An introduction to ancient scriptures of Sanatana Dharma

This book intends to provide basic insight into the ancient scriptures of Sanātana Dharma, the Vedas, which are globally recognized as the oldest treasure of knowledge. It is believed that the Vedas were revealed to the ancient sages of India while in intense meditation and sādhana (Yogic practice). The four Vedas are considered to be revealed for the benefit of the universe through four sages, who handed them down the generations by word of mouth (śruti). The Ṝg Veda is regarded as the earliest and most revered book of ancient India; it is the oldest and biggest among all the four Vedas and inhibits all the characteristics of Classical Sanskrit poetry.

The Yajur Veda characterizes the knowledge devoted to the worship of God. It is composed primarily in prose mantras for rituals of worship, and it describes how to accomplish religious rituals and sacred ceremonies. The Sāmaveda is the Veda of melodies and chants. The Atharva, from atharvāṇas and Veda, meaning "knowledge", is the "knowledge storehouse of atharvāṇas, the procedures for everyday life "subjects like the healing of illnesses, prolonging life. Upavedas or subsidiaries of the Atharvaveda are also not ignored, important among them being:

Dhanurveda - (Originated from the Ṝg Veda)- dealing with the science of warfare; the Gandharva Veda, the study of aesthetics, all art-forms like music, dance, poetry, sculpture, and erotica; the Āyurveda – which teaches the science of health and maintenance of life; the Arthaśāstra –the science of public administration, governance, economy and polity, and the Sthāpatya Veda – which discusses in detail the science of engineering and architecture.

The Āgama Śāstra serves as the benchmark for all the particulars about spirituality and rituals, and can be considered as an anthology that goes beyond the doctrine; it describes in unambiguous terms how to build a temple, including the simulacrum and idols of deities; it also comes up with directions on proper meditation practices. The Āgamas are theological expositions and practical reference books of worship of supernatural powers; these include the Tantras, Mantras, and Yantras; these are the tractates describing the worship of God, in various forms of idols, in temples, etc. The Āgama texts provide a divergent range of philosophies, commencing from theistic dualism to absolute monism for various groups of people depending on their academic eligibility and saṃskāras pertaining to their modes.

Rules are laid down in the Āgama Śāstra for pilgrimage also, of which the three essential things are Sthala, Tīrtha, and Mūrthy; the Sthala here refers to the geographical location of the temple (latitude and longitude of the place), the Tīrtha points to the temple tank/river, and Mūrty denotes the idol. The Āgamas are generally referred to as the Śākta Tantras. The other two major categories of Āgamas are the Vaiṣṇava Āgamas (Vaiṣṇavism) and the Śaiva Āgamas (Śaivism). The praiseworthy effort is taken by the author to provide appropriate image support for the convenience of understanding the concepts by the readers.

The Veda, though they look like hymns meant for pujas, are highly coded scientific equations pertaining to everything in the universe; that's the very reason it is given in self-protective coded forms. What were the great losses suffered after the great devastating war of Mahābhārata? It is certainly not the number of horses, elephants, men, etc.; there is no denying that these are not losses, the major loss was Śākha of the Veda containing formulae to decode the Veda mantras. Before one meditates on goddess Gāyatri, uttering Her mantra, one submits salutations to its Ṝṣi, Viśwāmitra. Yāskāchārya also states that the mantras have three layers of meaning (trayārtha) – yadi mantra artha pratyayāya anarthakaṃ bhavati.