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The Yajurveda (Sanskrit: यजुर्वेदः; yajurveda, a tatpurusha compound of yajus "sacrificial formula', + veda "knowledge") is the third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. By some, it is estimated to have been composed between 1400 and 1000 BC, the Yajurveda 'Samhita', or 'compilation', contains the liturgy (mantras) needed to perform the sacrifices of the religion of the Vedic period, and the added Brahmana and Shrautasutra add information on the interpretation and on the details of their performance.
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There are two primary versions or Samhitas of the Yajurveda: Shukla (white) and Krishna (black). Both contain the verses necessary for rituals, but the Krishna Yajurveda includes the Brahmana prose discussions mixed within the Samhita, while the Shukla Yajurveda has separately a Brahmana text, the Shatapatha Brahmana.
The Shukla Yajurveda is represented by the Vajasaneyi Samhita. The name Vajasaneyi is derived from Vajasaneya, patronymic of sage Yajnavalkya, an authority and according to tradition, founder of the Vajasaneyi branch. The Vajasaneyi Samhita has forty chapters or adhyayas, containing the formulas used with the following rituals:
There are two (nearly identical) shakhas or recensions of the Vajasaneyi Samhita (VS):
Both the Kanva and Madhyandina Samhitas have been transmitted with the common anudatta, udatta, and svarita accentuation (unlike the two-tone bhasika accent of the Shatapatha Brahmana).
The Madhyandina Samhita is popular in all over North India, Gujarat, parts of Maharashtra (north of Nashik) and thus commands a numerous following. The Kanva Shakha is popular in parts of Maharashtra (south of Nasik), Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu. Sureshvaracharya, one of the four main disciples of Jagadguru Adi Shankara, is said to have followed the Kanva shakha. The Guru himself followed the Taittiriya Shakha with the Apastamba Kalpasutra.
The Vedic rituals of the Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, the second biggest temple in India, are performed according to the Kanva shakha. The Jayakhya Samhita of Pañcaratra says its followers are from Kanva shakha.
The extant Aranyakas, Upanishads, Shrautasutras, Grhyasutras and Pratishakhyas are same for both Madhayndina and Kanva shakhas. The Shukla Yajurveda has two Upanishads associated with it: the Ishavasya, as the last part of te Samhita, and the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the last part of the Shatapatha Brahmana. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is the most voluminous of all Upanishads. Other texts are Katyayana Shrautasutra, Paraskara Grhyasutra and Shukla Yajurveda Pratishakhya. The Shukla Yajurvedins (followers of the Shukla Yajurveda) are sometimes called the Katyayanas.
There are four recensions of the Krishna Yajurveda:
Each of the recensions has or had a Brahmana associated with it, and most of them also have associated Shrautasutras, Grhyasutras, Aranyakas, Upanishads and Pratishakhyas.
The best known and best preserved of these recensions is the Taittirīya saṃhitā, named after Tittiri, a pupil of Yaska and an authority according to Panini.,[2] Tittiri in Sanskrit means partridge, and according to a legend, Yajnavalkya had quickly grasped a portion of the Yajurveda, but due to his arrogance, he was asked to eject out the portion by his teacher, who was incensed by his attitude. By his learned knowledge, he was able to retch out what he had studied. This regurgitated portion was swallowed by a covey of partridges and known as the TS.
The Taittirīya saṃhitā consists 7 books or kandas, subdivided in chapters or prapathakas, further subdivided into individual sections (anuvakas). Some individual hymns in this Samhita have gained particular importance in Hinduism; e.g. TS 4.5 and TS 4.7 constitute the Rudram Chamakam, while 1.8.6.i is the Shaivaite Tryambakam mantra. The beejas bhūr bhuvaḥ suvaḥ prefixed to the (rigvedic) Savitur Gayatri mantra are also from the Yajurveda. The Taittiriya recension of the Black Yajurveda is the shakha now most prevalent in southern India. Among the followers of this Shakha, the Apastamba Sutras are the common. The Taittiriya Shakha consists of Taittiriya Samhita (having seven kandas), Taittiriya Brahmana (having three kandas), Taittiriya Aranyaka (having seven prashnas) (See Aranyaka Literature), Taittiriya Upanishad (having three prashnas or vallis – Shiksha valli, Ananda valli and Bhrigu valli) and the Mahanarayana Upanishad. The Taittiriya Upanishad and Mahanarayana Upanishad are considered to be the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth prashnas of the Aranyaka. The words prapathaka and kanda (meaning sections) are interchangeably used in Vedic literature. Prashna and valli refer to sections of the Aranyaka.
7 schools of Shrautasutras and Grhyasutras are related to the Taittiriya Shakha. These are:
There is another short tract apart from the above, commonly known as Ekagni Kanda, which mainly consists of mantra-s used in the marriage and other rituals.
Propounded by Sage Maitreya, the followers of this shakha reside in northern parts of Maharastra and Gujarat. The Maitrayani saṃhitā differs to some extent in content from the Taittiriyas, as well as in some different arrangement of chapters. Its Brahmana portions are mixed with the Mantra sections, like in the Taittiriya Samhita. The well known Maitrayaniya Upanishad and Maitrayaniya Aranyaka belong to this shakha.
Two schools of the Shrautasutras, Grhyasutras and Shulba Sutras are related to this shakha:
The Caraka-Katha and Kapisthala shakhas are available with their texts. Previously Brahmins of Kashmir and Punjab were the followers of these shakhas; nowadays only the Kashmiris follow the Grhya rituals of the Katha Shakha.
The Kāṭhaka saṃhitā or the Caraka-Kaṭha saṃhitā, according to tradition was compiled by Katha, a disciple of Vaisampayana. Its contents are less complete comparing to the Taittiriya samhita. It comprises 40 chapters, apparently originally arranged into 5 books. The Kapiṣṭhala saṃhitā or the Kapiṣṭhala-Kaṭha saṃhitā, named after sage Kapisthala is extant only in some large fragments. This text is practically a variant of the Kāṭhaka saṃhitā.[3]
The well known Laugakshi Grihyasutra (or Kathaka Grhya Sutra) is associated with the Kathaka Sakha and is used, in Paddhati form, by Kashmiri Brahmins.