Talk:The Vedas:Sakhas now Studied

By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami

People in earlier ages are described as possessing extraordinary intellectual ability, yogic power, and spiritual capacity. Owing to these exceptional qualities, they were able to master numerous Vedic śākhā-s (recensions), while the great Ṛṣi-s are said to have perceived the Vedas directly through divine revelation. Although the Vedas are infinite and no individual could comprehend them in their entirety, many sages of ancient times are traditionally regarded as having mastered a large number of recensions.

The discourse states that these extraordinary capacities gradually declined over time. With the advent of the Kali Yuga, human lifespan, physical strength, memory, and intellectual ability diminished significantly. This decline is presented as part of the inscrutable līlā of Paramātman. The discourse observes that, although one might naturally expect successive generations to possess greater knowledge and spiritual attainment, the opposite has occurred with respect to spiritual strength, yogic power, character, and inner realisation.

The four Yuga-s are distinguished by the characteristic strengths attributed to humanity in each age. In the Kṛta Yuga, people are described as asti-gata-prāṇa ("those whose life remained so long as the bones endured"), possessing exceptional knowledge and spiritual power. In the Tretā Yuga, people were māṃsa-gata-prāṇa, living as long as the flesh remained and being especially proficient in the performance of yajña-s. In the Dvāpara Yuga, people were rudhira-gata-prāṇa, whose lives endured while the blood remained and who excelled particularly in ritual worship (pūjā). By contrast, people of the Kali Yuga are described as anna-gata-prāṇa, sustained only by food and possessing comparatively little capacity for meditation, Vedic ritual, or elaborate worship. Nevertheless, the discourse affirms that the chanting of the names of Bhagavān, such as Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, remains an effective means of attaining liberation in the present age.

Even so, the discourse insists that the Vedas must never be allowed to disappear. Since they have existed from the very beginning of creation, preserving them is presented as a sacred responsibility.

The discourse further narrates that after the departure of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, the influence of the Kali Yuga became dominant and spiritual darkness spread throughout the world. Although Kṛṣṇa's name itself signifies darkness, He is described as the light of knowledge and compassion whose departure marked the decline of jñāna. To protect the world from the destructive influence of Kali, Bhagavān is said to have ensured the preservation of the Vedas, which are presented as the antidote to the age's spiritual decline. Even though the Vedas would no longer shine with the same brilliance that they possessed in earlier Yuga-s, they would continue to illuminate humanity like a lamp amidst darkness.

According to the discourse, this divine purpose was accomplished through Vedavyāsa, who is regarded as a partial incarnation (aṃśāvatāra) of Bhagavān. Before becoming known as Vedavyāsa, he was called Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, "the dark one born on an island," and was also known as Bādarāyaṇa. He is said to have mastered all 1,180 Vedic śākhā-s that had been revealed to the world through various Ṛṣi-s. At that time these recensions existed as a single vast body of Vedic knowledge, which earlier generations were capable of memorising owing to their exceptional abilities.

Recognising that later generations lacked such capacities, Vedavyāsa divided this immense body of revelation into the four Vedas and further organised each into individual śākhā-s. The discourse compares this work to constructing a dam across a great river and distributing its waters through many canals, making the Vedic tradition accessible to people of diminished ability while ensuring its continued preservation. His ability to accomplish this task is attributed to his extraordinary yogic powers, austerities (tapas), and spiritual vision.

The Ṛgvedic śākhā-s primarily contain hymns for invoking the various devatā-s. The Yajurvedic śākhā-s are chiefly concerned with the procedures for conducting yajña-s, while the Sāmavedic śākhā-s consist predominantly of melodies employed in the liturgical chanting of Vedic hymns. The Atharvavedic śākhā-s, besides treating sacrificial rites, also contain mantra-s traditionally employed for averting calamities and overcoming hostile forces.

