Part 1: An Introduction to the Śukla Yajurvedic Texts

Vedic religion is out and out ritualistic to its core. The religious practices of the Vedic people have been marked by the performance of numerous sacrifices big and small. Hence, when a student of the Vedas seeks to have understanding with the religion of the Veda it becomes imperative that the student should not only be familiar with the Vedic litanies and prayers but also with the sacrificial ceremonies in which these are employed. With this end in mind in this thesis an attempt has been made to have some insight into the procedures involved in the Agniṣṭoma Somayāga on which a large body of Soma sacrifices have been modeled. It is to be noted here that among the Vedic rituals it is the Soma sacrifice which stands above others by virtue of its rich diversity of rites ranging from a one-day sacrifice to a rite which covers a whole year. The ‘research design’ chosen for this thesis is basically descriptive in nature which is expected to throw light on the institution of Agniṣṭoma sacrifice on the basis of data collected for this purpose. The study is based on the Yajurveda which primarily deals with the ritualistic practices which are pivotal to the fruitful accomplishment of a sacrifice. Furthermore for collection of data the texts of the Mādhyandina Śukla Yajurveda rather than those of the Black Yajurveda have been taken up. This is because in the former the mantra and the brāhmaṇa portions have been carefully separated and arranged ‘deliberately as an improvement on the confusion of the Taittirīya and other texts’ of the Black Yajurveda. This fact helps a better comprehension of the intricate practices involved in a sacrifice.^[1] And the objective of this research work is to understand and recount those practices in a logical sequence so that one may have a clear picture of the institution of Agniṣṭoma Somayāga.

The primary objective of this chapter is an introduction to the following major Śukla Yajurvedic texts -

1.1.Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā
1.2.Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa
1.3.Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra

Before proceeding with an appraisal of these texts, a general introduction about the Veda, the Brāhmaṇa and the Sūtra literature is presented as follows -

Vedas are the oldest literary monuments of the world which form the fountain head of Hindu religion. Whatever may be the data or record that one needs for studying Indian civilization can be found in the Vedas. Ancient Indian tradition looks upon these texts as sacred and are said to be divine revelation.e., emanation from the great Lord^[2] due to which Vedas have been called apauruṣeya (not made by human being) and eternal. The authors of the Vedic Mantras are called seers i.e., visionaries. The seers visualized this divine revelation through their intense meditation.

The word veda has been derived from the root vid with either the suffix ghañ or ac.^[3] In the SiddhāntaKaumudī under Curādiprakaraṇa, four meanings of the root vid have been stated as follows—

sattāyāṃvidyatejñānevetti, vintevicāraṇe /vindatevindatiprāptau …/^[4]

Thus the root is expensive of the meanings viz., to be, to know, to deliberate and to obtain.It is possible to explain the significance of the word veda in all these senses. Veda is that which (a) deals with the questions of being and becoming, (b) an embodiment of knowledge par excellence, (c) deliberates the meanings of dharma and brahman and (d) it helps to gain esoteric knowledge which cannot otherwise be gained by an ordinary mortal. Ancient Indian tradition holds that only the Vedas can convey this esoteric knowledge, neither human perception nor human inference.

Thus it is said—

pratyakṣenānumityāvāyastūpāyo na budhyate /
enaṃvidantivedenatasmātvedasyavedatā //^[5]

According to Sāyaṇa, Vedas provide the alaukikaupāya i.e., unworldly means for gaining desired objects and for avoiding harmful objects. Sāyaṇa defines Veda as follows -

iṣṭyaprāptyaniṣṭaparihārayoralaukikamupāyaṃyograntho vedayatisavedaḥ//^[6]

So far as the general contents of the Vedas are concerned Ᾱpastamba states that these are primarily made up of mantra and brāhmaṇa.^[7] Thus, the mantra and brāhmaṇa are two integral parts of Veda. Of these two, the mantra portion is said to be earlier than the brāhmaṇa portion. The mantra portion is found in metrical form and the brāhmaṇa portion in the prose style. Commenting on the above mentioned statement of Ᾱpastamba, Kapardisvāmin states that both these portions are known as Veda because they enlighten the humans on the action which lead to the ultimate good.

