Yajurveda Commentators (यजुर्वेदीयाः भाष्यकाराः)

तैत्तिरीयसंहितायाः भाष्यकाराः ॥ Commentators of Taittiriya Samhita

Taittiriya Samhita is an important Samhita belonging to the Krishna Yajurveda. Sayanacharya, known for his scholarly commentaries on 5 vedic samhitas, 11 brahmana texts and 2 aranyaka texts, wrote his first bhashya text on the Taittiriya Samhita. However, there have been commentaries on the Taittiriya Samhita even before that of Sayanacharya's. And this is known to us from the mention of these commentators in the works of later writers. Of the various commentaries on the Taittiriya Samhita, the one by Bhatta Bhaskara Mishra is available in entirety.

कुण्डिनः ॥ Kundina

Kundina wrote a vrtti on Taittiriya Samhita. This is known from the following shloka from the Kandanukramani

यस्याः पदकृदात्रेयो वृत्तिकारस्तु कुण्डिनः ।

Atreya is the author of the padapatha of Taittiriya Samhita. The mention of Kundina, as the author of a vrtti on Taittiriya Samhita, along with Atreya suggests his antiquity. However, neither the work nor any other details is available about Kundina.

भवस्वामी ॥ Bhavasvami

That Acharya Bhavasvami has written a bhashya on Taittiriya Samhita is known from the following statement of Keshavasvami in his Baudhayana Prayogasara.

भवस्वामिमतानुसारिणा मया तु उभयमप्यंगीकृत्य प्रयोगसारः क्रियते ।

Bhaskara Bhatta also mentions Bhavasvami at the beginning of his bhashya reiterating that Bhavasvami was a commentator on the Taittiriya Samhita. However, there are only mentions of his bhashyas on Taittiriya Samhita and the Taittiriya Brahmana; the texts are not available.

गुहदेवः ॥ Guhadeva

Devaraja Yajva in his Nighantu bhashya has mentioned the explanation given by Guhadeva for the word ’गरगिरः’ occuring in the Taittiriya Aranyaka mantra ’रश्मयश्च देवा गरगिरः’ | which is as follows:

तथा च ’रश्मयश्च देवा गरगिरः’ इत्यत्र गुहदेवः ’गरमुदकं गिरन्ति पिबन्तीति गरगिरः इति भाष्यं कृतवान् ।

This shows that Guhadeva was a commentator of the Taittiriya Samhita.

Moreover, Ramanujacharya also mentions the name of Guhadeva in his Vedartha Samgraha as follows:

यथोदितक्रमपरिणतभक्त्येकलभ्य एव भगवद्बोधायनटंकगुहदेवकपर्दिभारुचिप्रभृत्यविगीतशिष्टपरिगृहीतपुरातनवेदवेदान्तव्याख्यानसुव्यतार्थश्रुतिनिकरनिदर्शितोऽयं पन्थाः ।

https://estudantedavedanta.net/Vedartha-Sangraha.pdf

क्षुरः ॥ Kshura

Sayanacharya, at many instances in his Madhaviya Dhatuvrtti, has mentioned Acharya Kshura which indicates that Acharya Kshura surely wrote a commentary on the Taittiriya Samhita. One such instance is as follows:

यथा त्रय एनां महिमानं सचंते (तै.सं.४-३-११) इत्यत्र क्षुरभट्टभास्करीययोः सचंते समंते इति ।

Here, the names of Acharya Kshura and Bhatta Bhaskara (also a commentator on the Taittiriya Samhita) are mentioned alongside each other.

भट्टभास्करः ॥ Bhatta Bhaskara

Referred to by Sayanacharya in his works, Bhatta Bhaskara preceeds Sayanacharya in antiquity. Vedacharya in his work titled 'Sudarshana Mimamsa' not only mentions Bhatta Bhaskara Mishra by name but also mentions his commentary named Jnanayajna. Haradatta, in his commentary on the Ekagnikanda, has taken references from Bhatta Bhaskara's commentary. The antiquity of Bhatta Bhaskara is also suggested by the fact that the authors and texts like Aryabhatiya, Amarakosha and Kashika mentioned by him are themselves ancient.

