The Amount of Vedas We Have Lost - More than 99 %

The Vedas are the highest authority of Sanatana Dharma.They are beyond time and have an origin which is non-human ( apaurusheya )

Vedas and their downloaders

A detailed description on the genesis of Vedas is attached as a link at the end of this article.A brief glance on the origins of Vedas will be exemplified here - as we need to understand what 'Vedas' denote before even getting into what we have lost.

Advanced beings have always walked the planet from time immemorial.These beings through penance,awakened superhuman capabilities.As such,they were able to download all forms of cosmic knowledge from the universal archive - akasha.

The whole creation is a reverberation and reverberation means sound energy.These beings - referred to as Rishis heard and saw the revelations of the Universe in the form of sounds.The adhering knowledge endowed in tandem to this.


For example,the Rishi who downloaded the Gayatri Mantra is Sage Vishvaamitra

This is why the Vedas come under 'shrutis' - meaning,that which was heard.The Rishi who downloads is termed 'mantra-drashtaa' , meaning ' one who sees'.

The Vedas,therefore,has no authorship - on contrary to smritis in which Puranas and Ithihasas fall under.

How the VEDAS got preserved.

An ingenious system preserved the ancient,time tested Vedas.The Vedas were passed generations after generations only by recitation - as the Vedas are sounds ( mantra ) by core.

In addition,the ancient sages devised 11 modes of reciting the Vedas to preserve its authenticity over generations.

The script is a recent invention.

It was impossible for anyone to master the entire Vedas in a lifetime ( Unless one is a highly evolved being like Veda Vyasa himself - who had mastered the entire Vedas )

Sage Krishna Dvaipayana  ( referred to as Veda Vyasa ) happened during the period of Avatar Krishna - about 5000 years ago.



Veda Vyasa divided these ocean of sound-based cosmic data into four branches and taught them to his 4 disciples :

(1) Rg veda to Sage Paila

(2) Yajur Veda to Sage Vaishampaayana

Yajur Veda later grew into two varieties - the Shukla Yajur Veda and Krishna Yajur Veda

(3) Saama Veda to Sage Jaimini

(4) Atharva Veda to Sage Sumantu

Each veda is subdivided into Samhita,Brahmana,Aaranyaka and Upanishad.

Samhita refers to the original verses and Braahmana consists of explanations in regards to the original verses - be it the meaning or its usage.

Aaranyaka refer to forest treaties - lessons learnt and recited in forests.Upanishads consists of 'philosophical' messages - often in the form an essence of a vedic truth.




Each of the Veda have many shaakhas ( branches ).For example,the Saama Veda had 1000 shaakhas in total !

Each Person only learnt ONE Shaakha of ONE Veda !

Traditionally,a family belonged to a particular shaakha.A person only learnt the Shaakha in which he belonged to.

Lord Rama is said to have belonged to the Taittiriiya Shaakha of Krishna Yajur Veda.Shri Rudram appears in this Shaakha :) ( Of course the very name 'Taittriya Shaakha' did not exist back then )




The Amount of Vedas We Have Lost

There were originally about 1193 branches of the Vedas,with only 11 'alive' today.

that means less than 1 % of what we originally had.

Credits : Aruna Prashna by M Narayana Bhatta

As we can see,we only have about 0.9 percent of the original Vedas on the planet today - which itself is extremely vast.

Some of the existing branches listed above are also on the verge of extinction.

Among the 11 surviving branches,only 3 are recited by Veda chanters in just about enough numbers

The rest have barely full-fledged reciters and the other 8 branches are in the danger of extinction.

The degree of severity as quoted :

From - Rudra Tattva Book by Shri Maunish Vyas

Even in Rig Veda,there is only 1 active shaakha today - the Shaakala shaakha,which has just enough teachers and disciples.

Some Varanasi students are attempting to revive the Baashkala Shaakha which was dead almost 50 years ago.

The last living person of Baashkala Shaakha was from Banswana in Rajasthan and he had about 2-3 students.

The last person who knew Baashkala Shaakha passed away in 2015.My mentor's friend had sent his 2 disciples to learn from him.

