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Contents
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1Etymology
2Text
o 2.1Recensions
2.1.1Shukla Yajurveda
2.1.2Krishna Yajurveda
o 2.2Organization
4Contents
o 4.1Samhitas
o 4.2Satapatha Brahmana
o 4.3Upanishads
4.3.1Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
4.3.2Isha Upanishad
4.3.3Taittiriya Upanishad
4.3.4Katha Upanishad
4.3.5Shvetashvatara Upanishad
4.3.6Maitrayaniya Upanishad
o 4.4Srautasutras
o 5.1Ezourvedam forgery
6Significance
7See also
8References
9Further reading
10External links
Etymology[edit]
Yajurveda text describes formula and mantras to be uttered during sacrificial fire (yajna) rituals, shown.
Offerings are typically ghee (clarified butter), grains, aromatic seeds, and cow milk.
Text[edit]
Recensions[edit]
The Yajurveda text includes Shukla Yajurveda of which about 16 recensions are known, while the
Krishna Yajurveda may have had as many as 86 recensions.[4] Only two recensions of the Shukla
Yajurveda have survived, Madhyandina and Kanva, and others are known by name only because
they are mentioned in other texts. These two recensions are nearly the same, except for few
differences.[4] In contrast to Shukla Yajurveda, the four surviving recensions of Krishna Yajurveda
are very different versions.[4]
Shukla Yajurveda[edit]
The samhita in the Shukla Yajurveda is called the Vajasaneyi Samhita. The name Vajasaneyi is
derived from Vajasaneya, patronymic of sage Yajnavalkya, and the founder of the Vajasaneyi
branch. There are two (nearly identical) surviving recensions of the Vajasaneyi Samhita
(VS): Vajasaneyi Madhyandina and Vajasaneyi Kanva.[4] The lost recensions of White Yajurveda,
mentioned in other texts of ancient India,
include Jabala, Baudhya, Sapeyi, Tapaniya, Kapola, Paundravatsa, Avati, Paramavatika, Parasa
ra, Vaineya, Vaidheya, Katyayana and Vaijayavapa.[14]
Recensions of the White Yajurveda[15]
Recension Anuvaka No. of
Adhyayas Regional presence Reference
Name s Verses
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat,
Madhyandina 40 303 1975 [16]
North India
Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana,
Kanva 40 328 2086 Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil [17]
Nadu
Krishna Yajurveda[edit]
There are four surviving recensions of the Krishna Yajurveda Taittirya sam hit, Maitrayani
sam hit, Kat ha sam hit and Kapist hala sam hit.[18] A total of eighty six recensions are mentioned
to exist in Vayu Purana, however vast majority of them are believed to be lost. [19] The Katha
school is referred to as a sub-school of Carakas (wanderers) in some ancient texts of India,
because they did their scholarship as they wandered from place to place. [20]
Recensions of the Black Yajurveda[15]
Recension No. of Sub- Prapathak No. of
Kanda Regional presence Reference
Name recensions[21] a Mantras
Taittiriya 2 7 42 South India [22]
The best known and best preserved of these recensions is the Taittirya samhit. Some attribute
it to Tittiri, a pupil of Yaksa and mentioned by Panini.[26] The text is associated with
the Taittiriya school of the Yajurveda, and attributed to the pupils of sage Tittiri
(literally, partridge birds).[27]
The Maitrayani samhit is the oldest Yajurveda Samhita that has survived, and it differs largely in
content from the Taittiriyas, as well as in some different arrangement of chapters, but is much
more detailed.[28]
The Kthaka
samhit or the Caraka-Katha samhit, according to tradition was compiled by
Katha, a disciple of Vaisampayana.[28] Like the Maitrayani Samhita, it offers much more detailed
discussion of some rituals than the younger Taittiriya samhita that frequently summarizes such
accounts.[28] The Kapis thala
samhit or the Kapis thala-Kat
ha
samhit, named after the sage
Kapisthala is extant only in some large fragments and edited without accent marks. [28] This text is
practically a variant of the Kthaka
samhit.[24]
Organization[edit]
Each regional edition (recension) of Yajurveda
had Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyakas, Upanishads as part of the text,
with Shrautasutras, Grhyasutras and Pratishakhya attached to the text. In Shukla Yajurveda, the
text organization is same for both Madhayndina and Kanva shakhas.[4][14] The texts attached to
Shukla Yajurveda include the Katyayana Shrautasutra, Paraskara Grhyasutra and Shukla
Yajurveda Pratishakhya.[citation needed]
In Krishna Yajurveda, each of the recensions has or had their Brahmana text mixed into the
Samhita text, thus creating a motley of the prose and verses, and making it unclear,
disorganized.[3][28]
Contents[edit]
Samhitas[edit]
The Vajasaneyi Samhita has forty chapters or adhyayas, containing the formulas used with the
following rituals:[15]
Chapters of the White Yajurveda[15]
Chapter
Ritual Name Days Nature of Ritual Reference
No.
