The Yajurveda (, , from यजुस्, "worship", and वेद, "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals. An ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, it is a compilation of ritual-offering formulas that were said by a priest while an individual performed ritual actions such as those before the yajña fire. The black Yajurveda has survived in four recensions, while two recensions of white Yajurveda have survived into modern times. The middle layer includes the Satapatha Brahmana, one of the largest Brahmana texts in the Vedic collection. The youngest layer of Yajurveda text includes the largest collection of primary Upanishads, influential to various schools of Hindu philosophy. These include the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Isha Upanishad, the Taittiriya Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Maitri Upanishad.

Two of the oldest surviving manuscript copies of the Shukla Yajurveda sections have been discovered in Nepal and Western Tibet, and these are dated to the 12th-century CE.

Etymology

thumb|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.

Yajurveda is a compound Sanskrit word, composed of yajus (यजुस्) and Veda (वेद). Monier-Williams translates yajus as "religious reverence, veneration, worship, sacrifice, a sacrificial prayer, formula, particularly mantras uttered in a peculiar manner at a sacrifice". Veda means "knowledge". Johnson states yajus means "(mostly) prose formulae or mantras, contained in the Yajur Veda, which are muttered".

Michael Witzel interprets Yajurveda to mean a "knowledge text of prose mantras" used in Vedic rituals. Carl Olson states that Yajurveda is a text of "mantras (sacred formulas) that are repeated and used in rituals".

Dating and historical context

The core text of the Yajurveda falls within the classical Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit at the end of the 2nd millennium BCE – younger than the Rigveda, and roughly contemporary with the Atharvaveda, the Rigvedic Khilani, and the Samaveda|. The scholarly consensus dates the bulk of the Yajurveda and Atharvaveda hymns to the early Indian Iron Age, after c. 1200 and before 800 BCE.

Text

Recensions

The Yajurveda text includes the Shukla Yajurveda of which about 16 recensions (known as Shaakhaas) are known, while the Krishna Yajurveda may have had as many as 86 recensions.

Shukla Yajurveda

The samhita in the Shukla Yajurveda is called the Vajasaneyi Samhita. The name Vajasaneyi is derived from Vajasaneya, the patronymic of 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.

{| class="wikitable" align=center

|+ Recensions of the White Yajurveda

|-style="text-align: center;"

| width=120px | Kanva

| width=40px | 40

| width=40px | 328

| width= 40px | 2086

| width= 200px | Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

| width=60px |

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+Shukla Yajurveda Shaakhaas

!Shakha

!Samhita

!Brahmana

!Aranyaka

!Upanishad

|-

|Madhyandina (VSM)

|Vajasneyi Samhita

(Madhyandin)

|Madhyandina Shatapatha (SBM)

|survives as Shatapatha XIV.1–8, with accents.

|Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

|-

|Kanva (VSK)

|Vajasneyi Samhita

(Kanva)

|Kanva Shatapatha (SBK)

(different from madhyandina)

|survives as book XVII of SBK

|Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

(different from above)

|}

Krishna Yajurveda

There are four surviving recensions of the Krishna Yajurveda – , , and . A total of eighty six recensions are mentioned to exist in Vayu Purana, however vast majority of them are believed to be lost. 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. In contrast to the Shukla Yajurveda, the saṃhitās of the Krishna Yajurveda contained both mantras and explanatory prose (which would usually belong to the brāhmaṇas).

{| class="wikitable" align=center

|+ Recensions of the Black Yajurveda

|-style="text-align: center;"

| width=120px | Maitrayani

| width= 50px | 6

| width=40px | 4

| width=40px | 54

| width= 40px |

| width= 200px | Western India

| width=60px |

|-style="text-align: center;"

| width=120px | Kāṭhaka (Caraka)

| width= 50px | 12

| width=40px | 5

| width=40px | 40

| width= 40px | 3093

| width= 200px | Kashmir, North India, East India

| width=60px |

|-style="text-align: center;"

| width=120px | Kapiṣṭhala

| width= 50px | 5

| width=40px | 6

| width=40px | 48

| width= 40px |

| width= 200px | Extinct

| width=60px |

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+Krishna Yajurveda Shaakhaas

