A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.2031

c5.2031

Each Veda is divided into two parts, Mantra and Brāhmana. The Mantra, or ‘instrument of conveying thought,’ consists of prayer and praise embodied in the metrical hymns. The Brāhmana, a collective term for the treatises called Brāhmanas, is of later date than the Mantra. It is written in prose, and contains liturgical and ritualistic glosses, explanations, and applications of the hymns illustrated by numerous legends. To the Brāhmanas are added the Āranyakas and Upanishads, mystical treatises in prose and verse, which speculate upon the nature of spirit and of God, and exhibit a freedom of thought and speculation which was the beginning of Hindu philosophy. All the Vedic writings are classified in two great divisions, exoteric and esoteric: the Karma-kānda, ‘department of works,’ the ceremonial; and the Jnāna-kānda, ‘department of knowledge.’ The hymns and prayers of the Mantra come under the first, the philosophical speculations of the Brāhmanas, and especially of the Upanishads, under the second division. All are alike *Sruti* or revelation. See Brāhmana, Upanishad, &c.