Ancient Indian Literature

Choose the Correct Answer

Correct Answer : Option b

Explanation
Statement 1 is not correct : The Samhitas are collections of hymns and mantras used in Vedic rituals to invoke deities for worldly benefits like rain, health, and prosperity. They form the earliest layer of Vedic literature and were used mainly by priests during yajnas (sacrifices). They do not focus on spiritual liberation or practices of forest hermits. Such themes appear later in the Aranyakas and Upanishads, which explore meditation, renunciation, and the path to salvation. Thus, Samhitas are ritualistic, not philosophical or ascetic in nature.

Statement 2 is correct: Brahmanas – voluminous prose texts, which contain theological matter, especially observations on sacrifice and the practical or mystical significance of the separate sacrificial rites and ceremonies.

Statement 3 is not correct: Aranyakas are texts meant for forest-dwelling hermits, focusing on philosophical reflections and symbolic interpretations of rituals, bridging the gap between ritualistic Brahmanas and philosophical Upanishads. Aranyakas (“forest texts”) and Upanishads (“secret doctrines”) – which are partly included in the Brahmanas themselves, or attached to them, but partly are also counted as an independent work. They contain the meditations of forest hermits and ascetics on God, the world, and mankind, and there is contained in them a good deal of the oldest Indian philosophy.