until after Vedic times, despite the presence of sakhas. It constituted a culturally markedly different region, which gave rise to Jainism and Buddhism. 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, and the 5th '''' of the Śukla (White) Yajurveda, ascribed to
Kātyāyana. 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 describes different shakhas of 4 Vedas in 27th chapter. There is, however,
Sutra literature 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. ===
Yajurveda=== '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, 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 (ShBM, ShBK) • Krishna Yajurveda: '
(TS) with an additional Brahmana, Taittiriya Brahmana (TB), ' (MS), '
(KS), ' (KapS).
Shukla Krishna ===
Samaveda=== '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 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 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 Brahmins still continue the tradition of Paippalada. No Brahmana is known for the Shaunaka shakha. The Paippalada is possibly associated with the
Gopatha Brahmana. ==References==