Ancient hymns include the Egyptian Great Hymn to the Aten, composed by Pharaoh Akhenaten ; the Vedas, a collection of hymns in the tradition of Hinduism ; and the Psalms, a collection of songs from Judaism.

The documented history of Indian religions begins with the historical Vedic religion, the religious practices of the early Indo-Aryans, which were collected and later redacted into the Samhitas ( usually known as the Vedas ), four canonical collections of hymns or mantras composed in archaic Sanskrit.

In the Vedas, numerous hymns are dedicated to Mitra, Varuna, Savitr etc.

The four Vedas, notably the hymns of the Rigveda, contain allusions to many themes ( see Rigvedic deities, Rigvedic rivers ).

In the Rig Veda, Dyaus Pitar appears in hymns 1. 89, 1. 90, 1. 164, 1. 191 and 4. 1 in simple invocations, but is not seen in the deeper older roots of the classical vedas which point to it being newly created and not the original part of the Indian Vedas.

In the Vedas, the word denotes an inspired poet of Ṛgvedic hymns, who alone or with others invokes the deities with poetry.

The second, and most common meaning of the word, refers to the sacred ancient literature of Hinduism, the Vedas, a collection of hymns, poetry and Hindu ceremonial formulae ( Veda ).

First, unlike the religious focus of the other Vedas, the Atharva-veda contains hymns, spells and magical incantations for personal and domestic use ( Veda ).

Weekly service were held consonant with the Trust directive, consisting of three successive parts: recitation of the Vedas by Telugu Brahmins in the closed apartment exclusively before the Brahmin members of the congregation, reading and exposition of the Upanishads for the general audience, and singing of hymns.

Some of the mantras, suktas from the hymns of the Vedas, conform to this usage.

The Vedas are a collection of liturgy ( mantras, hymns )

The concept of a singular divine being with many expressions is not a new development in thought: it has been a major theme in India for many centuries, at the very least as far back as the 5th century, though hymns in the early Vedas too speak of a one-Goddess-many-goddesses concept.

His hymns are considered by the Vaishnavites to contain the essence of the Vedas.

Louis Jaccoliot ( 1837 – 1890 ) who worked in French India as a government official and was at one time President of the Court in Chandranagar, translated numerous Vedic hymns and the celebrated author of the Bible in India: Hindoo Origin of Hebrew and Christian Revelation said: " India of the Vedas entertained a respect for women amounting to worship ; a fact which we seem little to suspect in Europe when we accuse the extreme East of having denied the dignity of woman, and of having only made her an instrument of pleasure and of passive obedience.

The ancient Vedas ( hymns from between 1500 to 1000 BCE that are among the earliest examples of literature in the world ) contain no hint of it ( although a small number are composed in a form of dialogue ) and the rituals of the Vedic period do not appear to have developed into theatre.

Before the development of writing, it is probable that there were already epic poems, hymns to gods and incantations ( such as those later found written in the ancient library at Ninevah, and the Vedas ), and other oral literature ( for example, see ancient literature ).

# śruti, literally translates as " what is heard ," but refers to the Vedas or Vedic literature which are the liturgical and praise hymns of the earliest Hindu tradition

The earliest text of the Vedas is the Rigveda, a collection of poetic hymns used in the sacrificial rites of Vedic priesthood.

The guns are fired, the hymns are sung, and the body of Charles is carried down to the vault and laid beside the tombs of his ancestors.

Each of these hymns has eight four-line stanzas and is written in strict iambic dimeter ( that is 2 x 2 iambs ).

Author Gilbert Chase writes that " Amazing Grace " is " without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns ," and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that it is performed about 10 million times annually.

The significance of receiving Unction on Holy Wednesday is shored up by the hymns in the Triodion for that day, which speak of the sinful woman who anointed the feet of Christ ().

A breviary ( from Latin brevis, ' short ' or ' concise ') is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office ( i. e., at the canonical hours or Liturgy of the Hours, the Christians ' daily prayer ).

