What are the Vedas and Vedantas? What is karma kanda in the Vedas?

Explain the
transition from karma kanda to jnana kanda.
The Vedas constitute a large collection of knowledge in the form hymns and other religious
texts. Earliest Indian philosophical thought can be traced back to the Vedas which reflect
the spiritual preoccupations, social attitudes and general worldview of ancient India. The
four types of Vedas, namely Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva veda are further comprised of
four text types. These include the Samhitas, composed of mantras or hymns, prayers,
benedictions and so on, the Brahmanas which include commentaries on Vedic hymns, the
Aranyakas which is concerned with ceremonies, rituals and sacrifices and lastly the Upan-
ishads, which deals with spiritual and philosophical knowledge and forms the concluding
portion of the Vedas. The Vedas present a multitude of Gods and more than one creation
story which often contradict each other. Elements of pre-Vedic religion, nature and totemic
worship can also be seen in the Vedas. Leading deity of hymn collection - Indra. Varuna -
ethical and ideal deity - Rta, cosmic moral order.
Vedantas refers to the philosophy pronounced in the Upanishads and hence contains the
essence of Vedic teaching. ‘Veda’ means knowledge and ‘anta’ means the end of or goal
of. Knowledge here refers to both the transcendental reality as well as knowledge of our
own divine self. Concerned with Brahman, atman and Prakriti but vary in their relations
and conceptions.However, they do not propound any set theory of theology or philosophy
and almost anyone can find what they seek owing to vagueness of wording. The prevailing
view of the Vedantas is monoistic and absolutistic as it affirms the oneness of existence
and the divinity of the soul. It broadly covers the philosophy enunciated by the Prasthana -
trayi, i.e., the Upanishads, Brahma Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita.

In the Vedas, the Samhitas and the Brahmanas together comprise the karmakanda which
deals with sacrificial acts and is therefore identified as the cult of works. It is the ceremo-
nial and ritualistic section. The actions laid down in the karmakanda when performed, lead
to enjoyment and power. However, those who wish to attain Brahman must read the
Vedas and perform the acts without having the end or desire in mind.

The jnanakanda on the other hand comprises of the Aranyakas and the Upanishads which
deal with knowledge of the self and the Brahman. The jnanakanda, hence forms the cult of
knowledge. It posits philosophical teachings and knowledge to attain liberation and de-
claims actions. It is concerned with God, self and the world and their interrelation. The
Aranyakas are the only connecting link between the two cults and mark the transition from
the ritualistic to the philosophic phase. The karmakanda propounds an objective, external
and superficial standpoint towards life whereas the jnana kanda has an internal and more
comprehensive standpoint. The process of transition from the former to the latter is there -
fore one of synthesis between the external and the internal. The ceremonial acts of the
karmakanda are spiritualised and symbolically reinterpreted in the Aranyakas. In the Upan-
ishads, these cult of works is further purified such that their original sacrificial elements are
lost. Additionally, upanishadic meanings are ascribed to the transformed cult. Furthermore,
the Upanishads’ condemnation and rejection of Vedic sacrifices and rituals, and instances
of satire with respect to the lives of Vedic priests, can be seen to complete the transition.
The transition from principle concepts of karma kanda, namely, nature Gods and sacrifices
to the new Upanishadic spirit can further be illustrated with the story of king Asvapati and
his six disciples. According to the story, the world-soul is also the self of the man and
hence sacrifices should be offered to the self which manifests itself in the activities of life.
In this way, agnihotra or external sacrifice becomes pranagnihotra or internal sacrifice.
Thus the Vedic idea of sacrifice to nature Gods is transformed into the idea of yoga
through which unity with Brahman is attained.