The Vedas are four in number and these are the Ṛgveda, the Yajurveda, the Sāmaveda and the Atharvaveda.This chronological order of the four Vedas is found in the Chāndyoga Upaniṣad.^[8] The Yajurveda has been handed down in two recensions viz., the Śukla Yajurveda and the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda. The former contains only the sacrificial formulae in one hand, the later on the other hand, intermingles these sacrificial formulae with their explanations(Brāhmaṇas). Each Veda consists of four component parts viz.,Saṃhitā, Brāhmaṇa, Ᾱraṇyaka and Upaniṣad. The mantra part of Veda is known by the name Saṃhitā which contains litanies, benedictions etc. meant to glorify the gods as well as sacrificial formulae. The Saṃhitā of the Ṛgveda is called Ṛksaṃhitā, the Taittirīya Saṃhitā and the Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā present the mantra portion of the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda and the Śukla Yajurveda respectively. The Sāma Saṃhitā belongs to the Sāmaveda and the Atharva Saṃhitā belongs to the Atharvaveda.

All the sacrificial formulae are gathered in the Yajurveda, hence ritualists call this Veda as bhittisthānīya of the other two Vedas viz., the Ṛgveda and the Sāmaveda and these two Vedas are called citrasthānīya by Sāyaṇa in the introduction to his Taittirīyasaṃhitābhāṣya—

ānupūrvāt karmāṇāṃ svarūpaṃ yajurvede samāmnātam / yājyāpurṇovākyādayo ṛgvede samāmnāyante, stotrādīni tu sāmavede tathā sati vittisthānīyo yajurvedaḥ; citrasthānīyavitarau/^[9]

The importance, significance as well as the application of the Mantras are dealt with in the theological treatises i.e., Brāhmaṇas. This brāhmaṇa part of the Vedas indicates a vast literature including the Ᾱraṇyakas and the Upaniṣads. The Brāhmaṇas get their designation owing to the fact that they explain the Mantras which in the Vedic texts have been referred to by the word brahman^[10].Thus, the Śatapatha says: brahma vaimantraḥ^[11].

In the upodghāta of the commentary of the Taittirīya Saṃhitā, Sāyaṇa has expressed the same opinion thus-

yadyapi mantrabrāhmanātmako vedaḥ tathāpi brāhmaṇasyamantravyākhyānarūpatvāt mantrāḥ evādau samāmnātāḥ^/[12]

These Brāhmaṇa texts explain the significance and employment of Vedic Mantras, deal with various Vedic rites and focus on the mutual relation of the Mantras and the different Vedic rites. Over and above these, they contain linguistic and etymological discussions of Vedic words, myths, legends and philosophical speculation in order to support their explanations as well as their cosmogonic and theosophical theories. A minute observation of the entire Brāhmaṇa literature makes it clear that the Brāhmaṇas contain six main topics and these are vidhi, arthavāda, nindā, praśaṃsā, purākalpa and parakṛti. But Savarsvāmi includes four more topics viz., hetu, śaṃsaya, vyāvadhāraṇakalpanā and upamāna.^[13]

Different Brāhmaṇas are attached to different Vedas. Accordingly, the Ṛgveda has two Brāhmaṇas viz., the Aitareya and the Sāṃkhyāyana. The Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa belongs to the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda and the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa belongs to the Śukla Yajurveda. The Sāmaveda consists of nine Brāhmaṇas. These are the Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa, Ṣadviṃśa Brāhmaṇa, Jaiminīya Brāhmaṇa, Tavalkāra Brāhmaṇa, Sāmavidhāna Brāhmaṇa, Devatādhyāya Brāhmaṇa, Chāndyogya Brāhmaṇa, Ᾱrṣeya Brāhmaṇa and Vaṃśa Brāhmaṇa. The Atharvaveda has only one Brāhmaṇa viz., the Gopatha Brāhmaṇa.

Moreover, the Vedic literature involves the Sūtra literature which is known as the Vedāṅga literature i.e., the texts ancillary to the Vedas. There are six Vedāṅgs i.e., six auxiliary sciences and these are Śikṣā, Kalpa, Vyākaraṇa, Nirukta, Chanda and Jyotiṣa. These ancillary texts are necessary for gaining mastery in Vedic lore.