Darsapurnamasa (Full Offer cow milk to fire. Separate calves from
1-2 2 [33][34]
wine) to fire.
Formulas and rituals for building altars and
11-18 Agnicayana 360 hearths for Agni yajna, with largest in the [38]
Whose journey the other gods follow, praising the power of the god, who measured the radiant
regions of the earth, he is the great god Savita.
God Savita, impel the ritual, impel for good fortune the lord of ritual !
Divine Gandharva, purifier of thought, purify our thoughts ! May the lord of speech make our
words sweet !
Satapatha Brahmana[edit]
Main article: Satapatha Brahmana
The title Satapatha Brahmana means "Brahmana of the Hundred Paths".[50] It is one of the
largest Brahmana text that has survived.[50] It includes, states Staal, a "veritable encyclopedia of
meandering opinions on ritual and other matters".[50]
The Satapatha Brahmana was translated by Eggeling in late 19th-century, reprinted often and
has been well read because of the translation. However, it has been misinterpreted and misused,
states Staal, because "it contains enough material to support any theory".[50] Eggeling, the first
translator of Satapatha Brahmana called it "flimsy symbolism rather than serious reasoning",
similar to "speculative vaporings" found in the Christian and non-Christian variety of Gnosticism.
[50][51]
Upanishads[edit]
The Yajurveda has six primary Upanishads embedded within it. [9]
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad[edit]
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is found in the White Yajurveda.[3] It is one of the Mukhya
Upanishads, and among the largest and oldest as well (~700 BCE).[8] It is a key scripture
of Hinduism that has influenced all schools of Hindu philosophy. The text is a treatise
on tman (Soul, Self), with passages on metaphysics, ethics and a yearning for knowledge that
influenced various Indian religions, ancient and medieval scholars.[52][53][54]
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is among the earliest extensive discussions of the Hindu concept
of dharma, karma and moksha (liberation from sorrow, freedom, emancipation, self-realization).
Paul Deussen calls it, "unique in its richness and warmth of presentation", with profoundness that
retains its full worth in modern times.[55] Max Muller illustrated its style as follows,
But when he [Self] fancies that he is, as it were, a god,
or that he is, as it were, a king,
or "I am this altogether," that is his highest world,
This indeed is his (true) form, free from desires, free from evil, free from fear.
