Vedangas

   The Vedangas, or “branches of the VEDA,” are six ancillary sciences of traditional Brahminical learning: shiksha (proper pronunciation), kalpa (mastery of the ritual details), vyakarana (SAN-SKRIT grammar), nirukta (etymology or derivation of Sanskrit words), chandas (prosody or verse metrics), and jyotish (astronomy/astrology). The adept had to know all these to be considered fully educated.

   Further reading: Klaus K. Klostermaier, A Survey of Hinduism (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994); Jagadguru Shankaracharya, The Vedas and Vedan-gas (Kumbakonam: Sri Kamakoti Research Centre, 1988).