Upavedas
Topic: The Vedic Age · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Upavedas are the 'subsidiary Vedas'. They are four bodies of knowledge about practical arts and sciences, and they came after the main Vedas. They are:
- Ayurveda: medicine
- Dhanurveda: archery and warfare
- Gandharvaveda: music and dance
- Shilpaveda or Sthāpatyaveda: architecture and crafts
Each is traditionally attached to one of the four Vedas, though the lists differ. They show that Vedic learning reached far beyond ritual.
Example
Gandharvaveda, the upaveda of music, is attached to the Sāmaveda, which is the Veda of chanting. Ayurveda is often linked to the Atharvaveda, whose hymns deal with curing illnesses of the body and mind.
Don't confuse with
- Vedāngas: six supporting subjects needed to read and use the Vedas correctly. They are phonetics, ritual (kalpa), grammar, etymology (nirukta), metre and astronomy. The Upavedas are practical arts, not tools for studying the Vedas.
Related concepts
- Vedas
- Rigveda
- Rig Veda family books
- Yajurveda
- Samaveda
- Atharvaveda
- Brahmana texts
- Aranyakas
- Vedangas
- Kalpa sutras