# the Mozarabic Breviary, once in use throughout all Spain, but now confined to a single foundation at Toledo ; it is remarkable for the number and length of its hymns, and for the fact that the majority of its collects are addressed to God the Son ;

There is here given the whole service for every Sunday and week-day, the proper antiphons, responsories, hymns, and especially the course of daily Scripture-reading, averaging about twenty verses a day, and ( roughly ) arranged thus: for Advent, Isaiah ; Epiphany to Septuagesima, Pauline Epistles ; Lent, patristic homilies ( Genesis on Sundays ); Passion-tide, Jeremiah ; Easter to Whitsun, Acts, Catholic epistles and Apocalypse ; Whitsun to August, Samuel and Kings ; August to Advent, Wisdom books, Maccabees, Prophets.

Bute's version is noteworthy for its inclusion of the skilful renderings of the ancient hymns by J. H.

One of his hymns, on Mary Magdalene, is included in the Breviary.

Churches worldwide hold a one-hour service each Sunday, consisting of hymns, prayer, and currently, readings from the King James Version ( KJV ) of the Bible ( although there is no requirement that this version of the Bible be used ) and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

*** The Classic of Poetry is made up of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs, 74 minor festal songs, traditionally sung at court festivities, 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies, and 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house.

Christadelphian hymnody makes considerable use of the hymns of the Anglican and British Protestant traditions ( even in US ecclesias the hymnody is typically more British than American ).

Another publication, the " Worship " book is a compilation of songs and hymns that have been composed only by members of the Christadelphian community.

The Church Fathers interpret Ezekiel's vision of the human likeness upon the sapphire throne () as a prophecy of the Incarnation of the Logos from the Theotokos ( Virgin Mary ), who in many ancient church hymns is called the " living Throne of God ".

Differences in praxis ( practice ) tend to be slight ; they involve such things as the order in which a particular set of hymns are sung or what time a particular service is celebrated.

On the day of the cremation, the body is taken to the Gurdwara or home where hymns ( Shabads ) from the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Scriptures are recited by the congregation, which induce feeling of consolation and courage.

While the Sidharan paath is being read, the family may also sing hymns daily.

Surviving from the 3rd century BC is a collection of six literary hymns () by the Alexandrian poet Callimachus.

A writer of hymns is known as a hymnist or hymnodist, and the practice of singing hymns is called hymnody ; the same word is used for the collectivity of hymns belonging to a particular denomination or period ( e. g. " nineteenth century Methodist hymnody " would mean the body of hymns written and / or used by Methodists in the 19th century ).

The Sikh gurus have described God in numerous ways in their hymns included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism, but the oneness of the deity is consistently emphasized throughout.

Silenus was described as the oldest, wisest and most drunken of the followers of Dionysus, and was said in Orphic hymns to be the young god's tutor.

In nine hymns, Indra is described as Asura.

Aranyani has the distinction of having one of the most descriptive hymns in the Rigveda dedicated to her, in which she is described as being elusive, fond of quiet glades in the jungle, and fearless of remote places.

Rig Veda 10. 22. 8 describes the Dasa-Dasyus as a-karman ( non-performers of Aryan sacrifices ), anya-vrata ( observers of other rites ) and in Rig Veda 10. 105. 8 they are described as anrc ( non-singer of laudatory hymns ).

In these hymns, the phases of the moon are described at length.

With the exception of some hymns, his works are now nearly forgotten, but he was described as a most amiable and estimable man — simple and sympathetic.

" The single is described as " one of the best electro-punk hymns of all times.

The letter described the event as being a time set apart for " prayer ... hymns ... family topics ... and specific instruction on the principles of the gospel.

The first tunebook published in Maryland was the Baltimore Collection of Church Music by Alexander Ely in 1792, consisting mostly of hymns, with some more complex pieces described as anthems.