The Four Vedas

The four Vedas are made up of a large number of texts, composed nearly two thousand years before Christ, by the poets, seers, sages, and ritualists of Indo-European tribes who invaded the Indian Subcontinent. They are regarded as a sacred revelation and have been transmitted orally and recited faithfully by Brahmin males for a remarkable span of history. Extensive liner notes by noted scholar Frits Staal feature detailed descriptions of each of the four Vedas, including their meaning and musical structure. The album was recorded in South India.

Track Listing

101	Ṛgveda (Opening Hymn) Tamil Brahmin men	01:50
102	Ṛgveda (Vikṛti Recitation) R. K. Subrahmanya Sastri and K. Balasubrahmaniam	09:05
103	Black Yajurveda (Description of Sacrifice) N. Subrahmaniam Ghanapathikal, and R. Narayana Sastri	10:31
104	White Yajurveda (Opening Verses) Tamil Brahmin man	01:55
105	White Yajurveda (Vikṛti Recitations) Tamil Brahmin man	02:00
106	White Yarjurveda (Prayer for Immortality) E. J. Kumaraswami Dikshitar	01:21
201	Sāmaveda (Opening Hymn) (1) Tamil Brahmin men	03:57
202	Sāmaveda (Call to Sacrifice) (1) Tamil Brahmin men	01:45
203	Sāmaveda (Text Hidden by Syllabication) Ekamra Sastri and Sivarama Sastri	02:51
204	Sāmaveda (Jaiminīya School: Opening Hymn) Brahmin from Jaiminīya School	01:55
205	Sāmaveda (Jaiminīya School: Gāna) T. Sarangapani Aiyangar	03:18
206	Sāmaveda (Setusāman) Tamil Brahmin man	05:41
207	Sāmaveda (Bhāruṇḑa-sāman) Sastri Revashankar Bechabhai Trivedi	04:20
208	Atharvaveda (Hymn for Peace) Tamil Brahmin man	02:51
209	Atharvaveda (Enumeration of Sacrifices) Veniram Vishvanath Raval	01:58
301	Twilight Prayer O. M. Kunhan and Vasudevan Nambudiripad	04:50
302	Ṛgveda (Saṃhitā) Tamil Brahmin man	01:39
303	Ṛgveda (Pada) Tamil Brahmin man	00:41
304	Ṛgveda (Krama) Tamil Brahmin man	01:06
305	Ṛgveda (Jaṭā) Tamil Brahmin man	02:05
306	Ṛgveda (Ratha) Matangarli Paramashvaran and Raman Nambudiri	04:25
307	Rgveda (Special Krama) Cherumukku Vaidikan Vallabhen Somayajipad	04:35
308	Teaching Ṛgveda Male teacher and children	01:31
309	Black Yajurveda (koṭṭu) Group of Nambudiri Yajurvedins	01:24
310	Black Yajurveda (ghoṣam) Chittor Narayanan Nambudiripad and other male singers	04:28
401	Sāmaveda (Opening Hymn) (2) Brahmin from Jaiminīya School	02:27
402	Sāmaveda (Kaśyapa's Vow) Brahmin from Jaiminīya School	03:04
403	Sāmaveda (Call to Sacrifice) (2) Muttathukkattu Itti Ravi Nambudiri	02:31
404	Ritual Recital of the Adhavaryu Cherumukku Vaidikan	01:20
405	Form of Sāmaveda Used in Sacrifice Muttathukkattu Itti Ravi Nambudiri, Korattikkara Raman Nambudiri, and Thottam Sankaranarayanan Nambu	06:26
406	Sāmaveda Muttathukkattu Itti Ravi Nambudiri and additional singer	01:29
407	Stanzas Accompanying Oblations (yājyā) Brahmin priests reciting verses during ceremony	02:03
408	The Libation of the Soma Brahmin priests reciting verses during ceremony	01:41
409	Form of Ṛgveda Used in Sacrifice Cherumukku Vaidikan and his sons	06:21