The Vedas: An Exploration
The Braahmanas LAKSHMI DEVNATH
January 2019
(Continued from the November 2018 issue...)
The Vedanta Kesari
46
Guide books and manuals - supposedly modern concepts- existed even in the Vedic ages. The Braahmanas – second major division of the Vedas – was primarily that. A cursory reading of the text reveals that the Braahmanas function as a guide to the interpretation of the mantras otherwise called the Samhitas of the Vedas. The word Braahmanas, it may be stressed, has nothing to do with the word Brahmin – one of the four major castes in Hinduism. Maurice Winternitz, an Austrian scholar, explains the Braahmanas as the ‘science of sacrifice.’ Braahmanas means a text that explains each word of the mantra and the practical usage of them in sacrifice or yajna. Interestingly, they represent the earliest attempt to interpret the Vedic mantras. Legends and anecdotes are an intrinsic and interesting part of the Braahmanas. Philosophical speculation, hairsplitting textual interpretations and aphorisms reveal the highly developed intellectual level of the Rishis of yore. It also lists the Vedic karmas or rituals that are to be performed for man’s welfare and are therefore aptly called the Karma Kanda or the action portion of the Vedas along with the Samhita and the Aranyakas. Pertinently, each exposition also specifies the Dakshina or payment to be given to the priests. The contents of the Braahmanas are technically classified into two categories viz. vidhi – rules and arthavada – fruits of the sacrifice and the adverse effects of sacrifices wrongly performed. While concerned with the arthavada, Braahmanas explain all the aspects
of sacrifice namely prayers, formulas, chants, sacrificial act, material and so on with equal importance and discuss it from various points of view that include both legends and history. While the mantras of the Vedas reveal poetic calibre of a high order, the Braahmanas are completely in prose and may be said to mark the beginnings of Sanskrit prose though, it may be remembered that even the Yajur Veda contains some portions in prose. Could it be that it thus contained the seeds of future literary works in Sanskrit? Each of the four Vedas has many Braahmanas. Only a few of them are extant now. The Rig Veda, presently has two Braahmanas – the Aitareya and the Kausitaki also called as Saankhayana. Both these elaborate the entire sacrificial ritual, in a systematic manner. Curiously, the Aitareya is concerned principally with the Soma sacrifice. Further, the Aitareya details the duties of the Hotr – the officiating priest of the Rig Veda. The mantras however are not explained according to its original sequence present in the Samhita. The 40 chapters of the Aitareya are further subdivided into 8 divisions of 5 chapters each. The Aitareya is an exhaustive text showing scant respect for brevity. Subject matters also include forays into legends. But, the text is easy to understand except for a few parts that draw a thin line between profundity and obscurity. The second Braahmana called the Kausitaki or Saankhayana, with its 30 chapters, appears to be comparatively a better organised
The author is a researcher and writer with various books and articles to her credit on Indian music and culture. lakshmidevnath@gmail.com
