{"id":13,"date":"2024-09-25T22:20:24","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T13:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/?p=13"},"modified":"2025-07-22T20:22:48","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T11:22:48","slug":"vedic-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/25\/vedic-music\/","title":{"rendered":"The songs of our ancestors \u2014 Vedic music from 1500~ B.C."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What did music sound like 3000\u20133500 years ago? I have several examples to share, but let\u2019s begin with this battle chant from the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yajurveda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yajur Veda<\/a>&nbsp;(1200~ B.C.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MIND-BLOWING Vedic Chant | Yajur Veda | Ghana Patha | Ashwamedha Mantra | Sri K. Suresh\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3oZmTKFAyQ8?list=PLiNK-KgBCVJDu6hTlOo1HnprUxKWIelvQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3oZmTKFAyQ8&amp;list=PLiNK-KgBCVJDu6hTlOo1HnprUxKWIelvQ&amp;index=15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Battle Chant from the Yajur Veda (ashwamedha mantra ghana p\u0101Tha) recited by Sri K. Suresh<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"a050\">The video above demonstrates Vedic recitation in two different styles. First, in&nbsp;<em>samhit\u0101 p\u0101Tha<\/em>&nbsp;(\u0938\u0902\u0939\u093f\u0924\u093e\u092a\u093e\u0920), which is a straightforward recitation of a verse, and then in&nbsp;<em>ghana p\u0101Tha<\/em>&nbsp;(\u0918\u0928\u092a\u093e\u0920), which uses a complex back-and-forth pattern of recitation that creates high levels of energy and inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">What are the Vedas?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"bbb2\">The Vedas are ancient Indian Hindu scriptures. There are four of them (Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, S\u0101ma Veda, and Atharva Veda), and each one is a large corpus of hymns and poetry on a variety of religious as well as non-religious topics. The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rigveda\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rig Veda<\/a>&nbsp;(1500\u20131000 B.C.) is the oldest and most comprehensive (containing 10,600 verses), while the other Vedas are derived from or based on the Rig Veda in various ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"3bf8\">For instance, while the Rig Veda is mainly chanted using three notes, the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Samaveda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">S\u0101ma Veda<\/a> is more musical. The word \u201c<em>s\u0101man<\/em>\u201d means song in Vedic Sanskrit and it may be where the word \u201chymn\u201d comes from (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.etymonline.com\/word\/hymn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">see \u201chymn\u201d etymology<\/a>). The S\u0101ma Veda consists of 1,875&nbsp;<em>s\u0101man<\/em>, which are mostly Rig Vedic verses, but they are set to music using up to seven notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">Musical Notation in the S\u0101ma Veda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"5da8\">The musical notation for each of these verses is also an integral part of the S\u0101ma Veda and is included above and within the text using numbers (or syllables depending on the school) to denote musical notes and other information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lakshmi Sukta Sama - 8 \u0938\u093e\u092e\u0935\u0947\u0926 \u0932\u0915\u094d\u0937\u094d\u092e\u0940 \u0938\u0942\u0915\u094d\u0924 \u0915\u0947 8 \u0935\u093e\u0901 \u0938\u093e\u092e\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bn6c6VTDWj0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bn6c6VTDWj0\">Sama Veda, Lakshmi Sukta by&nbsp;Dr Girijaprasad Shadangi<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"021f\">As you may have noticed, the hymn above uses at least six distinct notes in an octave, with a hint of the seventh (lowest) note. The numerals and other markings on top of the text as well as within the lines of the text provides information as to which note each syllable should be sung to, what the duration of each note should be, how many times a phrase should be repeated, what level of stress to apply to specific syllables, what musical ornaments are to be used, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/v2\/resize:fit:1050\/1*G6joROmq_84WJ8Mnao-iHw.jpeg\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.m.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:1672_CE_manuscript_copy,_10th_century_BCE_Samaveda_Kauthuma_Samhita_Veyagana,_Schoyen_Collection_Norway.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1672 CE manuscript copy, 10th century BCE, Samaveda Kauthuma Samhita Veyagana, Schoyen Collection Norway<\/a>, by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.m.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/User:Ms_Sarah_Welch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ms Sarah Welch<\/a>, licensed under&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"7026\">The Vedas are written down for preservation and reference purposes, but they are strictly required to be transmitted orally from teacher to student to preserve the music and the sounds in their original form. In the oral tradition, the musical notations are transmitted through hand gestures. These hand gestures are a mandatory part of&nbsp;<em>s\u0101man<\/em>&nbsp;singing, and not just for educational purposes. The video below provides an explanation of musical notation as shown through hand gestures (English captions available).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Introduction to Swaras in Samaveda\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aP7adRC4x_Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?reload=9&amp;v=aP7adRC4x_Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hand gestures for notation of S\u0101ma Vedic hymns<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">Historicity of the Vedas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"503a\">After a lengthy initial period of evolution, the Vedas were codified, according to historians, sometime between 1500\u20131000 B.C. and have remained unchanged since. Vedic scholars and priests over the millennia have gone to great lengths to preserve the Vedas, transmitting them faithfully from generation to generation, word for word, syllable for syllable, and intonation for intonation. A complex system of cross-checking is used to ensure accuracy for proper preservation and transmission. As a result, we still have today a remarkable corpus of sacred literature that has remained uncorrupted for at least the past 3000\u20133500 years and is regarded as some of humanity\u2019s