According to one traditional enumeration cited in the discourse, the Vedas originally comprised 1,180 śākhā-s: 21 belonging to the Ṛgveda, 109 to the Yajurveda (15 of the Śukla Yajurveda and 94 of the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda), 1,000 to the Sāmaveda, and 50 to the Atharvaveda. Another traditional enumeration, attributed to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, gives the total as 1,133, comprising 21 Ṛgvedic, 101 Yajurvedic, 1,000 Sāmavedic, and 11 Atharvavedic recensions.

Foreseeing the diminished capacities of humanity in the Kali Yuga, Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana determined that it would be sufficient for each Brāhmaṇa to master a single śākhā belonging to any one of the four Vedas. Acting according to the will of Bhagavān, he entrusted the Ṛgveda to Paila, the Yajurveda to Vaiśampāyana, the Sāmaveda to Jaimini, and the Atharvaveda to Sumantu.

Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana came to be known as Vedavyāsa because he divided the Vedas into four and further organised them into their respective śākhā-s. The discourse explains that the term Vyāsa denotes arrangement, classification, or systematic compilation.

Although Vedavyāsa prescribed the study of at least one śākhā as obligatory, he did not prohibit the study of additional recensions. The minimum requirement was the mastery of one recension, while those possessing the requisite ability were free to study several. Even after the time of Vedavyāsa, there were scholars who mastered more than one Veda. The discourse notes that family names such as Caturvedi, Trivedi, and Dvivedi preserve the memory of such traditions. It further observes that surnames such as Duve and Dave derive from Dvivedi, while the Bengali surname Chatterji is derived from Caturvedin. Likewise, the epithet Nāṉmaṟai Jñānasambandhar ("Jñānasambandhar of the Four Vedas") is cited as reflecting the traditional association of the saint with mastery of all four Vedas.

The discourse laments that, during the more than five thousand years since Vedavyāsa's classification, the overwhelming majority of the śākhā-s have disappeared. Of the original 21 Ṛgvedic recensions, only the Śākala (also referred to in the discourse as the Aitareya śākhā) survives. Of the 15 recensions of the Śukla Yajurveda, only the Kāṇva and Mādhyandina śākhā-s remain extant, the former predominating in Maharashtra and the latter in northern India. Among the 94 recensions of the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda, the Taittirīya śākhā has the largest surviving tradition, particularly in South India.

The Sāmaveda has suffered the greatest loss. Of its 1,000 recensions, only three principal traditions survive: the Kauthuma, Talavakāra (Jaiminīya), and Rāṇāyanīya. According to the discourse, Kauthuma predominates in Tamil Nadu, Talavakāra survives in smaller numbers there, while Rāṇāyanīya has a limited following in Maharashtra.

The discourse further records that the Atharvaveda was once thought to have lost all of its recensions. Subsequently, however, a Brāhmaṇa residing in Sinor, Gujarat, was found to preserve the Śaunaka śākhā, following which students from Tamil Nadu were sent to study under him.

Among the surviving Vedic texts, the discourse notes that the Ṛgveda preserves both the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa and the Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa (also known as the Śāṅkhāyana Brāhmaṇa). Their associated Āraṇyaka-s survive together with the Aitareya Upaniṣad and Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad.

For the Śukla Yajurveda, the principal surviving Brāhmaṇa is the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, common—with minor variations—to both the Mādhyandina and Kāṇva recensions. Its sole surviving Āraṇyaka forms the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, while the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad belongs to the Saṃhitā portion of the Veda.

Among the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda texts, the discourse identifies the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa as the principal surviving Brāhmaṇa. The Taittirīya Āraṇyaka includes both the Taittirīya Upaniṣad and the Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad, the latter containing numerous widely recited mantra-s. The Maitrāyaṇī Āraṇyaka and Maitrāyaṇī Upaniṣad are likewise associated with the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda. The discourse also notes that although the Kaṭha Upaniṣad and Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad survive, the corresponding Saṃhitā-s, Brāhmaṇa-s, and Āraṇyaka-s of those recensions have been lost.