Isha Upanishad[edit]
The Isha Upanishad is found in the White Yajurveda.[3] It is one of the shortest Upanishads,
embedded as the final chapter of the Shukla Yajurveda. A key scripture of the Vedanta sub-
schools of Hinduism, its name is derived from "hidden in the Lord (Self)". [57]
The Isha Upanishad discusses the Atman (Soul, Self) theory of Hinduism, and is referenced by
both Dvaita (dualism) and Advaita (non-dualism) sub-schools of Vedanta.[58][59] It is classified as a
"poetic Upanishad" along with Kena, Katha, Svetasvatara and Mundaka Upanishads. [60]
Taittiriya Upanishad[edit]
The Taittiriya Upanishad is found in the black Yajurveda.[3] It is the seventh, eighth and ninth
chapters of Taittiriya Aranyaka, which are also called, respectively, the Siksha Valli, the Ananda
Valli and the Bhrigu Valli.[3][61]
The Taittiriya Upanishad includes verses that are partly prayers and benedictions, partly
instruction on phonetics and praxis, partly advice on ethics and morals given to graduating
students from ancient Vedic gurukul (schools), partly a treatise on allegory, and partly
philosophical instruction.[3]
The text offers a view of education system in ancient India. It also includes sections on ethics
and invocation for one's personal development. Max Muller translates the text's tenth anuvaka,
for example, as an affirmation of one's Self as a capable, empowered blissful being. [62] The tenth
anuvaka asserts, "I am he who shakes the tree. I am glorious like the top of a mountain. I, whose
pure light (of knowledge) has risen, am that which is truly immortal, as it resides in the sun. I
(Soul, Self) am the treasure, wise, immortal, imperishable. This is the teaching of the Veda, by
sage Trisanku."[62]
Katha Upanishad[edit]
The Katha Upanishad is found in the black Yajurveda.[3] The Upanishad is the legendary story of
a little boy, Nachiketa the son of sage Vajasravasa, who meets Yama the Indian deity of
death. Their conversation evolves to a discussion of the nature of man, knowledge, tman (Soul,
Self) and moksha (liberation).[63]
The Kathaka Upanishad is an important ancient Sanskrit corpus of the Vedanta sub-schools. It
asserts that "Atman (Soul, Self) exists", teaches the precept "seek Self-knowledge which is
Highest Bliss", and expounds on this premise like the other primary Upanishads of Hinduism.
The detailed teachings of Katha Upanishad have been variously interpreted, as Dvaita (dualistic)
[64]
and as Advaita (non-dualistic).[65][66][67]
The Katha Upanishad found in the Yajurveda is among the most widely studied Upanishads.
Philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer praised it, Edwin Arnold rendered it in verse as "The
Secret of Death", and Ralph Waldo Emerson credited Katha Upanishad for the central story at
the end of his essay Immortality, as well as his poem "Brahma".[65][68]
Shvetashvatara Upanishad[edit]
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad is found in the black Yajurveda.[3] The text opens with
metaphysical questions about the primal cause of all existence, its origin, its end, and what role if
any did time, nature, necessity, chance, the spirit had as primal cause?[69] It then develops its
answer, concluding that "the Universal Soul exists in every individual, it expresses itself in every
creature, everything in the world is a projection of it, and that there is Oneness, a unity of souls in
one and only Self".[70]
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad is notable for its discussion of the concept of personal god
Ishvara, and suggesting it to be a path to one's own Highest Self. [70][71] The text is also notable
for its multiple mentions of both Rudra and Shiva, along with other Vedic deities, and of
crystallization of Shiva as a central theme.[71]
Maitrayaniya Upanishad[edit]
The Maitrayaniya Upanishad, also known as the Maitri Upanishad, is found in the black
Yajurveda. It consists of seven Prapathakas (lessons). The first Prapathaka is introductory, the
next three are structured in a question-answer style and discuss metaphysical questions relating
to Atman (Self, Soul), while the fifth to seventh Prapathaka are supplements.[72]However, several
manuscripts discovered in different parts of India contain lesser number of Prapathakas, with a
Telugu language version showing just four.[73]
The common kernel of the Maitri Upanishad across different recensions, states Max Muller, is a
reverence for soul, that can be summarized in a few words as, "(Man) is the Self the immortal,
the fearless, the Brahman".[73] The Maitrayaniya Upanishad is notable for its references to
theories also found in Buddhism, elements of the Samkhya and Yoga schools of Hinduism, as
well as the Ashrama system.[74]
Srautasutras[edit]
The Yajurveda had Shrautasutras and Grhyasutras attached to it, from fifteen
schools: Apastamba, Agastya, Agniveshyaka, Baudhayana, Bharadvaja, Hiranyakeshi,
Kaundinya, Kusidaka, Katyayana, Lokaksita, Madhyamdina, Panca-Kathaka, Satyasadha,
Sakala, Sandilya, Vaikhanasa, and Vadula.[75] Of these nine have survived, along with portions of
Kaundinya.[75]
Significance[edit]
Ashvamedhika parva of the Mahabharata describes the year long ceremony according to Yajurveda.
