Yajurveda
If the Rigveda is the hymn, the Yajurveda is the hand that makes the offering. It holds the formulas the priest speaks at every step of the yajna — and within it lie the Sri Rudram and the Isha Upanishad.
The verse
The Veda of the yajus
Yajus means a ritual formula, mostly in prose. The Yajurveda gives the words for the adhvaryu, the priest who builds the altar, kindles the fire and pours the offerings. It exists in two main branches: the Shukla ("white") Yajurveda, whose Vajasaneyi Samhita keeps the mantras separate from their explanation, and the Krishna ("black") Yajurveda — Taittiriya and other recensions — where mantra and explanation are woven together.
Treasures hidden in the ritual
Among the instructions for fire altars lie some of the most loved texts of Hinduism: the Sri Rudram, chanted at every abhishekam to Shiva; and the shortest of the principal Upanishads, the Isha, whose first verse begins…
The journey continues for members
- The Isha Upanishad
- Mathematics at the altar
- For life today
Sources
- Shukla Yajurveda — Vajasaneyi Samhita
- Taittiriya Samhita
- Isha Upanishad
- Shulba Sutras — Baudhayana