The Veda of the Black Yajus School: entitled Taittiriya Sanhita

What It's About

The Taittiriya Sanhita is one of the two principal recensions of the Yajurveda, the Vedic "Book of Sacrificial Formulas," and belongs specifically to its Krishna, or "Black," branch. Unlike the Shukla (White) Yajurveda, which keeps its mantras and prose explanations in separate texts, the Black Yajurveda interweaves the sacrificial verses with their accompanying ritual and exegetical prose within the same work. The text covers the full range of Vedic sacrificial practice, from the new and full moon rites through the elaborate Soma sacrifices, and is organised into seven books (kandas), each further divided into chapters (prapathakas) and sections (anuvakas).

Key Concepts

As one of the four Vedas, the Yajurveda supplied the precise verbal formulas a priest needed to accompany each ritual action during a sacrifice, making it primarily a functional, liturgical text rather than a work of narrative or philosophy. The Krishna Yajurveda's distinguishing feature is this fusion of mantra and Brahmana (ritual commentary) into a single continuous text, offering a close view of how Vedic sacrifice was both performed and understood by those who conducted it.

About the Author

Arthur Berriedale Keith (1879–1944) was a Scottish constitutional lawyer, Sanskrit scholar, and Indologist. He served as Regius Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology at the University of Edinburgh from 1914 until his death, having trained earlier as a barrister and worked in the British Colonial Office.

About This Edition

This is a 1914 translation by Arthur Berriedale Keith.