Veda #2 of 4 · c. 1200–1000 BCE
सामवेद
Samaveda
Sāmaveda — Veda of melody / chant
Summary
The Samaveda is, in textual content, almost entirely a re-arrangement of Rigvedic verses (about 1,800 of its 1,875 mantras are Rigvedic) — but with the crucial addition of melody. It is the world's oldest surviving notated song-book. The verses are organized for liturgical singing during the soma yajna in two parts: the purvarcika (the "earlier collection," verses arranged by deity) and the uttararcika (the "later collection," verses arranged by the order of the soma ritual). Three extant shakhas survive: Kauthuma, Ranayaniya, and Jaiminiya, each with its own notation system. Indian classical music — both Hindustani and Carnatic — traces its scale, intonation, and gandharva-tradition directly back to Samavedic chant.
Principal deities
Role of the Udgatr: The udgatr is the chanting priest at the soma yajna. Where the hotr recites and the adhvaryu acts, the udgatr sings — and his songs are drawn almost entirely from the Samaveda.
The four parts of the Samaveda
The 1,875 mantras, divided into purvarcika (deity-arranged) and uttararcika (ritual-arranged).
Tandya (Panchavimsha) Brahmana, Shadvimsha Brahmana, Jaiminiya Brahmana — prose elaborating the soma yajna.
Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana / Talavakara Aranyaka.
Chandogya Upanishad (one of the principal ten) and Kena Upanishad — both among the most philosophically influential texts in the entire Vedic corpus.
Famous hymns + mantras
- Pavamana SuktaSV passim (drawn from RV mandala 9)
The hymns of the soma-juice purifying itself through the woollen filter — central to the soma sacrifice.
- Tad eva agnisSV / RV cross-referenced
"That alone is Agni, that alone is Aditya, that alone is Vayu" — early monistic intuition.
Oral preservation
The Samaveda preserves the world's oldest documented system of musical notation, using specific symbols above the syllables to mark seven notes (krushta, prathama, dvitiya, tritiya, chaturtha, mandra, atisvarya). The Jaiminiya tradition of Kerala is one of the rarest living musical lineages on earth.
Modern relevance
Indian classical music's seven svaras (sa-re-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni) descend from the Samavedic notation. Bharata's Natya Shastra treats Samaveda as the literal source of music. ISKCON kirtans, gandharva-veda performances, and most temple chanting traditions remain Samavedic in lineage.