Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s10.t3.2

v1.c7.s10.t3.2

**Literature Components and Main Categories** Sanskrit “Veda” originally means “knowledge”, especially about religion. It can be divided into two categories. In a broad sense, it is a collection of some texts in northwest India, including the *Samhitas*, the *Brahmanas*, the *Aranyakas*, the *Upanishads* and the like, while in a narrow sense, it only refers to “Four Vedas”, ie *Rigveda*, *Samaveda*, *Yajurveda* and *Atharvaveda*.