Contains the liturgy needed to perform the rituals and sacrifices of the religion of the Vedic period. First to introduce the concept of numeric infinity.
The Yajurveda (Sanskrit यजुर्वेदः yajurveda, a tatpurusha compound of yajus “sacrifice” + veda “knowledge”) is one of the four Hindu Vedas. The Yajurveda Samhita contains the liturgy needed to perform the rituals and sacrifices of the religion of the Vedic period, and the added Brahmana and Shrautasutra commentaries add information on the details of their performance.
The Yajurveda documents the earliest known use of numbers up to a trillion (parardha). It also discusses the concept of numeric infinity (purna “fullness”), stating that if you subtract purna from purna, you are still left with purna.
According to the Bhagavad Gita,[citation needed] the vedic seer Yajnavalkya studied the Yajurveda collection under the tutelage of sage Vaishampayana maternal uncle of Yajnavalkya. Yajnavalkya’s birth was with a purpose as purported by Gods. He was an Ekasandhigrāhi, meaning he learnt anything with just once teaching. The two came to have serious differences in interpretation. On one occasion, Vaishampayana was so enraged that he demanded the return of all the knowledge he has imparted to Yajnavalkya. Yagnavalkya vomited all the knowledge he had learnt. The other disciples of Vaishampayana, eager to receive this knowledge, assumed the form of tittiriya birds and ate that. Thus, that knowledge came to be called the Taittiriya Samhita (vrddhi derivation of tittiriya). After having regurgitated out the knowledge acquired from his teacher, Yajnavalkya worshipped Surya (the Sun God) and acquired new knowledge directly from Narayana who preached Shukla Yajurveda by taking the shape of a stallion (vāji rūpa).
The Yajurveda documents the earliest known use of numbers up to a trillion (parardha). It also discusses the concept of numeric infinity (purna “fullness”), stating that if you subtract purna from purna, you are still left with purna.
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 commentary within the samhita, while the Shukla Yajurveda considers the Brahmanas separate texts.
There are two (nearly identical) shakhas or recensions of the Shukla (White) Yajurveda, both known as Vajasaneyi-Samhita (VS):
- Vajasaneyi Madhyandiniya (VSM)
- Vajasaneyi Kanva of Kosala (VSK)
The former is popular in North India, Gujarat, parts of Maharashtra (north of Nashik) and northern parts of Orissa, and thus commands a numerous following. The Kanva Shakha is popular in Maharashtra (south of Nashik), most of Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and 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 White Yajurveda has two Upanishads associated with it: the Isa Vasya and the Brihadaranyaka upanishads. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is the most voluminous of all Upanishads.
There are four recensions of the Krishna (“black” or “dark”) Yajurveda:
- taittirīya saṃhita (TS) of Panchala
- maitrayani saṃhita (MS)
- caraka-katha saṃhita (KS) of Madra
- kapiṣṭhala-katha saṃhita (KapS) of Bahika
Each of the recensions has a Brahmana associated with it, and some of them also have associated Shrautasutras, Grhyasutras, Aranyakas, Upanishads and Pratishakhyas.
The Taittiriya Shakha: The best known of these recensions is the TS, named after Tittiri, a pupil of Yaska. It consists of 7 books or kandas, subdivided in chapters or prapathakas, further subdivided into individual hymns. Some individual hymns in this Samhita have gained particular importance in Hinduism; e.g. TS 4.5 and TS 4.7 constitute the Shri Rudram Chamakam, while 1.8.6.i is the Shaivaite Tryambakam mantra. The formula bhūr bhuvaḥ suvaḥ prefixed to the (rigvedic) Gayatri mantra is also from the Yajurveda, appearing four times. The Taittiriya recension of the Black Yajurveda shakha most prevalent in southern India. Among the followers of this Shakha, the Apastamba Sutras is the common Shrautasutra associated with the Shakha. The Taittiriya Shakha consists of Taittiriya Samhita (having seven kaandas), Taittiriya Braahmana (having three kaandas), Taittiriya Aaranyaka (having seven prashnas) (See Aranyaka Literature), Taittiriya Upanishad (having three prashnas or vallis – Sheeksha valli, Ananda valli and Bhrigu valli) and the Mahaanaarayana Upanishad. The Taittiriya Upanishad and Mahaanaarayana Upanishad are considered to be the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth prashnas of the Aaranyaka. The words prapaathaka and kaanda (meaning sections) are interchangeably used in the Vedic literature. Prashna and valli refer to sections of the Aaranyaka.