As mentioned, the commentary by Bhata Bhaskara on the Taittiriya Samhita is known as Jnanayajna and is extremely scholarly. In the semantic pursuit of mantras, at places, Bhatta Bhaskara brings out the meanings quoted by different acharyas. He not only gives meanings from the point of view of Yajnas, but also provides meanings of the Veda mantras in the context of Adhyatma (spirituality) and Adhidaiva (divinity). For example: In the famous mantra हंसः शुचिषद् वसुरन्तरिक्षषद् ।, the meaning of the word hamsa is explained in threefold ways.

1. In the Adhiyajna context, it means 'ratha' (हन्ति पृथिवीमिति हंसः ।)
2. In the Adhidaiva context, it means 'aditya'
3. In the Adhyatma context, it is atma

In this way the other mantras have also been semantically explored and due to such specialities, it holds an important position in Vaidik Sahitya.

शुक्लयजुर्वेदस्य भाष्यकाराः ॥ Commentators of the Shukla Yajurveda

माध्यन्दिनसंहितायाः भाष्यकारौ ॥ Commentators of the Madhyandina Samhita

There are two prime commentators on the Madhyandina Samhita. They are enumerated as follows:

उवटः ॥ Uvata

From the bhashya text of Uvata it is known that he was the son of Vajrata from Anandapura and he wrote the bhashya while residing in Avanti during the reign of Raja Bhoja.

आनन्दपुरवास्तव्यवज्रटाख्यस्य सूनुना । उवटेन कृतं भाष्यं पदवाक्यैः सुनिश्चितैः ॥

ऋष्यादींश्च पुरस्कृत्य अवन्त्यामुवटो वसन् । मन्त्राणां कृतवान् भाष्यं महीं भोजे प्रशासति ॥

Even though concise, his commentary is known to be illuminating and easy to understand. It explains the meaning of various mantras from the adhyatma point of view. Uvata was an acclaimed vedic scholar of the medieval times. His other works include,

1. Commentary on Rk-Pratishakhya
2. Commentary on Yajuh-Pratishakhya
3. Commentary on Rk-Sarvanukramani
4. Commentary on the Ishavasyopanishad

And all these have been published.

महीधरः ॥ Mahidhara

The commentary of Mahidhara is known by the name 'Vedadipa'. There is a clear influence of Uvata seen on the commentary written by Mahidhara. However, by providing examples from the nirukta, shrautasutras, etc. Mahidhara's commentary makes the Yajna Prakriya (ritualistic procedure) easier to understand and attempts to further clarify the preceeding commentary given by Uvata. Mahidhara is also known to have written a Tantra text by the name 'Mantramahodadhi'.

काण्वसंहितायाः भाष्यकाराः ॥ Commentators of the Kanva Samhita

Due to the existence of Uvata's bhashya, Sayanacharya did not write a bhashya on the Madhyandina Samhita. He instead wrote his bhashya on the Kanva Samhita. However, there have been commentators preceeding and succeeding Sayanacharya who have written commentaries on the Kanva Samhita of the Shukla Yajurveda. Of them, Halayudha is before Sayanacharya while Anantacharya and Anandabodha are later commentators.

हलायुधः ॥ Halayudha

The commentary written by Halayudha is known as 'Brahmanasarvasva'. He provides a few biographical details about himself in the beginning of his work which reads as follows:

बाल्ये ख्यापितराजपण्डितपदं श्वेतार्चिबिम्बोज्ज्वलच्छत्रोत्सिक्तमहामहस्तमुपदं दत्त्वा नवे यौवने ।

यस्मै यौवनशेषयोग्यमखिलक्ष्मापालनारायणः श्रीमान् लक्षमणसेनदेवनृपतिर्धर्माधिकारं ददौ ॥

Meaning: He became the Raja Pandita (Royal priest) in the royal court of the famous Bengal ruler Lakshmana Sen in his childhood itself. He was given the right and honour to weild a Shveta Chatra (white umbrella) in his youth. Later in life, he was appointed as the honourable Dharmadhikari in the royal court of Raja Lakshmana Sen.

Some of the other works of Halayudha include,

1. Mimamsa Sarvasva
2. Vaishnava Sarvasva
3. Shaiva Sarvasva
4. Pandita Sarvasva

This shows that Halayudha was well-versed not only in Vedas and Mimamsa but also in Vaishnava and Shaiva Agamas.

