A Concise History of Science in India c5.s2.3

c5.s2.3

The *Saṃhitās* are lyrical collections of hymns, prayers, invocations, sacrificial and magical formulas, of which a great variety must have existed at one time, depending on the numerous families of the Vedic bards. We now possess only four such great collections, e.g. (i) the *Ṛgveda*, the book of strophes (*ṛcas*) or hymns and prayers (*mantras*) to be recited during sacrifices and rituals, (ii) the *Sāmaveda*, the book of melodies (*sāmans*) in accordance with which the *ṛcas* are to be sung, (iii) the *Yajurveda*, the book of sacrificial formulas (*yajūṃṣi*) available again under two distinct groups, the Black and the White, and (iv) the *Atharvaveda*, the book of magical formulas.