Samaveda · सामवेद

Krishna says in the Gita: "Among the Vedas, I am the Samaveda." Most of its verses come from the Rigveda — but set to melody. How did the Samaveda turn hymns into song, and how did that song become Indian music?

Sāman means "song" or "melody". Most of the Samaveda's roughly 1,875 verses are taken from the Rigveda, especially its eighth and ninth books, but they are set to elaborate melodies for the udgatri — the priest who sings at the Soma sacrifice. The words are the same; the music transforms them.

In the Bhagavad Gita (10.22), Krishna names the Samaveda as his own form among the four Vedas. Why would the god of the Gita choose the Veda of song? Traditional teachers give a beautiful answer…

• Why song is closest to the divine
• The root of Indian music
• For life today

Read every chapter with Wisdom Library membership →

• Samaveda
• Chandogya Upanishad — 1.1
• Bhagavad Gita — 10.22