Veda literally means ‘knowledge’, specifically, knowledge revealed mainly at the beginning of creation by the Supreme Lord through Lord Brahma and the rishis that explains the proper way for all souls to live and serve the Lord. This body of eternal knowledge was preserved through hearing and memorisation until the beginning of Kali-yuga (about 5,000 years ago) when Krishna Dvaipayan Vedavyas recorded it in written form as the Rg-veda, Sama-veda, Yajur-veda, Atharva-veda, the Upanisads, and other texts.