[vid-ac ghañ vā] 1 Know- ledge.

2 Sacred knowledge, holy learning, the scriptures of the Hindus. (Originally there were [Page1010-b+ 57] only three Vedas: ṛgveda, yajurveda and sāmaveda, which are collectively called trayī ‘the sacred triad’; but a fourth, the atharvaveda, was subsequently add- ed to them. Each of the Vedas has two distinct parts, the Mantra or Saṃhitā and Brāhmaṇa. According to the strict...