Search:
Bhakti List Archives

RE SAma vEda

From the Bhakti List Archives

sreekrishna • August 10, 1995 


SRI RAM ASKED

>>WOULD ANYBODY KNOW THE SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE WHY LORD >>KRISHNA WOULD 
ASSOCIATE
>>HIMSELF WITH SAMA VEDA, HE QUOTE >>IN THE GEETHA THAT MAONG THE VEDAS HE IS
SAMA!! OR IS
>>IT THAT SRIMAN NARAYANA IS A SAMA VEDI??

About the Samaveda,  I was also pondering few days back about  AMONG THE VEDAS
I AM (KRISHNA)  SAMA,  BUT WHY ?   The mantras in  the Rig and Sama are much 
the
same (may be atleast 75% similar),butthe difference in the chanting is 
enormous.
The power of the Vedic mantras is also in the recitation- the vibrations shall
we say. These vibrations are quite different between each of the Vedas and the
most difference is in the Sama style. It is stretched more, perhaps 
moremusical.
Sama style has always been acclaimed for melody. We have heard stories of how
Ravana used to please Shiva with Sama gana. There is also another popular 
sloka
also used for Gita dhyanam which says that

"YAM Brahma Varuna+Indra Rudra Marutha: stunvanti Divyai sthavai:
Vedai sanga pada kramopanishadai: GAYANTI YAM SAMAGAH
Dhynavastitha tadgathena manasa pashyanti YAM yoginah
yasyaantham na viduh sura sura ganah DEVAYA tasmai namah"
YAM and DEVAYA here refer to Vishnu.

Sriram also said:
WHY LORD >>KRISHNA WOULD ASSOCIATE >>HIMSELF WITH SAMA VEDA
>>IT THAT SRIMAN NARAYANA IS A SAMA VEDI??

This part I would not put the way Sriram has put it.  This may give a wrong
impression that Krishna is putting down the other Vedas or not recognizing 
them.
However, that is not so. Elswhere in the Gita, Krishna says:
          Rig-Sama-Yajur eva cha(He is Rig, Sama and Yajur)
           
          Vedaischa sarvaih ahameva vedyah, Vedanta Krit Veda videva cha aham

          All the vedas(including Atharva) speal about Him only and 
He is the author of all the Vedas (Four vedas,all knowledge)

Krishna is obviously associated with all the Vedas. It is just that among them
he chooses Sama veda (perhaps for the above said reason, ie., musical). Same 
way
He says that among Pandavas he is Arjuna- this does not mean that he has 
nothing
to do with the rest of the Pandavas. Just like we say among the works of
Kalidasa it is Abhijnana Shakuntalam, likewise Gitanjali among Tagore works-
etc.

By the way when is Samaveda Upakarmam and is the procedure different from the
Rig and Yajur Upakarmams. I have heard that the Sama Vedis do not have the
Kamokarshee japam, is it true?

-K. Sreekrishna