यजुर्—वेद m. m. ‘the sacrificial
वेद’, the collective body of sacred
मन्त्रs or texts which constitute the
यजुर्-वेद (these
मन्त्रs, though often consisting of the prose
यजुस्, are frequently identical with the
मन्त्रs of the
ऋग्-वेद, the
यजुर्-वेद being only a sort of sacrificial prayer-book for the
अध्वर्यु priests formed out of the
ऋग्-वेद, which had to be dissected and rearranged with additional texts for sacrificial purposes; the most characteristic feature of the
यजुर्-वेद is its division into two distinct collections of texts, the
तैत्तिरीय-संहिता and the
वाजसनेयि-संहिताq.v. ; the former of which is also called
कृष्णi.e. ‘Black’, because in it the
संहिता and
ब्राह्मण portions are confused; and the latter
शुक्लi.e. ‘White’, because in this, which is thought the more recent of the two recensions, the
संहिता is cleared from confusion with its
ब्राह्मण and is as it were white or orderly; the order of sacrifices, however, of both recensions is similar, two of the principal being the
दर्श-पूर्ण-मास or sacrifice to be performed at new and full moon, and the
अश्व-मेध or horse-sacrifice;
cf. [IW. 6; 245 n. 2] ),
[Br.] ;
[GṛŚrS.] ;
[Mn. &c.]