Model Question and Answers for APSC | What is the role of Vedas in Indian culture?

Ans: The culture of India can be traced back to the Vedas, especially the Rigveda Samhita. The Samhitas are the basic feature or the face of the Vedas as a whole. There are four sections of each Veda, the four sections being Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad. The Upanishads are based on the Aranyakas, the Aranyakas on the Brahmanas, and the Brahmanas on the Samhitas. The mantras of the Veda Samhita are, therefore, the seed of the further development of thought which is the rock bottom of Indian culture.

The role of Vedas in Indian culture:

• Veda is said to be the treasure vault of wisdom and knowledge. It is noted that Vedas are eternal and vibrate in the outer dimensions of the world of Brahmans.
• The gamut of the Vedas is much more than just hymns or prayers. They give meaning to life and also a framework to lead a life on the path of religion or dharma.
• They are the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature. From which all other literature flows
• From Veda flow yoga, Ayurveda and spirituality which is practised in India and across the world
• Vedas gave roots to various Bhakti strands of the Bhakti Movement like the knowledge-based salvation of Adi Shankaracharya. Various other philosophies emerged in response to the Vedantic philosophy.
• Ramkrishna Mission and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISCKON) are part of this long tradition
• Various daily ritualistic practices, and chanting of hymns are Vedic in origin
• Vedangas developed as ancillary studies for the Vedas, but its insights into meters, the structure of sound and language, grammar, linguistic analysis and other subjects influenced post-Vedic studies, arts, culture and various schools of Hindu philosophy.

• The Kalpa Vedanga studies, for example, gave rise to the Dharma- sutras, which later expanded into Dharma-shastras