अनन्ताचार्यः ॥ Anantacharya

Anantacharya was a Madhva Vaishnava from Kashi and wrote his commentary on the later half of the Kanva Samhita (Adhyayas 21 to 40). A clear influence of Mahidhara is seen in his bhashya. At places, he also explains the meaning of the mantras from the Vaishnava point of view. The sampradaya oriented bhashya brings forth his scholasty and knowledge of the Puranas. Anantacharya has also written a commentary on the Shukla Yajuh Pratishakhya.

आनन्दबोधः भट्टोपाध्यायः ॥ Anandabodha Bhattopadhyay

Towards the end of his commentary on the Kanva Samhita, it is mentioned that Anandabodha was a chaturvedi and son of Jataveda Bhattopadhyay from Vasudevapuri. The commentary enumerates the devata, rshi, chanda, yajna as well as usage of the mantras at appropriate places. Its language is easily comprehendable. It also provides grammatical etymologies and examples from the brahmanas, etc. that provides the text with the essential authenticity.

यजुर्वेदीयब्राह्मणानां भाष्यकाराः ॥ Commentators on the Yajurveda Brahmanas

शतपथब्राह्मणस्य भाष्यकाराः ॥ Commentators of the Shatapatha Brahmana

The Shatapatha Brahmana belongs to the Shukla Yajurveda and is found in both the Madhyandina and Kanva recensions.

नीलकण्ठः ॥ Nilakantha

It is said that the commentator of the Mahabharata, Nilakantha, had written a commentary on the Kanva Shatapatha Brahmana. Though the bhashya text is currently unavailable, the bhashyakara makes a note of it in the commentary of the Vanaparva (Adhyaya 162, shloka 11).

उवटः ॥ Uvata

It is said that Uvata wrote a commentry on the Madhyandina Shatapatha Brahmana.

हरिस्वामी ॥ Harisvami

It is said that much before Uvata, Harisvami had written a commentary on the Madhyandina Shatapatha Brahmana. However, the complete text is not available today. He was the son of Nagasvami of the Parashara Gotra and the Dharmadhyaksha of Raja Vikrama of Avanti. Harisvami's commentary is considered to be ancient and authentic.

तैत्तिरीयब्राह्मणस्य भाष्यकाराः ॥ Commentators of the Taittiriya Brahmana

भवस्वामी ॥ Bhavasvami

As mentioned before, Keshavasvami in his Baudhayana Prayogasara mentions Bhavasvami. However, there are only mentions of his bhashyas on Taittiriya Samhita and the Taittiriya Brahmana; the texts are not available.

भट्टभास्करः ॥ Bhatta Bhaskara

Following a commentary on the Taittiriya Samhita, Bhatta Bhaskara also wrote a commentary on the Taittiriya Brahmana.

सायणाचार्यः ॥ Sayanacharya

Sayanacharya has also written a bhashya on the Taittiriya Brahmana that is widely accepted.

सायणाचार्यस्य यजुर्वेदीयाः भाष्यकृतयः ॥ Sayanacharya's Commentaries on Yajuvedic Texts

The Yajurvedic sahitya is inclusive of the various Samhitas, brahmanas, aranyakas as well as the upanishads belonging to the different shakhas of the Yajurveda. Sayanacharya is known to have written commentaries on the texts belonging to the Karmakanda section of the Vedas ie. there is no known commentary of Sayanacharya on any of the Upanishads. The extent of his work includes commentaries on 5 Samhitas and as many as 13 Brahmana and Aranyaka texts. Out of these, the texts belonging to shakhas of the Yajurveda on which Sayanacharya has written a commentary, in their order of creation are enumerated below in brief. The order in which the the bhashya granthas were written is known from the study of a few verses prefaced by Sayanacharya at the beginning of his commentaries.

Taittiriya Samhita of the Krshna Yajurveda

It is known from the description provided at the beginning of Sayanacharya's commentary on the Taittiriya Samhita that Maharaja Bukka asked his Guru and Minister Madhavacharya to write a commentary on the Vedas who in turn suggested that this responsibility be vested to his younger brother Sayana thereby, initiating the authorship of commentaries on various Vedic texts by Sayanacharya.

