A shakha (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
', "branch" or "limb") is a
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
theological school that specializes in learning certain
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school.
[V. S. Apte. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 913, left column.][Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p. 1062, right column.] An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a '. The term is also used in
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (20 ...
to refer to an adherent of a particular
orthodox system.
A related term ', ("conduct of life" or "behavior") is also used to refer to such a Vedic school: "although the words ' and ' are sometimes used synonymously, yet ' properly applies to the sect or collection of persons united in one school, and ' to the traditional text followed, as in the phrase ', (''"he recites a particular version of the Veda"'')".
The schools have different points of view, described as "difference of (Vedic) school" ('). Each school would learn a specific Vedic (one of the "four
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
" properly so-called), as well as its associated
Brahmana
The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...
,
Aranyaka
The Aranyakas (; sa, आरण्यक; IAST: ' ) are the part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice. They typically represent the later sections of the Vedas, and are one of many layers of the Vedic texts. ...
s,
Shrautasutra
Kalpa ( sa, कल्प) means "proper, fit" and is one of the six disciplines of the Vedānga, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism. This field of study is focused on the procedures and ceremonies associ ...
s,
Grhyasutra
Kalpa ( sa, कल्प) means "proper, fit" and is one of the six disciplines of the Vedānga, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism. This field of study is focused on the procedures and ceremonies associ ...
s and
Upanishad
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
s.
In traditional Hindu society affiliation with a specific school is an important aspect of class identity. By the end of the Rig Vedic period the term
had come to be applied to all members of the priestly class, but there were subdivisions within this order based both on varna (class) and on the shakha (branch) with which they were affiliated. A
who changed school would be called "a traitor to his ''śākhā''" (').
Summary of schools
The traditional source of information on the shakhas of each Veda is the ', of which two, mostly similar, versions exist: the 49th
' of the Atharvaveda, ascribed to
Shaunaka
Shaunaka ( sa, शौनक, ) is the name applied to teachers, and to a Shakha of the Atharvaveda. It is especially the name of a celebrated Sanskrit grammarian, author of the , the , the and six Anukramaṇīs (indices) to the Rigveda. He is ...
, and the 5th ' of the Śukla (White) Yajurveda, ascribed to
Kātyāyana
Kātyāyana (कात्यायन) also spelled as Katyayana (est. c. 6th to 3rd century BCE) was a Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician and Vedic priest who lived in ancient India. पतञ्जलीमहर्षिः Patanjali Mahars ...
. These have lists of the numbers of recensions that were believed to have once existed as well as those still extant at the time the works were compiled. Only a small number of recensions have survived.
Saraswati Gangadhar's devotional poetry written in Marathi called
Shri Gurucharitra
The Shri Guru Charitra is a book based on the life of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, written by the 15th-16th century poet Shri Saraswati Gangadhar.
The book is based on the life of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, his philosophy and related stories. The ...
describes different shakhas of 4 Vedas in 27th chapter.
The schools are enumerated below, categorised according to the Veda each expounds.
Rig Veda
's ' lists five shakhas for the Rig Veda, the , , , , and of which only the and and very few of Asvalayana are now extant.
The Bashkala recension of the Rigveda has the
Khilani The Khilani (Sanskrit: खिलानि, Khilāni) are a collection of 98 "apocryphal" hymns of the Rigveda, recorded in the ', but not in the ' shakha. They are late additions to the text of the Rigveda, but still belong to the "Mantra" period of ...
which are not present in the Shakala text but is preserved in one Kashmir manuscript (now at Pune).
The ''
Shakala
Shakala Shaka (Sanskrit:शाकल शाखा); IAST:''Śākala Śākhā''), is the only surviving shakha (from skt. ''śākhā'' f. "branch" or "recension") of the Rigveda. The Śākala tradition is mainly followed in Maharashtra, Karnataka, ...
'' has the
Aitareya-Brahmana The Aitareya Brahmana ( sa, ऐतरेय ब्राह्मण) is the Brahmana of the Shakala Shakha of the Rigveda, an ancient Indian collection of sacred hymns. This work, according to the tradition, is ascribed to Mahidasa Aitareya.
Auth ...
, The Bashkala has the
Kausitaki-Brahmana
The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...
.
Shri Gurucharitra
The Shri Guru Charitra is a book based on the life of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, written by the 15th-16th century poet Shri Saraswati Gangadhar.
The book is based on the life of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, his philosophy and related stories. The ...
mentions 12 shakhas for the Rig Veda namely śrāvakā, śravaṇiyā, jaṭā, śaphaṭa, pāṭhakrama(2), daṇḍa, aśvalāyanī, śāṃkhāyanī, śākalā, bāṣkalā and māṇḍūkā (श्रावका, श्रवणिया, जटा, शफट, पाठक्रम(2), दण्ड, अश्वलायनी, शांखायनी, शाकला, बाष्कला, माण्डूका) in
Ovi 35 to 38.
There is, however,
Sutra literature
''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...
from the shakha,
both a shrauta sutra and a grhya sutra, both surviving with a commentary (''vrtti'') by Gargya Naranaya.
Gargya Naranaya's commentary was based on the longer commentary or ''bhashya'' by
Devasvamin, written in the 11th century.
The shakha has been recently rediscovered in Banswada in Rajasthan where two septuagenarians are the last surviving practitioners.
Yajur Veda
's ' lists forty-two or forty-four out of eighty-six shakhas for the Yajur Veda, but that only five of these are now extant, with a sixth partially extant.
