Understanding Vedas - for new comers

On Understanding Vedas 1. Vedas are called shrutis श्रुति:.Shruti means as heard by the ears. Spoken language differs from prose language. 2. To give an example in Hindi we write तुम क्या कर रहे हो. Colloquially it may sound तुम्क्या कर्रे हो. Some thing similar is found in Vedic language. Vedas although in Sanskrit language but being shruti, represent spoken and as heard language written in Hindi script. Thus to interpret Vedic language, a Sanskrit scholar will resort to what is called संधि विच्छेद and then break the Vedic language to पद पाठ. In fact purity of Vedic pronunciation is maintained only by knowing पद पाठ. That means he will first understand how words can get abbreviated in speech and the convert Ved mantra to actual Sanskrit words that constituted the Vedic language initially. 3. Additionally all Rig Ved mantras are set to meters – in poetical forms. This makes interpretation a little more imaginative effort than if it had been just in prose format.( to be sung in musical tones) 4. All words in Sanskrit have meanings. Even an ordinary word like गो-has nearly dozens of meanings. The accepted meaning is one that fits in reference to the context with the accompanying text. 5. To be able to interpret the deepest meanings one has to be a true Yogi. But for mundane matters, Vedic mantras lend easy understanding if one develops an insight and lateral thinking on the subject with multidiscipline approach. 6. Answers to any doubts or more difficult concepts are to be found in Vedas themselves. But this requires higher degree of scholarship and dedicated effort. 7. Basically interpretations of Vedas like Rig Ved have been made among the more familiar ones by such as, Sanskrit scholars, Sayan used by Max Mueller for English, Prof Wilson , Damodar Satavlekar in Hindi, Jaidev Sharma in Hindi, Harisharan Siddhaantalankar in Hindi,Swami Dayanand completed Yajurved and RigVed from 1.1 to 7.21. But none of these interpretations are found to throw any light on mundane topics that we may be interested in. 8. All these books along with excellent dictionaries like Monier Williams,Vedic Kosh by ChandraShekhar Upadhyay , ancient treatises like Nirukt of Yask, and various Braman commentaries on each Veda, help in interpreting Vedas. 9. But finally as they famous saying goes वेदा: वै अनन्त:, Vedas are infinite in subjects and given to wide range of interpretations.