Aranyaka (आरण्यकम्)

Aranyakas (Sanskrit ) are generally the concluding portions of the several Brahmanas, but on account of their distinct character, contents and language deserve to be reckoned as a distinct category of literature. The term Aranyaka is derived from the word ‘Aranya‘ meaning ‘forest’. The Aranyaka texts are so-called because ‘they were works to be read in the forest’ as against the Brahmanas, which were to be used by those in grihastha ashrama.

Introduction

The Vedas have been divided into four styles of texts – the Samhitas, the Aranyakas, the Brahmanas and the Upanishads.^[1] The Samhitas are sometimes identified as karma-kanda (कर्म खण्ड, action/ritual-related section), while the Upanishads are identified as jnana-kanda (ज्ञान खण्ड, knowledge/spirituality-related section).^[1] The Aranyakas and Brahmanas are variously classified, sometimes as the ceremonial karma-kanda, other times (or parts of them) as the jnana-kanda.

Another opinion states: "The Samhitas and the Brahmanas form the Karma-Kanda segment of the Vedas. They are apparently concerned with the ceremonial rites and rituals. The Aranyakas and the Upanishads form the Jnana-Kanda segment of the Vedas. They explicitly focus on the philosophy and spiritualism.^[2]

Another learned author says: These are four different modes of expressing the same truths, each as a cross check against others so that misrepresentations are avoided, a method used and valid even today.^[3]

Etymology

Aranyakas are partly included in the Brahmanas themselves, but partly they are recognized as independent works. Aranyaka literature is rather small as compared to the Brahmanas. Whereas the Brahmanas deal with a huge bulk of sacrificial topics which represents Karma-Kanda, the Aranyakas and Upanishads, on the other hand, chiefly deal with the philosophical and theosophical speculations which represent Jnana-Kanda.

Sayana has the definition "Aaranyavratarupam brahamanam." He in his introduction to his commentary on the Aitereya Brahmana writes

Sayana in the Taittiriya Aranyaka explains-

Aranyadhyayanad-etad –aranyakam-itiryate.

Yajna and other rituals are prescribed only for those who live in homes and lead the life of house-holders. But it has to be understood that Vedic rituals are intended to confer not only material benefits but also mental purity by constant discipline. Having obtained purity, one must seek the solitude of forests for further concentration and meditation. The Brahmanas advocating the actual observances of the sacrifices are meant for Grihastha and the Aranyakas containing explanations of the rituals and allegorical speculations thereon are meant for Vanprasthas, who renounce family life residing in the forests for tapas and other religious activities.

Alternately, the reason might be that these texts were propounded by the Rishis who resided in the forests and thought upon the secrets of the Yajnas. Aranyakas describe the actions of life and also acquisition of knowledge. These works form the basis of the Rahasya or secrets discussed in the Upanishads, therefore, another name of the Aranyakas was ‘Rahasya‘ as well. This name is mentioned in the Gopatha Brahmana and Manusmriti.

Contents

The major contents of the Aranyakas are theosophy (Brahmavidya), meditation (Upasana) and knowledge of breath (Pranavidya). They describe the secret meaning of the sacrifice and the concept of Brahma as well. The creation of the universe, the power of the Almighty, Om, the soul and the cycle of birth and death are explained in Brihadaranyaka in a simple manner. No nation, no country, no culture in this age of science has been able to produce such great truths related to the knowledge of the Self and the Almighty as are mentioned in this Aranyaka. In this reference dialogue between Maitreyi and Yajnavalkya is often quoted. Aranyakas are generally regarded as a link between the Brahmanas and the Upanishads. The oldest Upanishads are in part included in these texts for example Taittiriya Aranyaka is only a continuation of the Taittiriya Brahmana. Brihadaranyaka found in the Shatapatha Brahmana which is highly referred of all Upanishads, is regarded as the Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad also.

Aranyakas play the role of the middle path and help to bridge the gulf between the Karma- kanda and Jnana-kanda. In the Aranyakas we find certain important geographical, historical, social and cultural points also. All this makes their study more significant.

3. Classification of the Aranyakas

Today only seven Aranyakas are available. There is no Aranyaka which belongs to the Atharvaveda.

(A) Aranyakas of the Rigveda:

1. Aitareya Aranyaka
2. Kaushitaki/ Shankhayana Aranyaka

(B) Aranyakas of the Samaveda:

1. Talavakara or Jaiminiya-Upanshad Aranyaka
2. Chandogya- Aranyaka

(C) Aranyaka of Shukla Yajurveda:

1. Brihadaranyaka

(D) Aranyakas of Krishna Yajurveda:

1. Taittiriya Aranyaka
2. Maitrayaniya Aranyaka

Among them Aitareya Aranyaka, Shatapatha Aranyaka and Taittiriya Aranyaka are most important for study.

