[Advaita-l] The number of Vedas - three or four

[Siva Senani Nori]

In another thread, the argument that there were only three Vedas initially, as exemplified by numerous utterances, and the Atharvana Veda has been 'added' later has been mentioned.
 
The utterances about Rigyajussaama are numerous (even in Ramayana, in Aditya Hridayam) as is the word trayeevidyaa (for Vedas), or even plain trayee. If Atharva(na) Veda were a later addition, its PramaaNyataa and in its wake, that of the entire Veda comes into question. 
 
I had asked one scholar Br. Sri. Vedamurtulu Kuppa Siva Subrahmanyaavadhaani garu three or four years back, when he was the principal of the VedapaaThaSaala at Keesaragutta, Hyderabad (run by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam) when he spoke on a related topic at Sanskrit Academy, Hyderabad and his answer was that there are three kinds of Vedic mantras - Rik, Saaman and Yajus. The first one is the name given to mantras whose primary characteristic is eulogy or praise; the second, to the those whose primary characteristic is that they are sung; and the, third to those which are employed in a Yajna. Whenever reference is made to the 'three', it is to be understood as reference to the type of Vedamantras. Each Veda may have mantras of any one type or more. The Atharva Veda primarily consists on Riks.
 
Regards
N. Siva Senani