The Yajurveda (यजुर्वेद) is the second of the four Vedas — the Veda of the ritual formula. Its name combines yajus, a prose mantra used to direct a sacrificial action, with veda, knowledge. While the Rigveda supplies the verses of praise sung by the hotṛ priest and the Samaveda supplies the melodies of the udgātṛ, the Yajurveda is the working manual of the adhvaryu (अध्वर्यु), the priest who physically performs the actions of the yajña — measuring the altar, kindling the fire, pouring the oblation, leading the sacrificial animal, pressing the Soma.
A Different Kind of Veda
The Yajurveda differs from the Rigveda in two important respects. First, much of it is in prose rather than metrical verse — the yajus formula is typically a short prose sentence to be murmured while a ritual act is performed. Second, the text interleaves mantra with explanation: alongside the formula one finds passages of Brahmana commentary explaining when, why, and how each act is to be done. In the case of the Krishna (Black) recension, mantra and commentary are mixed together; in the Shukla (White) recension they are separated.
Two Great Recensions
The Yajurveda is preserved in two main branches:
- The Śukla (White) Yajurveda, transmitted through the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā in two sub-recensions — Madhyandina (predominant in north India) and Kāṇva (predominant in Maharashtra and the south). It has 40 chapters of pure mantra; its Brahmana is the great Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa.
- The Kṛṣṇa (Black) Yajurveda, preserved in four recensions: Taittirīya, Maitrāyaṇī, Kāṭhaka, and Kapiṣṭhala. Of these the Taittirīya is by far the most widely used today, especially in south India.
Tradition explains the names through the legend of Yājñavalkya and his teacher Vaiśampāyana, but the linguistic and structural reality is that the Krishna recensions preserve an older organizational state — mantra and Brahmana intertwined — while the Shukla represents a later editorial clarification that separated them.
Contents
The Yajurveda Samhita supplies the mantras for the great public śrauta sacrifices that defined late Vedic religion: the darśapūrṇamāsa (new and full moon offerings), the agnihotra (twice-daily fire offering), the agniṣṭoma and other somayāgas, the aśvamedha (horse sacrifice), the rājasūya (royal consecration), and the vājapeya (drink of strength). Its language is technical and dense — long lists of deities to be invoked, ingredients to be offered, directions to be faced, and gestures to be made.
Famous Sections
Even within so technical a text, certain passages have become independent objects of devotion:
- The Rudrādhyāya or Śrī Rudram (Krishna Yajurveda, Taittirīya Saṃhitā 4.5 and 4.7) — the great hymn to Rudra-Shiva, central to Shaiva liturgy.
- The Puruṣa Sūkta — included in the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā 31.
- The Camakam — a hymn of enumerated blessings recited after the Rudram.
- The Maitrī verses on universal benevolence.
Attached Texts
The Yajurveda has the richest set of attached Brahmana, Aranyaka, and Upanishad layers of any Veda. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa of the Shukla branch is perhaps the longest single prose text in Sanskrit. The Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, Taittirīya Āraṇyaka, and Taittirīya Upaniṣad of the Krishna branch form a continuous reading sequence in many Vedic pathshalas. The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (the longest Upanishad), the Īśa Upaniṣad, and the Kaṭha Upaniṣad are all affiliated with branches of the Yajurveda.
Living Tradition
Yajurvedic recitation is the most widely practiced Vedic tradition today. The majority of Smarta Brahmins of south India belong to the Taittirīya Krishna Yajurveda lineage; the Vājasaneyi Mādhyandina Shukla Yajurveda predominates among northern Brahmin communities. Yajurvedic mantras structure daily sandhyāvandanam, nitya karma, household havan, and major life-cycle rites. To be present at a traditional Hindu ritual today is, more often than not, to be hearing the Yajurveda murmured.