तत्कटाक्षेण तद्रूपं दधद् बुक्कमहीपतिः । आदिशन्माधवाचार्यं वेदार्थस्य प्रकाशने ।

स प्राह नृपतिं "राजन्, सायणार्यो ममानुजः । सर्वे वेत्त्येष वेदानां व्याख्यातृत्त्वे नियुज्यताम्"॥

इत्युक्तो माधवार्येण वीरो बुक्कमहीपतिः । अन्वशात् सायणाचार्ये वेदार्थस्य प्रकाशने ॥

And the first text on which Sayanacharya wrote his commentary was the Taittiriya Samhita of the Krshna Yajurveda. He himself was a Taittiriya Shakhadhyayi. Therefore, his choice of text seems but natural. Another reason for beginning the commentary literature with the Yajurveda is that, in the performance of Yajnas, of the four rtvijs involved, the adhvaryu is given prime importance for, he guides the yajamana in the procedures of the yajna. And Yajurveda is the text designated for the guidance of the adhvaryu. Since the adhvaryu fulfils his role with the help of the Yajurvedic mantras, in lieu of its utility, it is seen as an appropriate decision to begin authorship of the commentary literature with the Yajurveda. This Sayanacharya has mentioned in the beginning of his Rgveda bhashya.

आध्वर्यवस्य यज्ञेषु प्राधान्याद् व्याकृतः पुरा ।

Taittiriya Brahmana and Aranyaka of the Krshna Yajurveda

After having written a commentary upon the Taittiriya Samhita, Sayanacharya followed it up with a commentary on the Brahmana and Aranyaka of the same Taittiriya shakha thereby, completing the commentary on one shakha of the Krshna Yajurveda. The following verses from the Taittiriya Brahmana and Taittiriya Aranyaka respectively throw light on the order in which the commentaries on the texts of the Taittiriya shakha were written.

व्याख्याता सुखबोधाय तैत्तिरीयकसंहिता । तद् ब्राह्मणं व्याकरिष्ये सुखेनार्थविबुद्धने ॥

व्याख्याता सुखबोधार्थे तैत्तिरीयकसंहिता । तद् ब्राह्मणं च व्याख्यातं शिष्टमारण्यकं ततः ॥

Kanva Samhita of the Shukla Yajurveda

The Yajurveda has two branches ie. Krshna Yajurveda and Shukla Yajurveda. Of the various sub-branches of the Krshna Yajurveda, Sayanacharya commented upon the texts of his own shakha, the Taittiriya shakha. Similarly, the Shukla Yajurveda consists of two sub-branches, the Madhyandina and Kanva shakhas. Much before Sayanacharya, during the reign of Raja Bhoja, Acharya Uvvata had already written a commentary on the Madhyadina Samhita. Therefore, Sayanacharya chose to write a bhashya on the Kanva Samhita of the Shukla Yajurveda. However, his commentary is available only on the initial 20 adhyayas of the Samhita. It seems that Sayanacharya did not comment upon the Uttarardha (later half) of the Kanva Samhita. And this is reiterated by another bhashyakara Shri. Anantacharya in his commentary on the later half of the Kanva Samhita as follows.

व्याख्याता काण्वशाखीयसंहिता पूर्वविंशतिः । माधवाचार्यवर्येण स्पष्टीकृत्य न चोत्तरा ॥

Shatapatha Brahmana of the Shukla Yajurveda

There is only one brahmana text associated with the Shukla Yajurveda that is available which is the extensive Shatapatha Brahmana consisting of 100 adhyayas. It is last of the texts commented upon by Sayanacharya later during the reign of Harihara II under whom he was a minister. This is mentioned by Sayanacharya himself in the preface of his commentary on the Shatapatha Brahmana as follows:

तत्कटाक्षेण तद्रूपं दधतो बुक्कभूपतेः । कृतावतरणः क्षीरसागरादिव चन्द्रमाः ॥३॥

विजितारातिव्रातो वीरः श्रीहरिहरः क्षमाधीशः । धर्मब्रह्माध्वन्यः समादिशत् सायणाचार्यम् ॥४॥

Though Sayanacharya is said to have written a commentary on the entire Shatapatha Brahmana, the entire commentary is unavailable today. However, the commentaries by Sayanacharya and Harisvami compliment each other to make available the commentary on the complete text of the shatapatha brahmana.