Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s10.t3.14

v1.c7.s10.t3.14

The Atharvaveda tells very different things from the above three. In ancient India, some schools of religion or philosophy often called the first three as “Three Vedas”, or when mentioning the Vedas, considered that it had three components, and did not consider the Atharvaveda as a part of the *Samhitas*. Its contents are different indeed. The first three Vedas chiefly include hymns, charms and mantras, while the Atharvaveda, in the main, is a collection of spells and incantations used to avoid disaster and to summon good luck. For example, spells against enemy, disease, disaster, wild animal and alleged demons, and summon or pray for health, long life, wealth, safe journey and domestic peace. The Atharvaveda also contains some embryonic philosophical discussion. In the Atharvaveda, most verses are metrical, but some sections are in prose. The Atharvaveda was composed about 1000 BCE, very close to the date of the Yajurveda. Extant Atharvaveda contains 20 volumes and a total of 730 verses, and a lot of them are taken from the Rigveda, and generally, the last two volumes were added in a later period.