How can I trust that Vedas are available in their authentic form (yathaswaroop)

Question

I have heard and experienced that many literature books of Hinduism are altered/manipulated by non-authors and selfish persons, this is one example regarding manu-smriti(that I also have experienced). There are more examples but coming to the point, how can I know that vedas are protected from all this corruption.

If there are authentic vedas, where would I get/buy them (I don't want mere translations I want devanagari-script vedas with swara matrikas(swara indications)). I would be very grateful if any-one can tell me where could I learn the sawra gyana(knowledge of swaras) and chanting of vedas.

Note: I am not an atheist, and I want to know more than this.

Answer 1

The website you linked to actually has all four Vedas with swara indications:

Rig Veda

Shukla Yajur Veda

Sama Veda

Atharvana Veda

By the way, you can trust these PDF files, but I would take the articles on this website with a grain of salt. They tend to interpret Hindu scripture in order to make it conform to modern sensibilities, in a way that in my view distorts their meaning.

By the way, this website only has the Shukla Yajur Veda Samhita, i.e. the Vajasaneyi Samhita, in Sanskrit. (The Yajur Veda comes in two versions, as I discuss here.) But here is another website that gives the Sanskrit with swara indications for the first chapter of the Krishna Yajur Veda Samhita, i.e. the Taittiriya Samhita, and all of the Taittiriya Brahmana. I mention the Taittiriya Brahmana because as I discuss in this question, unlike other Brahmanas part of it consists of mantras heard from the gods.

Answer 2

If you truly want to be sure that the teaching is authentic, forget about the books. Vedic knowledge is being passed down by parampara, from one guru to another, starting from Garbhodakashai Visnu to Brahma and so on. Any literature work is only a supplement for people who for one reason or another cannot accept and hear the guru personally.

To protect the authenticity of the knowledge, in Gaudia Vaishnava tradition there exist three-fold assurance: you cross-reference the literature (shastra), teachings from your guru, and what other devoted believers in the same tradition as you are following are saying (sadhu). This is probably the only way to be sure now in Kali Yuga. Books can and will be corrupted, that's the reason Ishvara has to come in each Yuga to restore the religion in first place.

Answer 3

999 lost Sukta’s of Rigveda

Shaunak Rishi in his Brahddevata, Katyayana’s in his Sarvanukramani,Sayan Acharya and Skand Swami in their Introduction of commentary of Rig Veda Mandal 1 Sukta 99 state that Kashyap rishi is the seer of 1000 suktas, in these suktas the number of mantras(richas/Verses) increase by one.

Katyayana’s Sarvanukramani : Katyayana writes on sukt 99

जातवेदस एका । जातवेदस्यम् एतदादीन्येकभूयांसिसूक्तसहस्त्रमेतत्तु कश्यपार्षम् ।

Rishi Kashyap is the seer of 1000 Jatvedas suktas.

2. Shaunak Rishi’s Brahddevata :

Kashyap rishi is the seer of 1000 sukt addressed to Jatvedas which appear before the sukt addressed to Indra (Rigved Mandal 1 sukt 100). The first sukt of these is “For Jatvedas…(जातवेदसे सुनवाम ……..Rigved Mandal 1 Sukt 99). According to Shakupanithe number of mantras increase by one(in the number of stanzas). (Brahddevata 3 -130 –B)

Shadgurushishya’s Vedarth Dipika : According to Shadgurushishya’s writings these Richa’s( verses )were 5,00,499 in number.

ऋचस्तु पंचलक्षा स्युः सैकोनशतपंचकम्

In light of the above stated facts we can draw the following conclusions

1. Kashyap rishi is the seer of Rigved Mandal 1 sukt 99, Jatvedas sukt.

2. Kashyap rishi is the seer of a total of 1000 Jatvedas sukt, including Rigved Mandal 1 sukt 99,.

3. Rigved Mandal 1 sukt 99 is the first sukt of these 1000 sukt.

4. These 1000 verses, of which Kashyap rishi is seer, appear before Rigved Mandal 1 sukt 100.

5. In these sukt the number of mantras increase by one, from which we conclude these 1000 suktas contain a total of 500,500 richa (verses).

6. In the extant Rigveda Samhitas we get only one of these 1000 verses, this leads us to the conclusion that 999 sukt are lost from the Rigveda. Alternatively it can be said that 5,00,499 richa (verses )are lost.

The evidences presented above convincingly prove that in the extant Rigveda Samhitas a large number of suktas are missing. In the present article we concentrated only the Rigveda. In future articles along with Rigveda we will be presenting before the readers the changes in the texts of Yajurveda, Samveda and Atharvaveda as well. We would like to conclude this article with a request, for the readers and scholars who would comment on it, to keep the following statement in mind

प्रमाणसिद्धांतविरुद्धमत्र यत्किंचिदुक्तं मतिमान्धदोषात्

मात्सर्यमुत्सार्य तदार्यचित्ताः प्रसादमाधाय विशोधयंतु

If I have said anything contrary to proofs and principles because of my less knowledge, then instead of getting angry please do rectify my errors like a true scholar.

https://truthabouthinduism.wordpress.com/2014/01/01/999-suktas-loststill-no-textual-corruption-in-vedas/