The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad for the first time mentions all these six Vedāṅgas—

śikṣā kalpo vyākaraṇaṃ niruktaṃ chando jyotiṣamiti.^[14]

From the point view of Vedic rituals the Kalpasūtras are of immense value. This is because, these texts are the compendiums of the rituals discussed in the Brāhmaṇas as well as of the customary laws that prevailed in ancient India. The main objective of this literature is to present the accounts of the sacredotal rituals in a systematic and concise manner in order to make them handy for the priests as well as the members of the society who seek to perform Vedic sacrifices. As the word sūtra denotes the sense of extreme conciseness, hence, brevity is the main feature of this literature.

The Kalpasūtras consist of four types of literature viz., Śrautasūtra, Gṛhyasūtra, Dharmasūtra and Śūlvasūtra. Out of these, the Śrautasūtras are directly connected with the Śrauta rites i.e., the rites dealt with in the śruti-śrutyuktayāgavidhiprakāśakāni śrautasūtrāṇi^[15]. The Śrautasūtras are highly indebted to the Brāhmaṇas.This is because these texts have drawn their stock of subject matter from the Brāhmaṇas. The objective of the Brāhmaṇa literature is not merely to lay down the procedure of the rituals. They also deal with the ritualistic significance of the Mantras employed in the numerous sacrifices.And while doing so, they embark upon esoteric, mythical, mystical as well as etymological explanations of the words and sentences of the Mantras. As a result, the rules and regulations of the sacrifices presented in these works are interspersed with materials not directly related to the procedures of the sacrificial performance. The Śrautasūtras are the outcome of the efforts undertaken by the priests to preserve in a systematic way the rituals dealt with in the Brāhmaṇas. These works serve the practical purpose of unhindered and systematic understanding of the procedures involved in the performance of the rituals. To each Veda several Śrautasūtras have been attached. To the Ṛgveda belong the Ᾱśvalāyana and Sāṃkhyāyana Śrautasūtra. The Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra belongs to the Śukla Yajurveda and Baudhāyana, Ᾱpastamba Satyāṣāḍa, Mānava, Bhāradvāja,Vaikhānasa belong to the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda. The Vaitāna Śrautasūtra belongs to the Atharvaveda.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

A.B.Kieth, The Veda of the Black Yajuṣ School, Entitled Taittirīya Sanhitā, Part.1, C.R. Lanman (ed.), p. IXXXVI

[2]:

cf., tathāhi asya mahato bhūtasya niśvasitametadyadṛvgvedoyajurvedaḥsāmavedo’ tharvāṅgirasaḥ/, Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa , 14.5.4.10

[3]:

cf.,vedaśabdaśca ‘vidajñāne’ iti dhātoḥ sakāśātkaraṇārthīyaghañpratyayayogato’bhavat/ …kvacicca ‘nandigrahipacādibhyolyuṇinyacaḥ’ itipāṇinīyasūtravihitācpratyayayogatah …vyutpāditodṛśyate/, Upodghāta of Sridhar Sharma, The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa according to the Mādhyandina recension with the Vedārthaprakāśabhāṣya of Sāyaṇācārya supplemented by the commentary of Harisvāmin, Vol.1, p.7

[4]:

Bhattoji Dikṣita, Srisa Chandra Vasu (ed.), The SiddhāntaKaumudī, Vol. 2, 10.168, p. 472

[5]:

Upodghāta of Sāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇayujurvedīyataittirīya Saṃhitā, Vol. 1, p. 3

[6]:

Ibid., p.2

[7]:

cf., mantrabrāhmaṇayorvedanāmadheyam/,Āpastamba Śrautasūtra , 1.33

[8]:

ChUp., 7.1.2

[9]:

Baladeva Upadhyaya (ed.), The Veda Bhāṣya Bhumikā Saṃgraha, p.7

[10]:

cf., brāhmaṇaṃ brahmaṇaḥ vyākhyāparakagranthānāṃ nāma asti,Jagadish Chandra Mishra, Vaidikavāṅmayasyetihāsa, p.140

[11]:

Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa , 7.1.1.5

[12]:

Ibid., p.7

[13]:

Śavarsvāmin on Mimāmsāsūtra, 2.1.8

[14]:

MUp., 1.1.5

[15]:

Jagadish Chandra Mishra,op.cit., p.237.