshan of Purnagiri Devi in this ashram. 
Noon to evening: En route visited Lakhamandal. Lakha means lakh (many) and mandal means temple. It is believed that there are many shiva lingas at this place. Some shivalingas are special in a sense that if you pour water on it then it will shine like a mirror and you can see yourself in it. Per local mythology, this is a place where Duryodhana built Laxagriha (House of Wax) for Pandavas in conspiracy to kill them. 
Evening: Reached Janki Chatti, base of Yamunotri for overnight halt.

May 16: 
Morning: At around 6 am, started 5 km trek to reach Yamunotri, source of sacred river Yamuna, located at an altitude of 3293 meters in Garhwal Himayalas. This is where temple of Goddess Yamuna is located. Along the temple there is a Surya Kund, a spring of hot water where devotees take a dip before taking darshan of Goddess. There are separate arrangements for men and women to take a dip. In the temple as well, there are hot water springs (which are extremely hot). Devotees purchase rice enclosed in cloth (available in shops near temple) and then immerse it in the hot water spring which actually cooks the rice and then they carry it back home as prasad. The actual source of river Yamuna is located at an altitude of 4421 meters as a glacier. But the path further from Yamumotri is extremely difficult and hence usually nobody goes further.
Around 3 pm:  started trek down to Janki Chatti. Reached Janki Chatti around 6 pm. Started for Uttarkashi around 6.30 pm and reached Uttarkashi around 11 pm for overnight halt.

May 17:
Morning: Had darshan of Kashi Vishwanath. This is an ancient temple of Lord Shiva. In temple, there is a 16.5 feet high trishul which is believed to be used by Gods for annihilating demons. Also had darshan of ancient Gopeshwar temple.
Noon: Visited Gangnani also known as Rishikund Tirtha. This is where Sage Parashara performed penance. There is Sage Parashara temple which is called Parashar Rishi Tapasthali as this is a place where Sage Parashar performed penance. Inside temple there are hot water springs with separate arrangements for men and women to take a dip. This place is also considered special for performing pitru tarpan.
Evening: Reached Gangotri. Attended evening Ganga Arti at the temple. Gangotri is a source of sacred river Ganga. It is believed that this is a place where Goddess Ganga descended and was first received by Lord Shiva in his locks of hair and then he released mighty river to flow further. River Ganga has different names at different places. In this place, that is at source, it is called Bhagirathi, named such after King Bhagirath who performed intense penance to bring Ganga to earth so that his 60000 uncles can be released from the curse of Sage Kapila. The major attractions at this place are - The temple of Ganga, Bhagirath Shila (a rock where King Bhagirath performed penance), Pandava Gufa (at a distance of 1.5 km to be traversed by trek. It is believed that Pandavas rested here and meditated on their route to Kailash). We did not have time to visit Pandava Gufa though. The actual source of river Ganga is located at Gomukh which is at an altitude of 4023 meters from sea level and 19 kms from Gangotri. Devotees trek 14 km to Bhojabasa and take a halt and then trek another 5 km to reach Gomukh.

May 18:
Morning: Started 19 km trek to Gomukh. En route stopped at a small ashram at the gate of Gangotri National Park where we met Hikmat Singh who then became our guide for our to and from trek to Gomukh. We also met at this place couple of Naga Sadhus who were also travelling to Gomukh. Trekking to Gomukh is an out of the world experience. You walk through an amazingly beautiful mountain range witnessing fabulous views. At around distance of 9 kms from Gangotri there is a tea/snack stall where devotees usually take a halt for lunch break and some rest before starting for Bhojbasa which is located at 14 kms from Gangotri. Bhojabasa is a very tiny town where devotees usually stay overnight before starting another 5 km trek to Gomukh. 
Night: We stayed overnight in Bhojabasa.

May 19:
Morning: Around 6 am started a trek for Gomukh. Reached Gomukh at around 9 am. Everyone took a water from Gomukh and sprinkled it on head. We also filled empty bottles with sacred water from Gomukh for distributing to friends and family back home. All in all visit to Gomukh was heavenly experience. We started back for Bhojabasa at around 9.30 am.
Noon: Reached Bhojabasa. Had a lunch here and then started 14 km trek back to Gangotri. Reached Gangotri around 5.30 pm. Paid bon voyage to our guide Hikmat Singh and then immediately started our journey for next overnight halt at Uttarkashi. Reached Uttarkashi late night at around 11 pm.

May 20:
Morning: Started our journey to Guptakashi, our next place for overnight halt before starting our next big trek to Kedarnath. Reached Guptakashi in the evening. 
Evening: Had a darshan of Kashi Vishwanath temple which also has Ardhanarishwara idol. It is believed that when Pandavas came to Kedarkhand searching Lord Shiva for worshiping him to release them from sins of killings in kurukshetra war, Lord Shiva escaped and hid here in the form of Nandi. However Pandavas came searching him here and recognized him in disguised form. When Bhima tried to catch him by holding his tail and hind legs, Lord Shiva escaped. When he was pleased with Pandavas devotion he gave them darshan in Kedarnath in the form back side of Nandi. He reappeared in five places - as a hump in Kedarnath, as a face in Rudranath, as arms at Tungnath, as navel and belly at Madhyamaheshwar and as locks of hair at Kalpeshwar. These five places are together called as Pancha Kedar.

