Welcome to Adiyen Sri Ramanuja Dasan !
" Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha !"
31) What are the Angas or subsidiaries of the Vedas?
There are six such Angas (part or limbs) of Vedas. These are 1)Siksha 2) Vyakarana 3) Chandas 4) Jyotisha 5) Nirukta and 6) Kalpa.
32)Can you tell me what the six Veda Angas talk about?
1)Siksha explains the proper pronunciations of the Vedas.
2)Vyakarana explains the grammar of the Vedic words.
3)Chandas explains the metres of the various Riks.
4)Jyotisha helps in deciding the proper time for the performance of the various rituals.
5)Nirukta gives the meanings of difficult words in the Vedas.
6)Kalpa describes the proper method of performing the various ritual mentioned in the Vedas. These six angas of the Vedas help in a proper understanding of the Vedas. They also help in the performance of the various rituals or the yagas (yagnas), prescribed by the Vedas.
33) How are these six Vedangas divided?
They can be divided into two groups:
1) Those which are connected with the text of the Vedas: Siksha, Vyakarana, Chandas.
2)Those which are connected with the meaning of Vedas: Jyotisha, Nirukta, Kalpa.
34) After the Vedas and Vedangas, what are the important texts or authorities for us?
Next comes Smriti. Smriti helps us in understanding the various injunctions and truths propounded in the Vedas.
35) How many Smritis are there?
The Smritis are many in number and even an exact definition of Smriti is perhaps not available. Many of the Smritis are also not available now and are lost to humanity. The more important Smritis are : Manu Smriti, Parasarra Smriti, Yagnavalkya Smriti, Harita Smriti ans Sandilya Smriti. Some say there are 20 Smritis and some others say that there are 57 Smritis.
Jai Srimannaryana !
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