For the Yajur Veda the five (partially in six) shakhas are the (Vajasaneyi Madhandina, Kanva;
Taittiriya
The ''Taittirīya Shakha'' (Sanskrit, loosely meaning 'Branch or School of the sage Tittiri'), is a ''shakha'' (i.e. 'branch', 'school', or Recension, rescension) of the Black Yajurveda, Krishna (black) Yajurveda. Most prevalent in South India, i ...
, Maitrayani, Caraka-Katha, Kapisthala-Katha).
The Yajurvedin shakhas are divided in ''Shukla'' (White) and ''Krishna'' (Black) schools. The White recensions have separate Brahmanas, while the Black ones have their(much earlier) Brahmanas interspersed between the Mantras.
* Shukla Yajurveda: ' (VSM), ' (VSK):
Shatapatha Brahmana
The Shatapatha Brahmana ( sa, शतपथब्राह्मणम् , Śatapatha Brāhmaṇam, meaning 'Brāhmaṇa of one hundred paths', abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Śukla (white) Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic ...
(ShBM, ShBK)
*Krishna Yajurveda: ' (TS) with an additional Brahmana,
Taittiriya Brahmana
The ''Taittirīya Shakha'' (Sanskrit, loosely meaning 'Branch or School of the sage Tittiri'), is a ''shakha'' (i.e. 'branch', 'school', or rescension) of the Krishna (black) Yajurveda. Most prevalent in South India, it consists of the ''Taitti ...
(TB), ' (MS), ' (KS), ' (KapS).
Shukla
Krishna
Sama Veda
's ' lists twelve shakhas for the Sama Veda out of a thousand that are said to have once existed, but that of these only one or perhaps two are still extant.
The two Samaveda recensions are the Jaiminiya and Kauthuma.
In
Ovi 203 to 210 of chapter 27,
Shri Gurucharitra
The Shri Guru Charitra is a book based on the life of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, written by the 15th-16th century poet Shri Saraswati Gangadhar.
The book is based on the life of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, his philosophy and related stories. The ...
mentions 8 of the thousands of shakhas namely āsurāyaṇīyā, vāsurāyaṇīya़ā, vātāntareyā, prāṃjalī, ṛjñagvainavidhā, prācīna yogyaśākhā, jñānayoga and rāṇāyaṇīyā (आसुरायणीया, वासुरायणीय़ा, वातान्तरेया, प्रांजली, ऋज्ञग्वैनविधा, प्राचीन योग्यशाखा, ज्ञानयोग, राणायणीया). Of these rāṇāyaṇīyā (राणायणीया) has 10 shakhas namely rāṇāyaṇīyā, sāṃkhyāyanī, śāṭhyā, mugdala, khalvalā, mahākhalvalā, lāṅgalā, kaithumā, gautamā and jaiminī (राणायणीया, सांख्यायनी, शाठ्या, मुग्दल, खल्वला, महाखल्वला, लाङ्गला, कैथुमा, गौतमा, जैमिनी).
The Kauthuma shakha has the PB, SadvB, the
Jaiminiya
The Samaveda (, from ' "song" and ' "knowledge"), is the Veda of melodies and chants. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and part of the scriptures of Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,875 verses. A ...
shakha has the
Jaiminiya Brahmana
The Samaveda (, from ' "song" and ' "knowledge"), is the Veda of melodies and chants. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and part of the scriptures of Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,875 verses. A ...
.
Atharva Veda
Only one shakha of an original nine is now extant for the Atharvaveda. The nine sakhas were Paippalada, Tauda, Mauda, Shaunakiya, Jajala, Jalada, Brahmavada, Devadarsa and Chaarana-Vaidya. In
Ovi 217 to 219 of chapter 27,
Shri Gurucharitra
The Shri Guru Charitra is a book based on the life of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, written by the 15th-16th century poet Shri Saraswati Gangadhar.
The book is based on the life of Shri Narasimha Saraswati, his philosophy and related stories. The ...
mentions 9 shakhas namely paippalā, dāntā, pradāṃta, stotā, autā, brahmadā yaśadā, śaunakī, vedadarśā and caraṇavidyā (पैप्पला, दान्ता, प्रदांत, स्तोता, औता, ब्रह्मदा यशदा, शौनकी, वेददर्शा, चरणविद्या)
The Shaunaka is the only shakha of the Atharvaveda for which both printed texts and an active oral tradition are known to still exist.
For the Atharvaveda, both the Shaunakiya and the Paippalada traditions contain textual corruptions, and the original text of the Atharvaveda may only be approximated from comparison between the two.
The Paippalada tradition was discontinued, and its text is known only from manuscripts collected since the 20th century. However some Orissa Brahmin
still continue the tradition of Paippalada.
No Brahmana is known for the Shaunaka shakha.
The Paippalada is possibly associated with the
Gopatha Brahmana
The Gopatha Brahmana ('' sa, गोपथ ब्राह्मण'', ') is the only Brahmana, a genre of the prose texts describing the Vedic rituals, associated with the Atharvaveda. The text is associated with both the ''Shaunaka'' and the ''Pai ...
.
Notes
{{reflist
References
*List of Pundits from different shakhas in Indi
*State wise list of shakha
*
Michael Witzel
Michael Witzel (born July 18, 1943) is a German-American philologist, comparative mythologist and Indologist. Witzel is the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University and the editor of the Harvard Oriental Series (volumes 50–80).
Witze ...
, ''Tracing the Vedic dialects'' in ''Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes'' ed.
Caillat, Paris, 1989, 97–265.
Vedas
Hindu studies