There are three very special compenduims of texts that are considered part of the Veda but consist of discussions and explanatory material rather than hymns.
The Brahmanas are a huge mass of writings that explain how to perform various Vedic rituals. They throw in a few good myths for added color. The Aranyakas and Upanishads are philosophy texts that discuss the inner significance of the Vedic rites.(The Upanishads are so important I've dealt with them in a separate section, " Upanishads: Liberating Literature", later in this chapter.)
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