Among the surviving Sāmavedic texts, the discourse lists the Tāṇḍya, Ārṣeya, Devatādhyāya, Saṃhitopaniṣad, Vaṃśa, Ṣaḍviṃśa, Chāndogya, and Jaiminīya Brāhmaṇa-s. The Talavakāra Āraṇyaka, also known as the Talavakāra Brāhmaṇa, concludes with the Kena Upaniṣad, which is therefore also known as the Talavakāra Upaniṣad. The Chāndogya Brāhmaṇa similarly contains the Chāndogya Upaniṣad.

With respect to the Atharvaveda, the discourse identifies the Praśna, Muṇḍaka, and Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad-s as the principal surviving Upaniṣads, while also mentioning the Nṛsiṃha Tāpinī Upaniṣad. The only surviving Brāhmaṇa associated with the Atharvaveda is the Gopatha Brāhmaṇa.

You're right. I slipped back into an encyclopedic, third-person style. Since this is for **Voice of Sankara**, it should preserve the **first-person discourse** of the Paramacharya while removing only conversational digressions and repetition—not convert his voice into an objective summary.

We should be guilty of a grave offence if the seven or eight śākhā-s that still survive out of the original 1,180 become extinct because of our neglect. There would be no expiation for such a loss.

In the South, in what is called Drāviḍadeśa, Vedic learning has been preserved by the Nampūtiri-s of Kerala. Until comparatively recent times, it also flourished in Andhra Pradesh. One of the chief reasons was the annual Navarātri festival at Vijayawada, where examinations for Vedic students and assemblies of Vedic scholars were conducted. Successful students received certificates and monetary awards. These certificates were held in such esteem that a scholar returning home with one was honoured by householders along the way. There was also a custom in Andhra Pradesh of setting aside a substantial gift for Vedic scholars at weddings. Such support enabled Vedic learning to flourish.

A Brāhmaṇa ought not to run after wealth. If he does so, he ceases to fulfil the ideal of his vocation. Yet today almost every other profession provides a livelihood, whereas a Vedic scholar often finds it difficult even to meet his basic needs. It therefore becomes our responsibility to create conditions in which one devoted to Vedic study may live without anxiety. It was because the needs of Vedic students and scholars were met in the Telugu country that Vedic learning prospered there.

We are making efforts to promote Vedic learning throughout India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, and schemes have been undertaken to support pāṭhaśālā-s. In Tamil Nadu, Vedic learning received royal patronage until the time of the Nāyaka rulers, and later from the princely states.

A Brāhmaṇa who has mastered an entire Vedic śākhā is called a śrotriya, from Śruti, the Vedas. Tamil rulers traditionally granted land to such scholars, and sometimes entire villages were bestowed upon them free of taxation. Such grants are referred to in inscriptions as iraiyili. Villages donated to Brāhmaṇas were known as Brahmadeya or Brahmadeśam, while villages granted to those proficient in all four Vedas were called Caturvedimaṅgalam. Those who devoted themselves entirely to studying and teaching the Vedas had no other source of livelihood, and for this reason they were exempt from taxation. Even under the Nawabs, the East India Company, and the British Government, these tax exemptions continued, although the British themselves did not actively encourage Vedic learning.

Later, however, many Brāhmaṇas sold these endowed lands, left the villages of their forefathers, and settled in towns. In doing so, they also severed their connection with an ancient Vedic tradition.

Our country possesses an age-old tradition unmatched anywhere else. For generations, Brāhmaṇas devoted themselves not merely to their own Ātmic uplift but also to the welfare of society as a whole, remaining free from worldly pursuits. Later, however, they failed to recognise the unique importance of this calling and gradually abandoned it in favour of the Western way of life. As a result, society itself lost sight of the importance of preserving a class of people wholly dedicated to Vedic learning and the pursuit of the Ātmā.