Why Two Yajurvedas: Krishna and Shukla?

We know there are two kinds of Yajurveda – Krishna Yajurveda and Shukla Yajurveda.

What is the difference between them?

You will see Krishna Yajurveda mostly in the South and Shukla Yajurveda mostly in the North. Why do we have two systems for the same Deva?

Before Vyasa, there was no division of the Vedas into four. All the mantras existed as a single corpus. Vyasa anticipated that in Kaliyuga, people were going to be less intelligent, with less memory, and still lesser interest in spiritual matters. So, learning the entire Vedic corpus was not going to happen anymore.

So, he divided the Vedic corpus into four parts.

What was the basis of this division? Application of mantras in yajnas and otherwise. All the praises, mostly praises, the mantras used while giving ahutis to gods — a mantra is chanted, a deva is praised in a certain way, or a prayer is made to a particular deva or devas and something is offered in agni meant for them — this is an ahuti.

Such mantras were all compiled into Rigveda. The Rigveda priest in yajna is called hota. He chants these mantras, but he doesn’t offer the ahuti himself in agni. That is done by the adhvaryu, who is the Yajurveda scholar.

This I am saying in general; there are exceptions. There are mantras chanted by adhvaryu who also gives ahuti. In general, hota chants and adhvaryu gives ahuti in agni.

Yajna is a very elaborate process running into days or months or even years. There are so many procedures involved — like making of the vedi, appointing priests in various positions, preparation of the materials offered as ahutis, so many things. These are all taken care of by adhvaryu or his team of Yajurvedic priests.

There are mantras involved in all these. The mantras conforming to meters such as anushtup, trishtup form the mantra bhaga of Yajurveda. Then there are portions describing the procedure in prose — this is called brahmana bhaga.

There is brahmana bhaga for other Vedas also, not just Yajurveda. Brahmanas are more like an instruction manual.

Samavedas are songs. Most of Samaveda are mantras from Rigveda but sung as songs to propitiate devas during yajnas. Samaveda scholar of yajna is called udgata. There may be many of them depending on how elaborate the yajna is.

Atharvaveda scholar occupies the position called Brahma in the yajna. In fact, Brahma should be well-versed in all the four Vedas.

Many things can go wrong during the conduct of such elaborate yajnas. Atharvaveda has prayaschittas for them. Also, most of the things outside the purview of yajnas — such as healing, prayers for health, wealth, power, intelligence, mantras related to warfare — they are all there in Atharvaveda.

This is how the Vedic corpus was divided into four. After he divided them and compiled them, Vedavyasa taught each Veda to one of his shishyas:

• Rigveda to Sumantu

• Yajurveda to Vaisampayana

• Samaveda to Jaimini

• Atharvaveda to Paila

Now, let’s come to the two divisions of Yajurveda into Krishna Yajurveda and Shukla Yajurveda.

Vaisampayana was the first one to receive Yajurveda. Mantras were there even before. Be clear. Vyasa just compiled them, and the compilation called Yajurveda he taught to Vaisampayana first.

Yajnavalkya was Vaisampayana’s shishya. Vaisampayana taught the complete Yajurveda to Yajnavalkya. But then something went wrong between the guru and the shishya.

Vaisampayana became angry and told Yajnavalkya to return whatever was taught to him. The entire Yajurveda came out from the body of Yajnavalkya as embers — like small pieces of burning coal.

Vaisampayana told his other shishyas to eat up these embers, which they did after assuming the forms of birds — tittiri birds. So, each shishya consumed some part of the Veda which was strewn around, all mixed up, and then they reproduced the portions they had consumed as kandas, or portions.

There are seven such kandas in Krishna Yajurveda Taittiriya Samhita. But they are all mixed up. The mantra bhaga and brahmana bhaga got mixed up. Now only a real expert will be able to connect all these together.

I am not saying this is a defect. It is the divine will. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. We have real, real experts in Krishna Yajurveda.

In addition to these, there are three more Samhitas of Krishna Yajurveda today. In addition to Taittiriya Samhita, there are:

• Maitrayani Samhita

• Kathaka Samhita

• Kapishtala Katha Samhita

This legend is about Taittiriya Samhita.

After this, sage Yajnavalkya did tapasya. He propitiated Surya Narayana and got Yajurveda systematically arranged directly from Surya Deva. This is called Shukla Yajurveda.

यजूंषि शुक्लान्यादित्यात् मुनिः प्रापेत्
Yajnavalkya Muni got the yajus in the original form, clean form, from Surya Deva.

Yajnavalkya’s father was Muni Vajasaneya. His son Yajnavalkya was known as Vajasaneya. Shukla Yajurveda compiled by Vajasaneya is called Vajasaneyi Samhita.

Yajnavalkya had fifteen shishyas —
कण्व, मध्यन्दिन, शापेय, स्वापायनीय, कापाल, पौण्ड्रवत्स, आवटिक, परमावठिक, पाराशर्य, वैधेय, वैनेय, औधेय, गालव, बैजव, कात्यायनीय

Yajnavalkya taught Shukla Yajurveda to all of them. They all composed their own Samhitas.

Out of these, we have only two with us now – Madhyandina and Kanva.

So, both Krishna Yajurveda and Shukla Yajurveda pertain to aadhvaryava prayogas, prayogas of the adhvaryu. But Krishna Yajurveda is a little mixed up as explained.

But just because Shukla Yajurveda is a little more organized, a Krishna Yajurvedi by birth cannot switch to Shukla Yajurveda because the rule says –

स्वाध्यायोऽध्येतव्यः
One should learn only one’s own branch of Veda.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi