The Religion of the Veda: The Ancient Religion of India (from Rig-Veda to Upanishads) c6.s1.1

c6.s1.1

The word *veda* means literally "knowledge," that is, "sacred knowledge." It is derived from *vid*, "to know," and connected with Greek (*F*)*οἶδα*, Gothic *wait*, German *weiss*, English *wit*, "to know." The term Veda is used in two ways: either as the collective designation of the entire oldest sacred literature of India, or as the specific name of single books belonging to that literature. So then, on the one hand, we speak of *the* Veda as the bible of ancient India; or, on the other hand, we speak of Rig-Veda, Atharva-Veda, etc., as individual books of that great collection. The number of books which, in one sense or another, are counted as Veda is a hundred or more. The Hindus themselves were never very keen about canonicity; quasi-Vedic books, or, as we should say, Pseudo-Vedic books were composed at a very late date, when the various and peculiar sources of early inspiration had dried up; they kept pouring new, mostly sour wine into the old skins. The huge Concordance of the Vedas, which it has been my fate to publish this year (1906), absorbs about 120 texts more or less Vedic.