The Sama Veda is the shortest of all the four Vedas. It is closely connected with the Rigveda. It is important to note that the Samhita of the Samaveda is an independent collection (Samhita), yet it has taken many verses, a large number indeed, from the Samhita of Rigveda. These verses are chiefly derived from the eighth and the ninth Mandalas of the Rigveda. The Samaveda is compiled exclusively for ritual application, for its verses are all meant to be chanted at the ceremonies of the Soma-sacrifice and procedures derived from it. The Samaveda is,┬а therefore, specially intended for the Udagatr priest. Its stanzas assume their proper character of musical samans or chants only in the various songbooks called┬а Ganas. According to the Jaiminiya Sutra тАУ тАШMelody is called Saman.тАЩ Traditional Vedas are spoken as “Trayi” because they are composed of three kinds of mantras Rcs or verses, Yajus or prose, and Saman or chants.┬а┬а
Among the four Vedas, the Samaveda is regarded as the foremost. In the┬а Bhagavadgita, where Lord Krishna has declared тАЬAmong the Vedas, I am SamavedaтАЭ- Vedanama Samavedosmi (Gita, 10.22). Here Indra, Agni, and Soma deities are mainly invoked and praised but most of the time these prayers seem to be the invocations for the Supreme Being. In the spiritual sense, Soma represents All-pervading,┬а Glorious Lord and Brahman, who is attainable only through devotion and musical chanting. Thus the major theme of the Samaveda can be regarded as worship and devotion┬а (Upasana).┬а