!Shakha

!Samhita

!Brahmana

!Aranyaka

!Upanishad

|-

|Taittiriya

|Taittiriya Samhita

|Taittiriya Brahmana and Vadhula Brahmana (part of Vadhula Srautrasutra)

|Taittiriya Aranyaka

|Taittiriya Upanishad

|-

|Maitrayani

|Maitrayani Samhita

|Within the Samhita

| colspan="2" |Maitrayaniya Upanishad

|-

|Caraka-Katha

|Katha Samhita

| Śatādhyāya Brāhmaṇa (only exists in fragments)

|Katha Aranyaka (almost the entire text from a solitary manuscript)

|Kathaka Upanishad,

Katha-Shiksha Upanishad

|}

The most modern recensions is the '. Some attribute it to Tittiri, a pupil of Yaska and mentioned by Panini. The text is associated with the Taittiriya school of the Yajurveda, and attributed to the pupils of sage Tittiri (literally, partridge birds).

The ' 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.

The ' or the ', according to tradition was compiled by Katha, a disciple of Vaisampayana.

{| class="wikitable" align=center

|+ Chapters of the White Yajurveda

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |3

| width=80px | Agnihotra

and Cāturmāsya

| width=40px style="text-align: center" | 1 day, 4 months

| width= 340px | The former is the daily oblation of milk into the fire, and the latter is the seasonal sacrifices at the beginning of the three seasons.

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |4–8

| width=80px | Soma sacrifice

| width=40px style="text-align: center" |

| width= 340px | Bathe in river. Offer milk and soma to fire. Offerings to deities of thought, speech. Prayer to Indra to harm no crop, guard the cattle, expel demons.

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |9–10

| width=80px | Vājapeya and Rājasūya

| width=40px style="text-align: center" |

| width= 340px | The former is a variant of the soma sacrifice which involves a chariot race, and the latter is a variant of the soma sacrifice in which a king is consecrated.

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |11–18

| width=80px | Agnicayana

| width=40px style="text-align: center" | 360

| width= 340px | Formulas and rituals for building altars and hearths for Agni yajna, with largest in the shape of outspread eagle or falcon.

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |19–21

| width=80px | Sautrāmaṇī

| width=40px style="text-align: center" |

| width= 340px | Ritual that deals with the overindulgence of soma, and to assure victory and success.

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |22–25

| width=80px | Aśvamedha

| width=40px style="text-align: center" | 180 or 360

| width= 340px | Horse sacrifice ritual conducted by kings.

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |26–29

| width=80px |

| width=40px style="text-align: center" |

| width= 340px | Supplementary formulas for above sacrifices

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |30–31

| width=80px | Puruṣamedha

| width=40px style="text-align: center" |

| width= 340px | Symbolic sacrifice of Purusha (Cosmic Man). Nominal victim played the part, but released uninjured after the ceremony, according to Max Muller and others. A substitute for Ashvamedha (horse sacrifice). The ritual plays out the cosmic creation.

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |32–34

| width=80px | Sarvamedha

| width=40px style="text-align: center" | 10

| width= 340px | Stated to be more important than Purushamedha above. This ritual is a sacrifice for Universal Success and Prosperity. Ritual for one to be wished well, or someone leaving the home, particularly for solitude and moksha, who is offered "curd and ghee (clarified butter)".

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |35

| width=80px | Pitriyajna

| width=40px style="text-align: center" |

| width= 340px | Ritual funeral-related formulas for cremation. Sacrifice to the Fathers and Ancestors.