सम्वाद || Discussion

The Aranyakas form the third part of the Vedas. The Aranyakas were developed by the hermits, living in the forests. Due to the limited resources in the forests, they could not perform the conventional sacrifices, nor could they adhere to the rituals. It was then that the Aranyakas were developed.The Aranyakas reflect an explicit transition in the philosophy of life of man. The speculative and intuitive thinking seems to be developing. Meditative thinking is conspicuous. The Vedic man seems to be turning from the gross to the subtle. His quest for knowledge seems to be intensified.

Aranyakas teach methods of meditation based upon symbolical interpretations of sacrificial rites - a process of performing Yajnas and sacrifices at the mental level. For example Brihadaranyaka Upanishad starts with such analytical mental performance of Aswamedha Yajna. 

Contents

The Aranyakas discuss sacrifices, in the style of the Brahmanas, and thus are primarily concerned with the proper performance of ritual (orthopraxy). The Aranyakas were restricted to a particular class of rituals that nevertheless were frequently included in the Vedic curriculum.

The Aranyakas are associated with, and named for, individual Vedic shakhas.

• Rigveda
  • Aitareya Aranyaka belongs to the Aitareya Shakha of Rigveda
  • Kaushitaki Aranyaka belongs to the Kaushitaki and Shankhayana Shakhas of Rigveda
• Yajurveda
  • Taittiriya Aranyaka belongs to the Taittiriya Shakha of the Black Yajurveda
  • Maitrayaniya Aranyaka belongs to the Maitrayaniya Shakha of the Black Yajurveda
  • Katha Aranyaka belongs to the (Caraka)Katha Shakha of the Black Yajurveda
  • Brihad Aranyaka in the Madhyandina and the Kanva versions of the White Yajurveda. The Madhyandina version has 9 sections, of which the last 6 are the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
• Samaveda
  • Talavakara Aranyaka or Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana belongs to the Talavakara or Jaiminiya Shakha of the Samaveda
  • Aranyaka Samhita is not a typical Aranyaka text: rather the Purvarchika of the Samaveda Samhitas has a section of mantras, called the 'Aranyaka Samhita', on which the Aranyagana Samans are sung.

The Atharvaveda has no surviving Aranyaka, though the Gopatha Brahmana is regarded as its Aranyaka, a remnant of a larger, lost Atharva (Paippalada) Brahmana.

Aitareya Aranyaka

Human beings <poem> But only in human beings is the Atman [soul] obvious, for they are equipped with cognition. They speak what they have understood. They see what they have recognized, and know what will exist tomorrow. They know of this world and of the other. Through that which is mortal, they strive for immortality. They are equipped with all this... such a human being is an ocean. He partakes of everything in the world, and still his thoughts go beyond it. And even if he were to partake of the other world, his thoughts would also go beyond it. </poem>

—Aitereya Aranyaka 2.3.2 – 2.3.3, ~1000 BCE
Translated by Annette Wilke and Oliver Moebus

There are five chapters each of which is even considered as a full Aranyaka. The first one deals with the regimen known as ‘Mahaa-vrata’. The explanations are both ritualistic as well as speculative. The second one has six chapters of which the first three are about ‘Praana-vidyaa’ – meaning, Prana, the Vital Air that constitutes the life-breath of a living body is also the life-breath of all mantras, all vedas and all vedic declarations (cf. 2.2.2 of Aitareya Aranyaka). It is in this portion of the Aranyaka that one finds specific statements about how one who follows the vedic injunctions and performs the sacrifices goes to become the God of Fire, or the Sun or Air and how one who transgresses the Vedic prescriptions is born into lower levels of being, namely, as birds and reptiles.

The 4th, 5th and 6th chapters of this second Aranyaka constitute what is known as Aitareya Upanishad.

The third Aranyaka in this chain of Aranyakas is also known as ‘Samhitopanishad’. This elaborates on the various ways – like pada-paatha, krama-paatha, etc. – of reciting the Vedas and the nuances of the ‘svaras’.

The fourth and the fifth Aranyaka are technical and dwell respectively on the mantras known as ‘MahaanaamnI’ and the yajna known as ‘Madhyandina’.

Taittiriya Aranyaka

There are ten chapters, of which, one to six form the Aranyaka proper. The first two chapters are part of the aṣṭau kāṭhakāni (the "8 Kathaka sections"), which were not native to the tradition of the Taittiriya shakha. They were adopted from the Kāṭhaka shakha, and mostly deal with varieties of the Agnicayana ritual. and with Vedic study.

