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{{Infobox religious text|religion=[[Historical Vedic religion]]<br />[[Hinduism]]|image=[[File:Four vedas.jpg|Four vedas|280px]]|image_size=|language=[[Vedic Sanskrit]]|period=[[Vedic period]] ([[Wiktionary:circa|c.]] 1200-900 BCE){{sfn|Witzel|2001|p=6}}|verses=1,875 mantras<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sites.google.com/a/vedicgranth.org/www/what_are_vedic_granth/the-four-veda/interpretation-and-more/construction-of-the-vedas?mobile=true |title=Construction of the Vedas |website=VedicGranth.Org |access-date=2024-09-15 |archive-date=2021-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717035126/https://sites.google.com/a/vedicgranth.org/www/what_are_vedic_granth/the-four-veda/interpretation-and-more/construction-of-the-vedas?mobile=true |url-status=dead }}</ref>|chapters=6 adhyayas|alt=Four Vedas|caption=Four Vedas|background=#E3E30C}}

The '''Samaveda''' is one of the four [[Vedas]] in [[Hinduism]]. It is known as the Veda of melodies and chants. “Sama” means song, and “Veda” means knowledge. It has 1,875 verses; almost 75 verses have been taken from another Veda called the [[Rigveda]]. The oldest parts are very ancient, dating back to around 1200 to 1000 BCE.{{sfn|Dalal|2014|loc="The Rig Veda is considered later than the Rig Veda"}} It has different layers, including hymns ([[Samhita]]), explanations ([[Brahmanas|Brahmana]]), and philosophical texts ([[Upanishad|Upanishads]]). It has important texts like the [[Chandogya Upanishad]] and [[Kena Upanishad]], which influenced [[Hindu philosophy]]. It laid the foundation for [[Indian music]].
== Dating and historical context ==
Michael Witzel says we can’t know the exact dates for the Samaveda and other Vedic texts. He assumes that Samaveda was composed after Rigveda-from approximately 1200 to 1000 BCE-but at the same time as [[Atharvaveda]] and [[Yajurveda]].<ref name=mwitzel68>Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood), Blackwell, {{ISBN|0-631215352}}, pages 68-70</ref>{{sfn|Witzel|2001|p=6}}{{sfn|Dalal|2014|loc="The Rig Veda is considered later than the Rig Veda"}} There had been about twelve varieties of Samavedic chanting. Of the three versions we still have, the Jaiminiya version is the oldest.<ref name=brunonettle>Bruno Nettl, Ruth M. Stone, James Porter and Timothy Rice (1999), The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0824049461}}, pages 242-245</ref>
== Contents ==
The Samaveda [[Samhita]] is not to be 'read' like other texts; it is more of a musical score to be 'heard'.<ref name="staal107">Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0143099864}}, pages 107-112</ref> According to Staal, the melodies existed before the verses in ancient India. The words of the Rigveda were then fitted into these melodies.  Some early words fit well, while later words don’t fit as smoothly. <ref name="staal107" /> The text uses creative structures called Stobha to make the words fit better into the music.<ref>R Simon and JM van der Hoogt, [http://www.ibiblio.org/guruguha/MusicResearchLibrary/Books-English/BkE-Faddegon-StudiesOnTheSamaveda-1951-0022.pdf Studies on the Samaveda] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326025444/http://www.ibiblio.org/guruguha/MusicResearchLibrary/Books-English/BkE-Faddegon-StudiesOnTheSamaveda-1951-0022.pdf |date=2023-03-26 }} North Holland Publishing Company, pages 47-54, 61-67</ref><ref>Frits Staal (1996), Ritual and Mantras, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814127}}, pages 209-221</ref> At times, the addition of meaningless sounds, much like those in a lullaby, serves to help in this respect. This shows that the Samaveda is a mix of music, sounds, meaning, and spirituality, and it wasn’t created all at once.<ref name=staal107/>

For example, the first song of the Samaveda shows how Rigvedic verses were turned into a melodic chant:
[[File:Veena.png|thumb|213x213px|The [[veena]] (a musical instrument) is mentioned in the Samaveda.<ref>Guy Beck (1993), Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound, University of South Carolina Press, {{ISBN|978-0872498556}}, pages 107-109</ref>]]
{{Quote|text=<poem>
अग्न आ याहि वीतये – [[Rigveda]] 6.16.10<ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_६.१६ ६.१६ ॥१०॥] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915184410/https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A6%3A_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%82_%E0%A5%AC.%E0%A5%A7%E0%A5%AC |date=2024-09-15 }} Wikisource, Rigveda 6.16.10;<br />Sanskrit:<br />'''अग्न आ याहि वीतये''' गृणानो हव्यदातये <nowiki>।</nowiki><br />नि होता सत्सि बर्हिषि <nowiki>॥१०॥</nowiki></ref>
Agna ā yāhi vītaye

Samaveda transformation (Jaiminiya manuscript): 
o gnā i / ā yā hi vā i / tā yā i tā yā i /

Translation:
O [[Agni]], come to the feast.
</poem>|author=Samaveda 1.1.1|title=Translated by [[Frits Staal]]<ref name=staal107/>}}

The veena (a musical instrument) is mentioned in the Samaveda. A number of songs were derived by various sages from a basic mantra known as Yonimantra. One example is Gautama’s Parka, mentioned by Dr. Damodar Satwalekar in his book on the Samaveda.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 2020|title=Illustration on Samveda Musical Notes|url=https://sheetaluwach.com/veda-samveda-marathi/|access-date=2024-09-15|archive-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326025444/https://sheetaluwach.com/veda-samveda-marathi/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Samaveda Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Early Vedic Culture (1700-1100 BCE).png|Geography of the Early Vedic period. Samaveda recensions from the '''Kauthuma''' (north India) and '''Jaiminiya''' (central India) regions are among those that have survived, and their manuscripts have been found in different parts of India.
</gallery>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Vedas]]