There are two primary versions of the Yajurveda: Shukla (white) and Krishna (black). The Shukla Yajurveda consists of vedic hymns, while the Krishna Yajurveda includes all the text also in the Shukla Yajurveda, and has additional prose commentary.

Shukla Yajurveda

There are two, almost identical, recensions (shakhas) of the Shukla Yajurveda:

• vājasaneyi madhyandina (VS)
• kānva

The text consists of 40 books of hymns.

Krishna Yajurveda

There are four recensions of the Black Yajurveda:

• taittirīya samhita (TS)
• maitrayani samhita (MS)
• caraka-katha samhita (KS)
• kapihala-katha samhita (KapS)

The best known of these is TS. It consists of 8 books or kandas, subdivided in chapters or prapathakas, further subdivided into individual hymns.

Some individual hymns have gained importance in Hinduism, e. g. TS 4.5 and 4.7 correspond to the Shri Rudram Chamakam, and 1.8.6.i to the Shaivaite Tryambakam mantra. The formula bhūr bhuvah suvah prefixed to the (rigvedic) Gayatri mantra is also from the Yajurveda, appearing four times.

Each of the recensions has a Brahmana associated with it, and some of them also have associated Shrautasutras, Grhyasutras, Aranyakas, Upanishads and Pratishakhyas.


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