Sanskrit language, (from Sanskrit saṃskṛta, “adorned, cultivated, purified”), an Old Indo-Aryan language in which the most ancient documents are the Vedas, composed in what is called Vedic Sanskrit. Although Vedic documents represent the dialects then found in the northern midlands of the Indian subcontinent and areas immediately east thereof, the very earliest texts—including …

The Vedas (/ ˈ v eɪ d ə z /, IAST: veda, Sanskrit: वेदः, lit. 'knowledge') are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India.Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.. There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda.