Yajurveda in English
The Yajurveda, the second of the four Vedas, is considered a religious Veda. It is believed to have been composed by combining the Rigvedic hymns, as 663 mantras of the Rigveda are also found in the Yajurveda. However, it would not be correct to say that these two are the same texts. The mantras of the Rigveda are in verse, while the Yajurveda is in prose, which is called “prose Yajuh”.
The Yajurveda is considered a methodological text whose purpose was to compile methods and mantras useful for performing yajnas and other religious rituals. This is the reason why most of the mantras used in religious rituals even today are taken from the Yajurveda. There are 101 branches of the Yajurveda, but the Krishna Yajurveda and the Shukla Yajurveda are mainly famous. These are also called the Taittiriya Samhita and the Vajasaneyi Samhita respectively. The Taittiriya Samhita is considered to be relatively old. Although the content is similar in both, there are differences in order and presentation. The Shukla Yajurveda is considered to be more systematic and organized, containing some mantras that are not found in the Krishna Yajurveda.
Division of Yajurveda and Mythology
No authoritative account is available of how the Yajurveda was divided into the Krishna and Shukla branches. But an interesting story is prevalent in this regard. It is believed that Vaishampayan, a disciple of Maharishi Veda Vyasa, preached the Yajurveda to his 27 disciples. Among them, Yajnavalkya was the most intelligent. Once Vaishampayan called his disciples for a yajna, but Yajnavalkya refused to work with some disciples, as they were not skilled in performing yajna. This angered Vaishampayana and he demanded his knowledge back from Yajnavalkya. In anger, Yajnavalkya vomited the Yajurveda. This knowledge was contaminated with black blood, which was eaten by other disciples by turning it into partridges. The branch developed by these disciples was called the Taittiriya Samhita.
After this, Yajnavalkya worshipped the Sun God and again received the Yajurveda from him. The Sun God took the form of a Garuda (horse) and taught him the Yajurveda. This new branch was called the Vajasaneyi Samhita.
Importance and Translation of Yajurveda
The Yajurveda is basically a religious text. It contains a detailed description of the rites and rituals associated with sacrifices and religious ceremonies. However, in the name of religious ceremonies, it was sometimes used as a commercialization of religion. Today, as the number of people who know Sanskrit is decreasing, a simplified Hindi translation of the Yajurveda has become necessary, so that even the general reader can understand the real meaning and context of its mantras.
The ancient Acharyas have explained the meaning of the mantras of the Yajurveda only in the context of religious rituals. Of these, the commentaries of Uvat (1040 AD) and Mahidhara (1588 AD) are notable. These commentaries based on the Shukla Yajurveda are still considered authoritative and valid by scholars.
Features of the Yajurveda
Meaning of Yajusha: The word Yajusha means “sacrifice”.
Prose and Verse: The Yajurveda is written in both prose and verse. Prose is called “Yajush”.
Religious and Social Life: It gives a glimpse of the religious and social life of the Aryans.
Methods of Rituals: The Yajurveda describes various types of sacrifices and methods of performing religious rituals.
Ishavasya Upanishad: The last chapter of the Yajurveda is the Ishavasya Upanishad, which introduces spiritual contemplation. It is considered one of the oldest Upanishads.
The Yajurveda is not only a religious text but also an important document of Indian culture and philosophy. It defines not only religious rituals, but also the values of social and spiritual life.
The Yajurveda has two main parts
Shukla Yajurveda
Krishna Yajurveda
Other features of the Yajurveda
Prose format:
The Yajurveda (Yajurveda in Hindi) is mainly in prose.
The prose mantras sung during the yajna are called ‘Yaju’.
Source of verse mantras:
Most of the verse mantras of the Yajurveda are taken from the Rigveda or the Atharvaveda.
The number of independent poetic mantras in it is very small.
Yajna and Havan rituals:
The Yajurveda describes in detail the rules and methods of Yajna and Havan.
This is a religious text.