The hymns in this ancient collection are composed in Vedic Sanskrit, an early form of Old Indo-Aryan that is older than Classical Sanskrit. This sacred idiom preserves archaic linguistic features that stand closer to Proto-Indo-European, and it carries a specialized sacrificial and ritual vocabulary. Its grammar, vocabulary, and phonology differ in notable ways from later Sanskrit, giving the text a distinctive sound and texture that many hear as both austere and luminous. Through this language, the seers shaped a world of meaning in which sound, rhythm, and invocation are inseparable from the realities they seek to address.

Within this linguistic matrix, the hymns are cast in carefully structured poetic meters, or chandas, that guide both recitation and contemplation. The most prominent among these are Gāyatrī, Anuṣṭubh, Triṣṭubh, and Jagatī. Gāyatrī consists of three lines of eight syllables each, while Anuṣṭubh is formed of four lines of eight syllables. Triṣṭubh, the most frequently used meter in the collection, is composed of four lines of eleven syllables, and Jagatī of four lines of twelve syllables. These meters, quantitative in nature and sensitive to the length of syllables, shape the hymns into patterns that support both ritual precision and meditative depth, allowing the language of praise to unfold with a disciplined yet resonant musicality.