Vedas are among the most ancient of Indian literature around, today. The literal meaning of Veda is knowledge. Vedas are said to have been revealed to the ancient sages by Brahma, the creator of the world as per Hindu religious texts. The Vedas contain hymns, incantations, their meaning and explanations.
The Vedas provide a framework for humans to live a peaceful life in harmony with their surroundings, help them distinguish between the real and illusory to get salvation from the chains of meaningless existence.
The Vedas were written down somewhere near the end of 300 B C. Before that the entire literature was passed on orally by one generation of Brahmans to another.
The four Vedas are Rig-Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. These four collectively are also known by the name of Samhitas. Each of the Vedas is divided into four parts i.e. the hymns, their explanations, the sacrifices and the Upanishads or sacred knowledge. Amongst these, the Rig-Veda holds the prime position. It mainly deals with mantras imparting many important lessons of life. Next, the Sama Veda is a collection of hymns or songs drawn from the Rig-Veda to be sung during the sacrifices.
The third, Yajur Veda deals with rituals explaining the rites of sacrifices. The fourth is Atharva Veda which is a late addition to the Vedas, deals with spells and magic. It has a much simple language than the other Vedas and deals with the proceedings related to day to day life. Due to its simple nature and practical use in daily life, it came to be widely used by the Aryans.