There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda.[9][10] Each Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).[9][11][12] Some scholars add a fifth category – the Upasanas (worship).[13][14] The texts of the Upanishads discuss ideas akin to the heterodox sramana-traditions.[15]

Vedas are śruti ("what is heard"),[16] distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called smṛti ("what is remembered"). Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya, which means "not of a man, superhuman"[17] and "impersonal, authorless," revelations of sacred sounds and texts heard by ancient sages after intense meditation.