Composition of the Vedas  
         
 
 
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Two kinds of divisions are in vogue for Rgveda. In the first, the Samhita is divided into 8 Ashtakas. Each Ashtaka is again subdivided into Vargas, containing mantras. A total of 10,552 mantras are spread over 2,024 Vargas, included in the 64 Adhyayas of the 8 Ashtakas. In the second division, the Samhita has been divided into 10 Mandalas. The Mandalas are sub-divided into 85 Anuvakas containing 1028 Suktas and the Suktas into mantras, the number being same.

The Taittiriya-sakha is divided into 4 sections, namely, the Samhita, the Brahmana, the Aranyaka and the Upanishad. The Taittiriya-samhita contains 7 Kandas subdivided into 44 Prasnas or Prapathakas. The Brahmana consists of 3 Ashtakas (28 prasnas) including the Kathaka (3 prasnas). The Aranyaka has 10 Prasnas. The Taittiriya-upanishad and the Maha-narayana-upanishad (Yajniki) are part of the Taittiriya-aranyaka.

The ghana-patha, one of the 5 modes (others being samhita, pada, krama and jata for Yajurveda and an addition of mala, sikha, rekha, dhvaja, danda, ratha for Rgveda) of recitation of the Rgveda and Yajurveda is the most complicated of all the modes and a Ghanapathin who has acquired the knowledge of the ghanapatha with lakshana of the entire Samhita of that school to which he belongs is respected as the highest authority in Veda-patha.

The Samaveda is divided into two parts: Purva-archika (Chanda-archika) and Uttara-archika. The former contains 650 rks and the latter 1225, making a total of 1875. All these rks, except 99 of them, are same as the Rgveda mantras. The Purva-archika is divided into 7 Prapathakas. Each Prapathaka contains 10 khandas (dasati). Uttara-archika is divided into 9 Prapathakas and 22 Adhyayas. Adhyayas are further divided into khandas. Rg-mantras set to music become Sama-gana. The basis for Prakrti-samas are Purva-archika and that of Uha-ganas are Uttara-archika.
 
     
 
 
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