Veda means “knowledge”. The four Vedas are commonly named as the Ṛgveda, Sāmaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. Their collections include hymns, ritual formulas and other materials first transmitted orally.
Within religious tradition, the Vedas are regarded as revealed knowledge and their arrangement is associated with Vyāsa. Historians and philologists instead study how the texts were composed and transmitted across periods of ancient Indian history.
Brāhmaṇas, Āraṇyakas and Upaniṣads are part of the wider Vedic textual landscape. The four Vedas should not be treated as identical to all Indian religious literature, which also includes epics and Purāṇas.
There is no single universally “official version” of every Veda. Readers should identify the edition, translator and interpretive tradition they consult.