Your e - Acharya on Indian Tradition

Yajurveda(continued….)

Of the seventeen branches of Sukla Yajurveda the Vaajasaneya and Kanva Samhitaa are available in print form. The Vaajasaneya Samhitaa is the most popular all over the country. No other Samhitaa enjoys such practice, as does the Vaajasaneya. Lord Surya enumerated this Samhitaa to Yaagnyavalkya in the form of a Vaaji

i.e; a horse during mid day. Therefore this Samhitaa is known as Vaajasaneya or Maadhyandina. As it was attained from the sunrays, one branch is known as Shukla and the other Krishna.

Yajurveda Murthy

Vaajasaneya Samhitaa is classified into 40 chapters and contains 303 Anuvaakaas, 1975 Khandikaas or mantras. There are 29,625 words in all and 88,875 letters. Mantras are found both in poetry and prose. The Rishi of the first chapter is Prajaapati and Dadhyan that of the last.

The first chapter deals with Dasapoornamaasa, the second with Pinda Pitruyagna and the third with Agnihotra and Chaaturmaasya. The most sacred and renowned Gayatri mantra appears or is dealt with in the context of Agnihotra.

Agnihotra is the subject covered from the fourth to eighth chapter, while the ninth deals with Rajasuya, the tenth with Sautramani. The eleventh to the eighteenth deals with Agni-chayana, which was the most important feature of Aaryan culture.

A majority of the mantra of these eighteen chapters is also found in the Taittireeya. The parisishta begins from the nineteenth chapter. The preparation of Soma is described in chapters till the 21^st.

The 22^nd to 25^th chapters deal with the Ashwamedha sacrifice. The rest contain the details about Purushamedha, Sarvamedha, Pitrumedha and others. The 40^th chapter forms the famous Isaavaasyopanishat. The followers of this branch pronounce SHA as KHA (both Hindi alphabets).

The Aaryans laid great emphasis on education for girls. They say Brahmacharini and well-educated girl should be given in marriage--(8.1) – A).

Of the five Samhitaas of Yajurveda that are available today, Saayanaacharya’s commentaries are available only on Taittireeya and Kanva. Regarding the most famous book of Vaidic literature, the Vaajasaneya Samhitaa, we have the commentaries written by Uvvata and Maheedhara.

The Brahmana literature of Yajurveda

The two most important features of the Vedas are – 1. Mantra 2. Brahmana. Both are interrelated. One of the meanings of the word Brahma is a sacrifice. As these books expound the sacrifices, they have come to be known as the Brahmanaas.

Rituals and the practical form of worship are the mainstays of any religion. If we discard the rites and ritualistic aspect of a religion, then that religion becomes lifeless and banal. Therefore the life-book of the Hindus are the Brahmanas. The quintessence of the samhitaa or mantra part cannot be understood properly unless one understands the Brahmanaas correctly. Thus they are so interrelated that sometimes it becomes difficult to differentiate between the Mantras and the Brahmanaas. Therefore it has been said – "Mantra Brahmanaatmako Vedah"--(Aapastamba paribhaashaa-31)

The Brahmana texts deal with the analytical process of establishing the correct meaning of the mantras, give detailed description and procedures of various rituals and sacrifices and their application, etymology and narrate the stories of ancient kings and sages. Thus we find the roots of the six Vedaangaas and the entire Sanskrit literature in the Brahmanaas.

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