Chapter 1, is a very late Vedic chapter, which even has some Puranic names; it is usually called the Āruṇa praśna for the particular style of fire-brick piling dealt with in the text. It is also referred to as the "Surya namaskara chapter" by South Indian Brahmins who have created a ritual of reciting it with surya namaskara exercises after each of its 132 anuvakas. Parts of the Kaṭha version of this section has been published by L. v. Schroeder in 1898.

Chapter 2, discusses the five Mahā-yajñas that every Brahmin has to do daily, most importantly the daily recitation of the Veda (svādhyāya). Further, the sacred thread, the yajñopavīta, sāndhyā worship, that of the ancestors (pitṛ), the brahma-yajña, and the cleansing homa-sacrifice ('kūṣmāṇḍa-homa') are all treated in detail. – In this chapter the word 'shramana' is used (2-7-1) in the meaning of an ascetic (tapasvin); this word was later used also for the Buddhist and Jain ascetics. – Discussed and translated by Ch. Malamoud (in French, 1977); the Kaṭha version of this section has been published by L. v. Schroeder in 1898.

Chapter 3, treats technicalities of several other homas and yajnas.

Chapter 4, provides the mantras used in the pravargya Shrauta ritual that is considered to be dangerous as it involves heating a specially prepared clay vessel full of milk until it is glowing red. It is fairly close to the Kaṭha version.

Chapter 5, treats the Pravargya-yajña in prose discussion (brāhmaṇa style). Again, it is fairly close to the Kaṭha version.

Chapter 6, records the ‘pitṛmedha’ mantras, recited during the rituals for the disposal of the dead body.

Chapters 7, 8 and 9, are the three vallis of the well-known Taittiriya Upanishad.

Chapter 10, is also known as the "Mahanarayana Upanishad". It has several important mantras culled from the three Samhitas. TA 10.41–44 is known as the "Medha sukta".

Katha Aranyaka

The Katha Aranyaka is fairly parallel to the text of the Taittiriyas. It has been preserved, somewhat fragmentarily, in just one Kashmiri birchbark manuscript. It has recently been edited and translated,; cf. the early uncritical print by L. von Schroeder

Shankhayana Aranyaka

There are fifteen chapters:

Chapters 1–2 deal with the Mahavrata.

Chapters 3–6 constitute the Kaushitaki Upanishad.

Chapters 7–8 are known as a Samhitopanishad.

Chapter 9 presents the greatness of Prana.

Chapter 10 deals with the esoteric implications of the Agnihotra ritual. All divine personalities are inherent in the Purusha, just as Agni in speech, Vayu in Prana, the Sun in the eyes, the Moon in the mind, the directions in the ears and water in the potency. The one who knows this, says the Aranyaka, and in the strength of that conviction goes about eating, walking, taking and giving, satisfies all the gods and what he offers in the fire reaches those gods in heaven. (cf.10-1).

Chapter 11 prescribes several antidotes in the form of rituals for warding off death and sickness. It also details the effects of dreams.

Chapter 12 elaborates the fruits of prayer.

Chapter 13 treats more philosophical matters and says one must first attitudinally discard one’s bodily attachment and then carry on the ‘shravana’, manana and nidhidhyasana and practise all the disciplines of penance, faith, self-control etc.

Chapter 14 gives just two mantras. One extols the “I am Brahman” mantra and says it is the apex of all Vedic mantras. The second mantra declares that one who does not get the meaning of mantras but only recites vedic chants is like an animal which does not know the value of the weight it carries.

Chapter 15 gives a long genealogy of spiritual teachers from Brahma down to Guna-Sankhayana.

Brihad-Aranyaka

The Aranyaka of the White Yajurveda is part of its Brahmana: Satapatha Br. 14,1–3 in the Madhyandina version. Like the Taittiriya and Katha Aranyakas it exclusively deals with the Parvargya ritual, and is followed by the Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad (Satapatha Br. 14.4–9).

References

• Aitareya Aranyaka – A Study . Dr. Suman Sharma. Eastern Book Linkers. New Delhi 1981
• Taittiriya Aranyaka, with Sayana Bhashya . Anandashram, Pune 1926.
• Bhagyalata A. Pataskar, The Kaṭhakāraṇyakam (With text in Devanāgarī, Introduction and translation. New Delhi: Adarsha Sanskrit Shodha Samstha / Vaidika Samshodhana Mandala, 2009.
• Dr.Shashi Tiwari (Retd.), Sanskrit Department, Delhi University at http://vedicheritage.gov.in/brahmanas/
• A Comprehensive History of Vedic Literature, Brahmana and Aranyaka works by Satya Shrava