Essentials of Hinduism

Essentials of Hinduism

Yajur Veda

The three (3) Paths to “Moksha” are believed to be those of: Jnyana (Knowledge), Bhakti (Devotion) and Karma (Action). Yajur Veda is identified with the Path of Karma (Action). To pass on the immense treasurable Knowledge of the Vedas from Generation to Generation, Vedavyasa trained four Rishis – Rig Veda to Paila Rishi, Yajur Veda to Vaisampayana Rishi, Sama Veda to Jaimini Rishi and Atharvana Veda to Sumantu Rishi.

The word Yaj means to Sacrifice (Yajna) and it is from this that the name Yajur Veda is derived. Indepth explanation will clarify the Yajna even further. There are four (4) classes of Priests required to perform any Yajna. The first class of the officiating Priests are known as Hotri. They invoked the Gods, prepared the sacrificial ground and the altar by reciting the Rig Veda Mantras. The second class of Priests consisted of the Udgatri. These people chanted the sacred Sama Veda Hymns. The third class of Priests consisted of the reciters or Adhvaryu. They carried out the sacrificial rites while chanting the sacred texts and the Yajur Veda Hymns. The fourth class of Priests consisted of the Brahmana overseers. They supervised the Sacrifice and the Atharvana Veda Hymns. The Yajur Veda Samhita thus consists of formulas and verses to be uttered by the Adhvaryu. These Priests are mainly entrusted with the manual work that had to be performed at the Yajnyas.

According to the legend, Vedavyasa taught the four Vedas to four of his disciples. Vaisampayana taught the Yajur Veda to twenty seven (27) different pupils, and eventually, the Yajur Veda branched off into two (2) different Schools. The first one was the TAITTARIYA, often referred to as the black or Krishna Yajur Veda. The second one was the Vajasaneyi, often referred to as the white or Shukla Yajur Veda. These two types of Yajur Vedas are treated separately in this Chapter. (For a short story pertaining to the separation of the original Yajur Veda, please read Upanishads Chapter, Chapter 31 – TAITTARIYA Upanishad). The TAITTARIYA Samhita is called black because the Samhita and Brahmana portions are mixed. The Vaijasaneyi Samhita clearly demarcates the Samhita and the Brahmana portions – the Brahmana portion is known as the Shatapatha Brahmana.

In order to make Yajur Veda explicitly clear for a novice, a chart of Yajur Veda is displayed later in this Chapter. The Yajur Veda is broadly classified into the Karma Kanda (Rituals) and the Jnyana Kanda (Supreme Knowledge of the Brahman). The Karma Kanda have sub-parts of Samhitas, Brahmanas and Aranyakas. The Samhita consist of Mantras and because these Mantras are quite difficult to interpret without commentaries, we have the second sub-part that are known as the Brahmanas. The Brahmanas explain the Mantras, indicate how these Mantras have to be used in the Sacrifices, as well as, provide description of the Sacrifices and how they have to be conducted. The Jnyana Kanda have sub-part of the Upanishads. The Aranyakas teach the art of certain types of Meditation. The Upanishads are dealt in exhaustive detail in Chapter 31. The Upanishads are the philosophical discussions between the seers and their pupils. Sometimes they are in the dialogue form.

KRISHNA YAJUR VEDA SAMHITAS (Karma Kanda)

Before proceeding with the details of the Krishna Yajur Veda Samhitas, please note the following important notes.

PANCHA RATHRA:

For the purpose of basic understanding - the Pancha Rathra part of the Yajur Veda consists of (1) Bharadvaja Sutra; (2) Satyashadha Sutra; (3) Vaikanasa Sutra; (4) Bodhayana Sutra; (5) Apastamba Sutra. The details will not be elaborated.

In order to know the Suktas/Mantras, as well as, the details on names of the sages ascribed for different Suktas, please refer to a book that deals indepth on the Mantras only.

Note : Unlike all the other Chapters of this Book, the understanding of the Veda Chapters are not that easy. Effort has been made to make it as simple as possible.

The Vedas cannot really be appreciated without some sort of an understanding of the Gods of the Vedas. The Gods of the Vedas are different in nature and character from the gods that are encountered in the Epics or in the sacred texts known as the Puranas.

The three (3) major Gods of the Vedas are Agni, Indra or Vayu and Surya. Agni ruled over the Earth (Prithivi), Indra or Vayu ruled over the Atmosphere (Antariksha), and, Surya ruled over the Heaven (Devaloka). All other Gods are regarded as the manifestations of these three Gods. This was the view of Yaska, a commentator of the Vedas, who lived around 800 B.C. The other view is the monotheistic (only one god exists) view – as found in the Upanishads – all the various Gods are the manifestations of the same Supreme Godhead, the Paramatma. However, it is important to recognize here the importance attached to the Gods of the Vedas. There are more than one God, but, whenever a hymn is addressed to a particular God, that God is ascribed with all the Divine qualities. Inside a specific Hymn, the God being addressed is regarded as the Supreme Godhead, and all the other Gods come to be regarded as his manifestations.

This article is a snippet from the Book Essentials of Hinduism, Authored by G.S Nilakantan. Hinduism for All is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.