Sāmaveda सामवेद

What it is

The Sāmaveda is the Veda of melodies (sāmans). Its roughly 1,875 verses are almost all taken from the Ṛgveda, but here they are arranged to be sung, not recited, by the udgātṛ priests during the Soma sacrifices. Separate song books (gānas) record how each verse is turned into song, with its long vowels, added syllables and patterns of pitch. In the Bhagavad Gītā Kṛṣṇa says, "Of the Vedas, I am the Sāmaveda" (10.22).

How it is arranged

The collection has two parts. The first, the Pūrvārcika, groups single verses by the deity they address: Agni, Indra and Soma. The second, the Uttarārcika, gives the verses in short groups, usually of three, as they are sung in the rites. It survives in a few recensions, mainly the Kauthuma, Rāṇāyanīya and Jaiminīya, each with its own singing style. The Chāndogya and Kena Upaniṣads belong to the Sāmaveda.

What it teaches

Its themes are those of the Ṛgveda hymns it uses, above all praise of Agni, Indra and Soma. Its special teaching is about sound: that sacred words become more powerful when they are sung with care, breath and attention, and that the melody itself is a form of offering.

What it can mean in your life

The Sāmaveda invites us to listen. Singing or hearing these chants slows the breath and gathers attention, and many people experience it as a meditation. Indian tradition regards the Sāmaveda as a root of its music. Even without understanding every word, one can feel in it how devotion becomes sound.

Where to begin

Listen first: find a recording of Sāma chanting and follow the words. Then compare one sung verse with the same verse in the Ṛgveda to hear how speech becomes song. The Chāndogya Upaniṣad, which belongs to this Veda, is a good next step.

Origins and dating

The Sāmaveda was compiled after the Ṛgveda, from which it draws its verses. Like the other Vedas it is śruti in the tradition and was handed down orally. Today only a few families and schools still keep its singing traditions alive, which makes recording and teaching them all the more important.

The text on Vedyatra

Vedyatra publishes the Sāmaveda Saṃhitā of the Kauthuma recension: 1,875 mantras, the Pūrvārcika (mantras 1 to 650, in 65 daśatis or decades, including the Āraṇyaka and Mahānāmnī verses) and the Uttarārcika (651 to 1,875, in 22 half-prapāṭhakas). Each mantra is cited by its standard running number, the last part of its reference: 1.5.45 is the 45th mantra, in the fifth daśati of the Pūrvārcika. The Rāṇāyanīya and Jaiminīya recensions, and the chant books (gānas) that set these verses to melody, are not included.

The Sanskrit comes from Sanskrit Wikisource. The unaccented section pages give the standard numbering, and every mantra links to the exact page revision it was taken from. The accents come from the accented edition of the whole Saṃhitā on Wikisource, matched to the numbering mantra by mantra. They are written in the Sāmaveda's own notation: the numerals 1, 2 and 3 above the syllables, for the high (udātta), falling (svarita) and low (anudātta) pitch, with a few further signs of the printed editions. Eight mantras whose accented line could not be matched with certainty are shown unaccented, and one mantra (1315) that is missing from its section page is taken from the accented edition.

Most of these verses are also in the Ṛgveda, sometimes with small differences in wording; the Sāmaveda text is given here as the Sāmaveda transmits it. The notes on the section pages (the names of the sāmans sung on each verse, and links to later literature) are not part of the text.

Passages to start with

• Bhagavad Gītā 10.22: "Of the Vedas, I am the Sāmaveda."
• Chāndogya Upaniṣad: The great Upaniṣad of the Sāmaveda, which begins with the syllable OM.