May 21:
Morning: Started for Gauri Kund, base of Kedarnath. First reached Sonprayag 6 km before Gauri Kund. Our vehicle or any other private vehicle was not allowed beyond Sonprayag. There is a taxi service from Sonprayag to Gauri Kund. After waiting in line for 2 hours we got a taxi and then reached Gauri Kund at around 10 am. We started our 16 km long trek to Kedarnath. Some of us rode on horse and some of us walked. One good thing about this trek is after almost every 500 meters there are stalls where snacks, water etc is available for purchase. 
Evening: After long trek we reached Kedarnath at around 8 pm and then had a quick darshan. We requested hotel to connect us with Pandits who can perform puja on behalf of us. They arranged for puja and asked us to be ready in temple at 4.30 am next day.

May 22:
Morning: We all got up early morning 4 am and went to temple. Even at 4.30 am there was quite a number of people in line. After about 1 hour wait in queue we got into temple and performed Puja of Shivalinga. After puja, we went around temple to see views. Per legend this temple was built by Pandavas following advice of Lord Krishna. Inside temple, along with Shivalinga, there are idols of all pandavas Yudhishthir, Arjun, Bhima, Nakul and Sahadev, their wife Draupadi, their mother Kunti, Lord Krishna and Mother Parvati. It is said that Adi Shankaracharya renovated this temple during his time. One of the recent special attractions, after 2013 disaster, is a huge rock that you can see behind the temple. It is a belief that this rock divided the flood into two streams protecting the temple. It is indeed a surprise that this temple, which was the first place hit by flood, remained intact. After seeing temple and around, we had breakfast and then started our journey back to Gauri Kund, base of Kedarnath. Some of us rode on horse whereas some walked. We reached Gauri Kund at around 1 pm. 
Afternoon: En route to Gupakashi, we visited Triyuginarayana Temple, a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple is famous for the sacred fire which is supposed to have been alive from tretayuga. Per mythology, Lord Shiva proposed Parvati in Guptakashi and then marriage took place at Triyuginarayana. Lord Vishnu acted as brother of Parvati whereas Lord Brahma acted as priest. It is a belief that the ashes from havana kunda here promote conjugal bliss.
Evening: We reached back to Guptakashi for overnight stay.

May 23:
Morning: Had again a darshan of Kashi Vishwantath and then started our journey to our final place of Char Dham Yatra, Badrinath. En route we visited Tungnath, another Shiva temple from Pancha Kedar mentioned above. This is supposed to be Shiva temple located at highest point on earth among all other Shiva temples. This is where Shiva is in the form of arms. This was also a trek of 5 kms up and 5 kms down. 
Evening: Reached Pippalkoti for overnight stay.

May 24:
Morning: Started our journey for Badrinath. En route we visited Hanuman Chatti. Per mythology this is a place where Lord Hanuman gave darshan to Bhima, one of the Pandavas. Bhima on his path found a monkey seating and spreading his tail which obstructed Bhima's path. When Bhima's multiple requests to move tail were not attended, Bhima got angry and started moving the tail on his own. When he could not move it, he realized that the monkey was not an ordinary monkey and hence he requested monkey to reveal his true identity and Hanuman took his original form and gave darshan to Bhima.
Noon: Reached Badrinath.
Afternoon: Visited Mana village which is located at about 3 kms from Badrinath. This is a last village in India before border of India and Tibet. It is believed that Pandavas passed through Mana on their journey to Heaven.
Evening: Took darshan of Badrinath. This is one of the 8 swayam vyakta kshetras of Lord Vishnu. We provided information about this temple in one of our blogs earlier. This is a place where Lord Vishnu in his Nara and Narayana form performed intense penance. Goddess Lakshmi seeing her husband performing intense penance without paying heed to rain, wind or heat, she took a form of tree of Badri (tree known as Badri Vishal) as a shelter for Lord Vishnu. Hence this place is called Badrinath. There is a Tapta Kund which is hot water spring. It is believed that a dip in this hot water spring cures many skin diseases.
Night: Stayed overnight in Badrinath.

May 25:
Morning: All males from our group who have lost their parents or one of the parents, performed Tarpan (Shraddha) at Brahmakapal Tirtha. This place is considered very sacred for this ritual. 
Late morning: Started our journey back to Haridwar. Reached Haridwar in night around 9 pm for overnight stay.

May 26:
Morning: After breakfast we started for Hrishikesh. 
Late morning to afternoon: Visited Ram Jhula, a suspension bridge across river Ganga which connects Sivananda Nagar area in Tehri Garhwal district to Swargashram area in Pauri Garhwal district. Crossed this Jhula by walk. Walked 2 kms along side river Ganga till Lakshman Jhula, which is also a suspension bridge across river Ganga. Near Lakshman Jhula did some shopping for items such as Rudraksha mala etc. After crossing Lakshman Jhula we all took a dip in river Ganga, one of important rituals of Char Dham Yatra.
Evening: Returned to hotel in Haridwar and rested.

May 27: 
Morning: Started a train journey back to New Delhi. Reached New Delhi at around 1.30 pm. 
Afternoon till evening: Took some rest
Evening: At around 5.40 pm started train journey back to Mumbai 

May 28:
Returned to Mumbai in the evening.