Samhita

Samhita (Sanskrit: संहिता, saṁhitā) literally means "put together, joined, union" and "a methodically, rule-based combination of text or verses".Samhita also refers to the most ancient layer of text in the Vedas, consisting of mantras, hymns, prayers, litanies and benedictions.

Parts of Vedic Samhitas constitute the oldest living part of Hindu tradition.

Samhita is a Sanskrit word from the roots, sam (सं) and hita (हित), which mean "correct, proper" and "wholesome, arranged" respectively. The combination word thus means "put together , joined, compose, arrangement, place together, union" and "combination of letters according to euphonic rules, any methodically arranged collection of texts or verses".

In the most generic context, a Samhita may refer to any methodical collection of text or verses. Any sastra, sutra or Sanskrit Epic, along with Vedic texts, can be called a Samhita.

Samhita, however, in contemporary literature typically implies the earliest, archaic part of the Vedas. These contain mantras – sacred sounds with or without literal meaning, as well as panegyrics, prayers, litanies and benedictions petitioning nature or Vedic deities. Vedic Samhita refer to mathematically precise metrical archaic text of each of the Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda).

The Vedas have been divided into four styles of texts – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (text discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge). The Samhitas are sometimes identified as karma-kanda (कर्म खण्ड, action/ritual-related section), while the Upanishads are identified as jnana-kanda (ज्ञान खण्ड, knowledge/spirituality-related section). The Aranyakas and Brahmanas are variously classified, sometimes as the ceremonial karma-kanda, other times (or parts of them) as the jnana-kanda.

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