About Vedas
The root of the word Vedas is from 'vid' which means "to know"; hence the word Vedas signifies knowledge. Since the Vedas were not written down for many centuries after they were composed, the word "Veda" is also considered to mean knowledge that was heard, or orally communicated. The Vedas are not the work of a single person, but were communicated to a number of rishis or saints, who in turn transmitted them to their disciples. The Seer Vyasa is styled the arranger, or, as we would now say, the editor, of these works.
The Vedas are four in number; of these the Rig Veda is the oldest, next in order is the Yajur Veda, then the Sama Veda and last of all the Atharva Veda. It is very difficult to estimate how old the Vedas actually are. Many historians agree however on the period between 1200 B.C to 600 B.C to be the time when various parts of the Vedas originated.
Each of the Vedas is divided into two main parts:
1. Sanhita, or a collection of Mantras and Hymns and
2. Brahmana, a containing ritualistic precepts and illustration.
The Vedas have not come down to the present time without considerable dispute about the text. As might have been expected, with this teaching being imparted orally, discrepancies arose. One account mentions 21 versions of the Rig Veda, 42 of the Yajur Veda and 12 each of the Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. As each school believed that it possessed the true Vedas, it anathematised those who taught and followed any other.