The text is a useful source of information about the agriculture, economic and social life during
the Vedic era.[84] The verses, for example, list the types of crops considered important in ancient
India,
May my rice plants and my barley, and my beans and my sesame,
and my kidney-beans and my vetches, and my pearl millet and my proso millet,
and my sorghum and my wild rice, and my wheat and my lentils,
prosper by sacrifice.
See also[edit]
Karpuragauram Karunavtaaram
Kalpa (Vedanga)
Mahdhara
Shatapatha Brahmana
Vedas
Yajna
Hinduism
Hindu philosophy
References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b c Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upanis a
ds",
in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood),
Blackwell, ISBN 0-631215352, pages 76-77
2. Jump up^ Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upanis ads", in The
Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: Gavin Flood),
Blackwell, ISBN 0-631215352, pages 68-70
12. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, page xvii
13. Jump up^ Carl Olson (2007), The Many Colors of Hinduism,
Rutgers University Press, ISBN 978-0813540689, page 13
19. Jump up^ GS Rai, Sakhas of the Krsna Yajurveda in the Puranas,
Purana, Vol 7, No. 2, page 235
20. Jump up^ GS Rai, Sakhas of the Krsna Yajurveda in the Puranas,
Purana, Vol 7, No. 2, pages 236-238
23. Jump up^ GS Rai, Sakhas of the Krsna Yajurveda in the Puranas,
Purana, Vol 7, No. 2, pages 244
25. Jump up^ GS Rai, Sakhas of the Krsna Yajurveda in the Puranas,
Purana, Vol 7, No. 2, pages 241-242
29. Jump up^ The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools,
Michael Witzel, Harvard University
33. Jump up^ Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins,
Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143099864, page
124
34. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 1-16
35. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 17-25
36. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 26-70
37. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 71-86
38. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 87-171
39. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 172-204
40. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 205-234
41. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 235-254
42. Jump up^ Max Muller, The Sacred Books of the East, p. 407,
at Google Books, Volume 44, Part 5, Oxford University Press; Also
see A Weber's agreement that this was symbolic on page 413
44. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 255-263
45. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 264-287
46. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 288-290
47. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 291-303
48. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, pages 304-310
49. ^ Jump up to:a b Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins,
Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143099864, pages
127-128
54. Jump up^ Patrick Olivelle (1998), Upanis hads, Oxford University
Press, 1998, pages 1-23
55. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume
1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, page 482
57. Jump up^ Max Muller, The Upanishads, The Sacred Books of the
East, Part 1, Oxford University Press, Reprinted by Routledge in
2013, ISBN 978-0700706006, Vol. 1, pages 311-319
62. ^ Jump up to:a b Max Muller, The Sacred Books of the East,
Volume 15, Oxford University Press, Chapter 3: Taittiriya
Upanishad, see Siksha Valli - Tenth Anuvaka
63. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume
1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 269-273
64. Jump up^ Ariel Glucklich (2008), The Strides of Vishnu: Hindu
Culture in Historical Perspective, Oxford University Press, ISBN
978-0-19-531405-2, page 70
69. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume
1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 305 with
footnote 2
72. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume
1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 327-386
74. Jump up^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume
1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 328-329
76. Jump up^ Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins,
Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143099864, pages
353, 121-153
78. Jump up^ Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus (1899)
79. Jump up^ Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins,
Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143099864, page
352
80. Jump up^ Devi Chand (1980), The Yajurveda, 3rd Edition,
Munshiram Manoharlal, ISBN 978-8121502948
81. Jump up^ Urs App (2011), The Birth of Orientalism. Chapter 1:
Voltaire's Veda, University of Pennsylvania Press, pages 433-435
84. ^ Jump up to:a b Ralph Griffith, The texts of the white Yajurveda EJ
Lazarus, page 163
Further reading[edit]
Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith, The Texts of the White
Yajurveda. Translated with a Popular Commentary (1899).
External links[edit]
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