Shukla-Yajurved-Samhita

Shukla-Yajurved-Samhita

The Yajurveda Samhita, also known as the prayer book of the Adhvaryu priest, is said to have had as many as 101 recensions during the time of the grammarian Patanjali. However, only five of these recensions have survived and are available at this time. These recensions are known as Kathaka, Kapisthala, Maitrayani, Taittiriya, and Vajasaneyi. The first four of these recensions belong to what is designated as the The Vajasaneyi Samhita, which gets its name from Yajnavalkya Vajasaneya, the principal instructor of this Veda, has been passed down in two forms that are somewhat different from one another. These versions are known as the Kanva Samhita and the Madhyandina Samhita. The primary distinction between the texts of the 'Black' and 'White' Yajurveda is that the latter only includes the Mantras, which are the prayers and sacrificial formulae that the priest is required to recite, whereas the former includes, in addition, a presentation of the sacrificial rites that are associated with them as well as the Brahmana, which is a theological discussion on the same topic. This is the most important distinction between the two types

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Pandit Jagdishlal Shastri