The term Veda in the Sanskrit language means 'knowledge'. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi organized the scattered Vedic Literature into 40 branches and showed that it is a perfect science of life.
The entire Vedic Literature is the first expression of unmanifest, pure Being becoming manifest on the vibrational level of sound, and everything in the universe sequentially emerges from the unmanifest through these vibrations.
The Vedic Literature embodies the total potential of Natural Law, the totality of all the Laws of Nature that create and administer every aspect of our universe. Veda is total knowledge, and always expresses the knowledge of Natural Law—how it unfolds and interacts and guides the destiny of everyone and everything.
The illustration below depicts the 40 branches in 3 groups: Rishi, Devata and Chhandas.