Among the four Vedas, the Samaveda is set apart above all by its musical character. Whereas the Rigveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda are primarily recited as spoken mantras, the Samaveda is essentially a chant-book, a carefully arranged collection of verses to be sung according to specific melodic patterns, known as sāman. It is often regarded as the Veda of melodies or song, because its primary concern is not to introduce new poetic content, but to give a musical body to existing sacred verses. In this way, it embodies the intuition that sound, when shaped as chant, can itself become a vehicle of sacred presence.

Another distinctive feature is that the Samaveda draws almost all of its verses from the Rigveda, especially from its hymnic corpus, and then reshapes them for liturgical singing. Very few verses are unique to the Samaveda; its originality lies in arrangement and musical notation rather than in new compositions. The same Rigvedic words, when lifted into the melodic patterns of the Samaveda, are transformed into liturgical songs intended for ritual performance, particularly the Soma and fire sacrifices. Thus, it stands in a derivative yet creative relationship to the Rigveda, offering a musical dimension to what is otherwise primarily poetic praise.

In the ritual sphere, each Veda supports a distinct priestly function, and the Samaveda’s role is highly specialized. Its chants are entrusted to the Udgātṛ priest, whose task is to sing during the Soma sacrifice and related ceremonies, while the Rigveda is recited by the Hotṛ as hymns of praise and invocation. The Yajurveda provides sacrificial formulas and directions for the Adhvaryu priest, and the Atharvaveda serves the Brahman priest and is associated with spells, prayers, and more domestic or practical rites. In this liturgical ecology, the Samaveda supplies the musical liturgy that completes and animates the ritual structure.

The internal organization of the Samaveda also reflects its unique purpose. Its material is arranged according to melodic and ritual use, rather than primarily by deity or theme, and is traditionally divided into sections such as collections of verses and their corresponding chant-forms. Compared with the other Vedas, it is smaller in terms of original content, yet its influence is profound, since it embodies the principle that sacred sound is not only to be spoken but sung. In this sense, the Samaveda can be seen as the stream through which the ancient vision of mantra flows into the realm of melody, allowing ritual to become, quite literally, a form of sacred music.