• The Rigveda is so called because it is comprised of Rks.
• The Yajurveda is so called because it is composed predominantly of prose mantras (yajus) although it has hundreds of Rks as well. However, even the Riks in Yajurveda are recited as if they were prose passages.
• The Samaveda Samhita is composed of melodies called Samans, and also the underlying Rks which are set to these melodies.
• The Atharvaveda is comprised of Riks (5/6) as well as Yajus (1/6). Some adept Vedic scholars can set even the mantras of Atharvaveda to melodies.
In many ways, the Samhita of the Rigveda constitutes the basis of other Samhitas. Not only is it the most ancient Vedic text, it also contributes hundreds of verses to the other Samhitas. Thus, if we consider Samhitas of Rigveda (Sakala), Yajurveda (Madhyandina), Samaveda (Kauthuma) and Atharvaveda (Saunaka), we find that the following number of mantras are repeated:
RV mantras repeated in RV = 140
YV mantras repeated in YV = 120
SV mantras repeated in SV = 2
AV mantras repeated in AV = 230
RV mantras repeated in SV = 1800
RV mantras repeated in YV = 581
RV mantras repeated in AV = 1260
YV mantras repeated in SV = 1
YV mantras repeated in AV = 81
SV mantras repeated in AV = 1
Theoretically, the Mantras have a higher authority than the Brahmanas.
What are the Brahmanas:-
Commenting on Taittiriya Samhita 1.2.1, Bhatta Bhaskara defines ‘Brahmanas’ as texts which expound the Vedic mantras and Yajnas. In chapter 2 of his Kavyamimansa, Rajasekhar defines the Brahmanas as texts which are characterized by statements of eulogy, censure, exposition and (ritual) application (of mantras). The word is used distinctively to denote certain texts for the first time in Taittiriya Samhita 3.7.1.1
Many scholars, modern and ancient, have tried to define the Brahmanas by stating their characteristics. The reality however is that there is no sharp difference in the characteristics of the Mantra and the Brahmana portions of the Vedas. The only thing that we may state safely is this – Mantras are those portions of the Vedas that are designated as such traditionally. And the rest is Brahmana.
Unlike the mantras, which are mostly in verse, the Brahmanas are predominantly prose. The Brahmanas contain formulas for rituals, rules and regulations for rites and sacrifices and also outline other religious duties. The formulas and rules for conducting extremely complex rituals are explained to the minutest detail. And every ritual is performed for a specific purpose for which a specific effect/benefit is expected. It was felt that there was nothing that could not be achieved by sacrifices – the sun could be stopped from rising and Indra, the chief of gods, could be deposed from his throne. The duties of men professing different occupations, the eternity of the Veda, popular customs, cosmogony, historical details, praise of ancient heroes are some other subjects dealt with in the Brahmanas.
The symbolic and spiritual aspects of the sacrificial religion are meditated upon in the Aranyakas while philosophical issues are discussed in the Upanishads. A detailed discussion of Aranyakas and Upanishads is beyond the scope of this webpage.
Attached to the Vedas are several genres of auxiliary texts – the Pratisakhyas, Anukramanis, Siksas, Kalpasutras, Parisishtas etc. A discussion of these texts is beyond the scope of the present webpage.
C. Vedic Shakhas and their Geographical Distribution
The Vedic literature that has come down to our times is attached to various traditional schools of recitation and ritual called the ‘shakhas’. All the four Vedas have more than one shakha extant. In the past, the number of shakhas studied was many times more.
According to the Mahabhasya of Patanjali, there were 21 shakhas of Rigveda, 9 of Atharvaveda, 101 of Yajurveda (86 of Krishna Yajurveda and 15 of Shukla Yajurveda, according to later authorities) and a 1000 varieties of chanting of Samaveda. Maybe, the number 1000 for the Samaveda merely refers to ‘numerous’. Nevertheless, although only 20 or so Shakhas of the Vedas are extant now, we do possess names of most of the lost Shakhas of the Rigveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. Fragments of many of the lost shakhas are also available as quotations in ancient works. For the Samaveda, we do not have more than 40 names extant.
Two different Vedic shakhas might share one or more texts amongst themselves. Conversely, the distinction between two shakhas of the same Veda might result from the use of a different Samhita text, and/or a different Brahmana text, and/or different Kalpasutra text and so on. For e.g., the Baudhayana and the Apastamba shakhas use the same Taittiriya Brahmana, Taittiriya Samhita and Taittiriya Aranyaka but follow different Kalpasutras. On the other hand, the Shankhayana and the Kaushitaka shakhas use the same Samhita and Shrauta Sutra but their Brahmanas have slightly different readings and their Grhyasutras are quite different.
A group or a community of people who study a particular shakha in its entirety (Samhita + Brahmana + Aranyaka + Kalpasutra + any additional texts) and perform its ritual constitute a ‘charana’. For instance, Brahmins who study the Taittiriya Samhita/Brahmana/Aranyaka together with the Kalpasutra of Apastamba say – “I follow the Apastamba charana’.
In certain cases, we have instances of ‘mixed shakhas’. For instance, the followers of Shakala shakha have adopted the Kalpasutra of Ashvalayana. The Ashvalayana shakha, which had the now well-known Ashvalayana Sutra, has in turn lost oral traditions of its Samhita. Likewise, the Kaushitakins of Kerala often use the Samhita of Shakalas.