oldest surviving historical records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"f24f\">One of the unique things about Vedic music is that it is not just written music or information about this genre of music that survives, to be recreated using our imagination in modern times. There is an unbroken tradition of singing and chanting this music that has been kept alive for thousands of years, which makes it a very authentic piece of live history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"0391\">It is also a complete collection of chants and music that were used in a range of scenarios that gives us a great deal of insight not just into music, but into society as a whole in those times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">More Examples of Music from the S\u0101ma Veda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"bc70\">Let me leave you with two invaluable videos of S\u0101ma Vedic chants that, unfortunately, seem to be unavailable in some parts of the world, but please do access them if you\u2019re able to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"f6ba\">The first video includes mainly songs that belong to the \u201cvillage songs\u201d (\u0917\u094d\u0930\u093e\u092e\u0917\u0947\u092f \u0917\u093e\u0928\u092e\u094d) category. These are songs that are sung as part of rituals and ceremonies conducted by householders (\u0917\u0943\u0939\u0938\u094d\u0925) in villages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"91de\">The second video seems to include songs that belong to the \u201cforest songs\u201d (\u0905\u0930\u0923\u094d\u092f\u0917\u0947\u092f \u0917\u093e\u0928\u092e\u094d ) category, which are intended to be sung in the wild, for the benefit of animals and other beings that inhabit wilder spaces. They use mainly meaningless words and sound very different from the village songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"[Rare] \u0938\u093e\u092e\u0935\u0947\u0926 (1\/2) S\u0101maveda Sa\u1e43hit\u0101 Kauthuma \u015b\u0101kh\u0101\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W5WbEDrIVmM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=W5WbEDrIVmM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Village songs from the S\u0101ma Veda (Kauthuma school)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"[Rare] \u0938\u093e\u092e\u0935\u0947\u0926 (2\/2) S\u0101maveda\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/08pyvEu0EXg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=08pyvEu0EXg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Forest songs from the S\u0101ma Veda<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\"><strong>Suggested further reading<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/22\/indian-classical-music-history-1\/\">The History of Indian Classical Music \u2013 Part 1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/26\/vedic-roots-of-rhythm\/\">The Vedic Roots of Rhythm in Indian Classical Music<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What did music sound like 3000\u20133500 years ago? Vedic music is an unbroken tradition of singing and chanting that has been kept alive for thousands of years, which makes it a very authentic piece of live history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[11,10,9,8,7,5,6],"class_list":["post-13","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-indianmusichistory","category-vedicmusic","tag-ancient-indian-history","tag-ancient-music","tag-indian-classical-music-history","tag-music-in-samaveda","tag-samaveda","tag-vedas","tag-vedic-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":222,"url":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/22\/indian-classical-music-history-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":13,"position":0},"title":"The History of Indian Classical Music \u2013 Part 1","author":"S\u0101dhana","date":"July 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Learn about the evolution of the seven-note scale from the Vedas, and the evolution of ragas from Vedic and folk music.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;IndianClassicalMusic&quot;","block_context":{"text":"IndianClassicalMusic","link":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/category\/indianclassicalmusic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ThreeSwaritasSevenNotes-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ThreeSwaritasSevenNotes-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ThreeSwaritasSevenNotes-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114,"url":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/26\/vedic-roots-of-rhythm\/","url_meta":{"origin":13,"position":1},"title":"The Vedic Roots of Rhythm in Indian Classical Music","author":"S\u0101dhana","date":"December 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"How did rhythm in Vedic poetry influence rhythm in music?","rel":"","context":"In &quot;IndianMusicHistory&quot;","block_context":{"text":"IndianMusicHistory","link":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/category\/indianmusichistory\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/KRhcTPKdmrk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42,"url":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/26\/music-and-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":13,"position":2},"title":"Indian Classical Music and Religion","author":"S\u0101dhana","date":"September 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bhakti movement, a religious movement that swept across India for over a thousand years, profoundly influenced Indian culture, including music.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;IndianMusicHistory&quot;","block_context":{"text":"IndianMusicHistory","link":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/category\/indianmusichistory\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/XIYhajdSvyE\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":44,"url":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/26\/bollywood-musicals\/","url_meta":{"origin":13,"position":3},"title":"Why are Indian films mostly musicals?","author":"S\u0101dhana","date":"September 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Indian films have inherited the ancient Indian tradition of storytelling through music and dance. There are also other reasons why Indian films continue to be musicals.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BollywoodMusic&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BollywoodMusic","link":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/category\/bollywoodmusic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/55LRrp3XNA4\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233,"href":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions\/233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raag-hindustani.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}