Shri Suktam is from the Baashkala Shaakha.This is why there are so many versions in reciting the Shri Suktam.It is a portion from an extinct branch of Rg Veda and no one knows the actual way to recite it.Each School is now reciting Shri Suktam based on their own shaakha.

With that having said,it is our duty to learn,recite and preserve the remaining Vedas.May everyone do their dharma to their shaakha.

Nevertheless,it is good news that some of the most crucial and powerful portions of the Vedas are being spread today.Online classes are being conducted vastly.People regardless of race and creed have started to learn them.

Women have started learning the Vedas as well.

These are events which never occurred in the past.

This article has been written with the light shed to me by my mentor - Shri Maunish Vyas,author of Rudra Tattva 

Video : The Veda Team of Sathya Sai Unit Malaysia reciting Aruna Prashna - the beginning portion of Taittriya Aranyaka of Krishna Yajur Veda which has 33 Anuvakas ( chapters ) .We recite this during every New Year in Brickfields.

Weekly Veda class in Kriya Lakshmi Gurukul,Setapak,Kuala Lumpur.

The European Veda Union reciting Vedas in Prashanti Nilayam.They have their own team who work on spreading Vedas across Europe.Their impeccable usage of vedic sounds and intonations is indeed brow-raising.

The legendary Challekere Srinivasan and his daughter reciting the last stanza of Medha Suktam in Ghanam

Whatsapp learner Shravanthi reciting Ganapati Atharva Shirsham - a portion from an extinct branch of Atharva Veda.It was rediscovered in the form of a manuscript 80 years back.Shravanti learns Vedas with guidance from me through whatsapp as her local priests prohibit women from gaining knowledge.

12 000 people mass reciting Shri Rudram - the heart of Yajur Veda in Prashanti Nilayam.This has never happened in the past - an occasion where men,women,children irrespective of their background sat in a common hall to recite the Vedas.

GRD iyers,who run their own virtual Gurukul and teach aspirants in Canada explaining on Chandas rule ( metres ) of Veda recitation.The language of the  Vedas has another name - Chandobhasha - as the Vedic verses come in metres  ( chandas )

B Ganesh Iyer's class on Bhrigu Valli in Abu Dhabi.Bhrigu Valli is a chapter from Taittriya Upanishad - revered by Adi Shankaracharya.It describes the conversation between Sage Bhrigu and his father Varuna who guides him to enlightenment.

Shri Maunish Vyas' student - Marine,a school teacher from France reciting the 1st Anuvaka of Rudram with perfect intonations,pronunciations and sandhi rules.

Bhavyasri from France reciting Mantrapushpam from Taittriiya Aranyaka.She learnt with my guidance through Whatsapp.

Veda Class founded by the then Vice Chancellor and me in AIMST University,Malaysia

Weekly Vedam Class - Nandi Temple,Sungai Petani,Malaysia - Narayana Upanishad of Krishna Yajur Veda , from which the formula ' Om Namo Narayanaya' originates.It is said to be one of the Upanishads recited by Lord Rama to Hanuman.

Veda Class for kids in SS3 Sathya Sai Centre by Shri Sathya Sai Ram - who also teaches huge portions of the Taittriya Shaakha like Aruna Prashnam and Mahanarayana Upanishad to adults.

Young students of Shri Sathya Sai Ram reciting Shri Rudram for Mahashivaratri

Durga Suktam,a compilation of Rg Veda verses in relation to Fire by Ms Anita Shekar from Texas through my whatsapp guidance.

My weekly Veda Class on Shri Rudram in Bangsar Ramalingeshvara Temple - the first Shiva temple in Malaysia to be built based on Aagamas.

Reviving the lost 99 % of Vedas

I would have to simply quote what my mentor has told me,when I presented this question to him.

He said when Earth's collective consciousness rises,the new age Rishis will re-download the Vedas.

I only wish to see a future where the the Vedas reverberate in their fullest form throughout the planet.

* I teach Vedas through whatsapp.The syllabus covers entire Rig Veda samhita,Some extinct Upanishads of Atharva Veda, important portions of the Krishna Yajur Veda Samhita,Aranyaka and Upanishads ( Rudram, Purusha Suktam etc ) . If interested,whatsapp to +60163059916.*

Read More : 

(1) Origin of Vedas

(2) Vedas predate Sanskrit