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Sāma Veda

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Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Synonyms

Turīyaveda

Definition

Sāma Veda (1200–1000 B.C.) is a Sanskrit text of ancient Hindu origin, and the fourth part of Veda contains the melodious chants of sacred verses and composed by the ancient Indian sages.

Introduction

The vast Vedic literature consists of two parts – in the first part are included the four Vedic Saṅhitās and in the second mainly the Brāhmana, Āraṇyaka, and Upaniṣada. It is well known that Ṛgveda, Sāma Veda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda count among the most sacred texts of the Hindus. The word Veda owes its origin to the Sanskrit word Vid which means “to know” ([1], p. 3) and is used in the context of divine knowledge revealed to the ancient Indian Sages or Ṛṣis.

After the Ṛgveda, the most important of the Vedas comes the Sāma Veda. The word Sāma Veda is derived from the word Sāman meaning “song” and “Veda” meaning “knowledge” ([2], p. 1015), and Sāma Veda thus represents the Veda of melodious chants of sacred verses. Regarded as part of Hindu scriptures, Sām...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Bankura Christian College, Bankura, West Bengal, India

    Anupam Jash

Authors
  1. Anupam Jash
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Correspondence to Anupam Jash .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, Texas, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, California, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Jash, A. (2018). Sāma Veda . In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_523-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_523-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

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