Which of the following Vedas is the most ancient?
- (a)Rigveda
- (b)Samaveda
- (c)Yajurveda
- (d)Atharvaveda
Correct — A, Rigveda. The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas — a collection of hymns organised in ten mandalas, composed in archaic Vedic Sanskrit and addressed mainly to nature deities such as Indra, Agni, and Varuna. The other three Vedas (Sama, Yajur, Atharva) were composed later and draw on Rigvedic material for much of their content.
- (b)Samaveda — Consists largely of verses adapted from the Rigveda itself and set to musical notation for chanting during the Soma sacrifice — later than the Rigveda, not independent of it.
- (c)Yajurveda — A manual of sacrificial formulae (mantras and prose) for performing yajnas — composed after the Rigveda.
- (d)Atharvaveda — The last of the four Vedas to gain full canonical acceptance, containing charms, spells, and social material — the most recent of the four, not the oldest.
The four Vedas form a broadly chronological sequence rather than a parallel set: Rigveda (oldest, hymns of praise) precedes Samaveda (a musical adaptation of Rigvedic verses for chanting), Yajurveda (sacrificial formulae), and Atharvaveda (youngest, charms/spells and social material, last to gain full canonical acceptance).
Exams like testing both ends of this sequence — 'the oldest' (Rigveda, here) and 'the one with distinctive non-liturgical content' (Atharvaveda, as in Q66 of this same paper) — so know the full order, not just that 'Rigveda is important'.
- Rigveda: the oldest Veda, hymns organised in ten mandalas, addressed to nature deities (Indra, Agni, Varuna, etc.).
- Samaveda: a musical/chant adaptation of Rigvedic verses, used in the Soma sacrifice.
- Yajurveda: sacrificial formulae for performing yajnas.
- Atharvaveda: the youngest of the four; charms, spells, and social-political material (e.g. the Sabha-Samiti reference tested in Q66 of this paper).
A chronological sequence, not a parallel set — Rigveda first, Atharvaveda last.
- Assuming 'oldest' and 'most quoted/authoritative' are the same thing — Rigveda happens to be both here, but that pattern isn't guaranteed in every distractor set.
- Mixing up the chronological order of the four Vedas.
MPPSC/UPSC frequently test ordering/identification questions across the four Vedas — this paper alone has two such questions (this one on chronology, Q66 on distinctive content) — memorise the full sequence and each Veda's defining trait together.
No directly related past UPSC PYQ on Vedic chronology (which Veda is oldest) was found in this store.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following Vedas primarily consists of verses adapted from the Rigveda and set to musical notation for chanting during the Soma sacrifice?
- (a)Yajurveda
- (b)Samaveda
- (c)Atharvaveda
- (d)Rigveda
Answer(b) Samaveda.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Arrange the four Vedas in their generally accepted chronological order, earliest to latest:
- (a)Rigveda → Samaveda → Yajurveda → Atharvaveda
- (b)Yajurveda → Rigveda → Samaveda → Atharvaveda
- (c)Atharvaveda → Rigveda → Samaveda → Yajurveda
- (d)Samaveda → Yajurveda → Rigveda → Atharvaveda
Answer(a) Rigveda → Samaveda → Yajurveda → Atharvaveda.