Vedas

The four oldest scriptures of Hinduism, revealed to the rishis and preserved for millennia by exact oral recitation.

Core Characteristics

Four collections: the Rigveda of hymns, the Yajurveda of formulae, the Samaveda of song, and the Atharvaveda of spells and lore.
Composed between roughly 1500 and 500 BC in Vedic Sanskrit, passed down with astonishing fidelity.
The Vedas are shruti — "heard" revelation — standing above all later Hindu texts.