Yajur Veda — The Veda of Ritual: Shukla and Krishna Yajur Veda

The priest's handbook

Yajus means sacrificial formula. The Yajur Veda gives the words recited by the adhvaryu priest who performs the actions of the yajna — preparing the altar, kindling the fire and making offerings. It is partly prose and partly verse, much of it drawn from the Rig Veda.

Two branches

• Shukla (White) Yajur Veda — mantras and explanations kept separate; its Samhita is the Vajasaneyi Samhita (Madhyandina and Kanva recensions), and its Brahmana the vast Shatapatha Brahmana.
• Krishna (Black) Yajur Veda — mantras and explanations mixed together; it includes the Taittiriya, Maitrayani and Kathaka Samhitas.

Famous passages

• Sri Rudram (Taittiriya Samhita) — the great hymn to Rudra-Shiva with the five-syllable mantra namah shivaya, chanted at Rudrabhishek.
• Purusha Sukta and Shanti mantras such as Om saha navavatu (Taittiriya Upanishad), recited at the start of study.

Upanishads of the Yajur Veda

The Isha and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads belong to the Shukla branch; the Taittiriya, Katha and Shvetashvatara to the Krishna branch. "Aham Brahmasmi" — I am Brahman — is from the Brihadaranyaka.