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |36–39

| width=80px | Pravargya

| width=40px style="text-align: center" |

| width= 340px | According to Griffith, the ritual is for long life, unimpaired faculties, health, strength, prosperity, security, tranquility and contentment. Offerings of cow milk and grains to yajna fire.

| width=60px |

|-

| height=50px width=120px style="text-align: center" |40

| width=80px |

| width=40px style="text-align: center" |

| width= 340px | This chapter is not an external sacrifice ritual-related. It is Isha Upanishad, which talks about Atma. The verse 40.6 states, "He who sees every being in relation to Paramatma, who sees the Paramatma in every being thereafter does not hate anything.

| width=60px |

|}

;Structure of the mantras

The various ritual mantras in the Yajurveda Samhitas are typically set in a meter, and call on Vedic deities such as the Savita (Sun), Indra, Agni, Prajapati, Rudra and others. The Taittiriya Samhita in Book 4, for example, includes the following verses for the Agnicayana ritual recitation (abridged),

Satapatha Brahmana

The title Satapatha Brahmana means "Brahmana of the Hundred Paths". It is one of the largest Brahmana text that has survived.

Upanishads

The Yajurveda has six primary Upanishads embedded within it.

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. Max Muller illustrated its style as follows,

Isha Upanishad

The Isha Upanishad is found in the White Yajurveda.

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. It is classified as a "poetic Upanishad" along with Kena, Katha, Shvetashvatara and Mandukya Upanishads.

Taittiriya Upanishad

The Taittiriya Upanishad is found in the black Yajurveda.

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.

Katha Upanishad

The Katha Upanishad is found in the black Yajurveda.

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) and as Advaita (non-dualistic).

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".

Shvetashvatara Upanishad

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad is found in the black Yajurveda. 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". 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. However, several manuscripts discovered in different parts of India contain lesser number of Prapathakas, with a Telugu-language version showing just four. 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.

Srautasutras

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. Of these nine have survived, along with portions of Kaundinya. These are AB Keith's translation of Taittiriya Samhita of the Black Yajurveda, and Juliu Eggeling's translation of Satapatha Brahmana of the White Yajurveda. However, Frits Staal has questioned his translations and considers them "fantasies and best discarded".

Devi Chand published a re-interpreted translation of Yajurveda in 1965, reprinted as 3rd edition in 1980, wherein the translation incorporated Dayananda Saraswati's monotheistic interpretations of the Vedic text, and the translation liberally adds "O Lord" and "the Creator" to various verses, unlike other translators.

Ezourvedam forgery

In 18th century, French Jesuits published Ezourvedam, claiming it to be a translation of a recension of the Yajurveda. The Ezourveda was studied by Voltaire, and later declared a forgery, representing Jesuit ideas to Indians as a Vedic school.

See also

  • Hindu philosophy
  • Hinduism
  • Kalpa (Vedanga)
  • Mahīdhara
  • Shatapatha Brahmana
  • Vedas
  • Yajna
  • Sandhyavandanam
  • Durwakshat Mantra

References

Sources

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Further reading

  • Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith, The Texts of the White Yajurveda. Translated with a Popular Commentary (1899).
  • Devi Chand, The Yajurveda. Sanskrit text with English translation. Third edition (1980).
  • The Sanhitâ of the Black Yajur Veda with the Commentary of Mâdhava 'Achârya, Calcutta (Bibl. Indica, 10 volumes, 1854–1899)
  • Kumar, Pushpendra, Taittiriya Brahmanam (Krsnam Yajurveda), 3 vols., Delhi (1998).
  • About Shukla Yajur Veda By a group of Shukla Yajur Vedis
  • The Texts of the White Yajurveda Ralph Griffith Translation (1899)
  • The Yajur Veda – Taittiriya Sanhita AB Keith Translation (1914)
  • A Vedic Concordance (includes Yajur Veda) , Updated Edition, Harvard University, Bloomfield's Old Edition
  • The Taittirīya Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, Rámanáráyana Vidyáratna, Mahesáchandra Nyáyaratna, Satyavrata Sámaśramí
  • TITUS Texts Sanskrit text of Vājasaneyi-Saṃhitā
  • Die Taittirîya-Samhita 1871
  • Sanskrit Web Sanskrit texts of Taittiriya-Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka, EkagniKanda etc. with English translations of the Taittiriya-Samhita.