called ‘dark’ or Krishna because of the difficulty in their comprehension and
explanation as compared to the more easier ones classified as ‘white’ or Shukla. The
Krishna Yajur Veda Sanhita was more prevalent in the south of India while the
Shukla was more common in the north of the country.
The third reason is that the original classifier of Vedas was ‘Krishna Dvaipaayana
Veda Vyas’ who taught the text of the Yajur Veda to his disciple called
Vaishampaayana. Hence, the original version of the text was named ‘Krishna’ in
order to commemorate this fact.
There is a fourth probable reason as outlined here. The chief exponent of the
Yajur Veda is regarded as the ancient sage Yagyavalkya. He was one of the several
disciples of sage Vaishampayana. Once the teacher asked his disciples to perform the
‘Brahmavadhya’ sacrifice (a type of elaborate penance) for him. Yagyavalkya was so
confident of himself, his knowledge and competency that he offered to do it all by
himself for his teacher. The teacher thought that he was haughty and boastful. So,
disowning or disinheriting him from his line of disciples, he commanded that
Yagyavalkya should return all that he had learnt from his teacher. The sage returned
all the Mantras of the Yajur Veda that he had learnt from his teacher by ‘vomiting’
them out. The rest of the disciples were very cunning; they transformed themselves
immediately into partridges, called Tittars, and gobbled up everything. From that
developed the Krishna Yajur Veda’s Taitiriiya branch. It is called ‘Krishna’ after the
teacher and ‘Taitiriiya’ after the partridges. Also, since they were ‘vomited products’
they were regarded as polluted and impure. Such body of knowledge came to be
known as ‘Krishna’—the impure one.
Now, not to be demoralized so easily and determined to get back his lost
knowledge and wisdom, Yagyawalkya worshipped the Sun God who blessed him
with a fresh set of Mantras of the Yajur Veda. Since it came from a ‘bright source’
represented by the sun, this set of Mantras was called the ‘Shukla Yajur Veda’. [The
word ‘Shukla’ means ‘bright or light or illuminated’.] The sage revised this into
fifteen sub-texts, called the Vaaj-sanei, i.e. those belonging to the horse race. This is
because the Sun God had assumed the form of a ‘horse’ to teach him, and the word
‘Vaajis’ means a horse. The teaching was done in the form of the cosmic neighing.
This form of the Sun God came to be worshipped as ‘Hayagriva’, the Lord with the
neck of a horse. An entire Upanishad of the Atharva Veda tradition is named after
this God, and it is called ‘Hayagriva Upanishad’. It is the 29th Upanishad of this
Veda.
Yagyawalkya had fifteen disciples (e.g. Kaanva, Maadhyandin etc.) who
mastered one each of these fifteen sub-text created by Yagyawalkya. [Vishnu Puran,
3-5; Vayu Puran, 60-1.] The list of sages and seers who excelled in the Shukla Yajur
Veda branch has been given in Brihad-Aaranyaka Upanishad, Canto 2, Brahmin 6,
and Canto 4, Brahmin 6.
The Yajur Veda is divided into two major types—viz. the Shukla (white) and
Krishna (black or dark). The Krishna Yajur Veda has only four branches existing at
present out of the earlier eighty-five—Taitiriiya, Maitraayani, Katha, and Kapisthal.
Its Brahman is known as Taitiriiya Brahman. The Shukla Yajur Veda, also known as
the Vaajsaneyi Sanhita, originally had seventeen branches, but now only following
two branches exist—Kaanva and Maadhyandeen. Its Brahman is known as Shatpath
Brahman.
The sub-Veda of the Yajur Veda is known as Dhanur-Veda which deals with the
science of archery and warfare.
The Aaranyakas of the Yajur Veda are—Taititriiya (of the Krishna Yajur Veda)
and Brihad-aaranyak (of the Shukla Yajur Veda).
There are 19 principal Upanishads of the Shukla Yajur Veda, and 32 principal
Upanishads of the Krishna Yajur Veda—such as Taitiriiya, Swetaasvatar, Katha,
Brihdaaranakya, Maitri, Ishavasya Upanishads etc.
kiana
(Kiana)
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