Yajurveda Samhitas (यजुर्वेदीयाः संहिताः)

शुक्लयजुर्वेदीयाः संहिताः ॥ Shukla Yajurveda Samhita

Madhyandina and Kanva are the two prime branches of the Shukla Yajurveda.

माध्यन्दिनसंहिता ॥ Madhyandina Samhita

The Shukla Yajurveda Mantra Samhita is also known by the name Vajasaneyi Samhita as it was obtained by Yajnavalkya Vajasaneya by the grace of Bhagavan Surya. When quoted, the name Vajasaneyi Samhita generally refers to the Samhita belonging to the Madhyandina Shakha of the Shukla Yajurveda. It consists of 40 adhyayas out of which the last 15 as referred to as khila adhyayas with a total of 1975 mantras. An understanding of the contents of this Samhita gives an overview of the general subject matter of the Yajurveda.

Contents of Vajasaneyi Madhyandina Samhita

Adhyayas	Subject-matter
1 and 2	Mantras related to Darsha and Paurnamasa Ishtis
3	Mantras used in Agnihotra and Chaturmasya
4 to 8	Description of Somayagas including a detailed account of the Agnishtoma (a Prakrti Yaga)
9 and 10	Mantras related to Vajapeya and Rajasuya
11 to 18	Agnichayana including a detailed description of construction of Vedis. Adhyaya 16 is also known as Rudhradhyaya and includes the Shatarudriya homa that discusses the concept of Rudra in detail. Adhyaya 18 includes mantras related to Vasordhara
19 to 21	Describes the Sautramani Yajna - A Yajna performed by the Ashvinas to treat Indra.
22 to 25	Mantras specific to the Ashvamedha Yajna that is performed for sovereignity
26 to 29	Collection of Khila Mantras that include some new mantras for the rituals mentioned earlier in the text.
30	Description of Purushamedha Yajna that throws light on the businesses, professions and artistic skills prevalent during those times.
31	Includes the famous Purusha Sukta. However, it consists of 6 more mantras as compared to the Rgvedic Purusha Sukta.
32 and 33	Includes mantras of Sarvamedha. The beginning of adhyaya 32 includes a few mantras from the Rgvedic Hiranyagarbha Sukta.
34	Includes the famous Shivasankalpa Upanishad of 6 mantras that speaks about Manas, its Vrttis, etc.
35	Collection of mantras related to Pitrmedha
36 to 39	A detailed account of the Pravargya ritual
40	Ishavasyopanishad - the only upanishad to form a part of the Samhita itself thereby, considered the oldest among upanishads.

The Madhyandina shakha is known to have presence in Northern India.

काण्वसंहिता ॥ Kanva Samhita

In the recent times, the Kanva Shakha is known to be prevalent in the region of Maharashtra. However, in the ancient times, Northern India seems to be the region of the Kanva shakha considering that the samhita mentions a Kuru and Panchala Raja.

एष वः कुरवो राजा, एष पञ्चालो राजा ।

Also, according to the Mahabharata (Adi Parva), the hermitage of Kanva Muni (the foster father of Shakuntala) was situated on the banks of the river Malini that is identified with the river Malan in Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, it is believed that the Kanvas were indeed connected to Northern India.

The Kanva Samhita consists 40 adhyayas, 328 anuvakas and 2086 mantras that is 111 more than the ones in the Madhyandina Samhita.

Ths Kanva shakha is known to be related to the Pancharatra Agamas, especially the Pancharatra Samhitas.

कृष्णयजुर्वेदीयाः संहिताः ॥

The subject matter of the Krshna Yajurveda is more or less the same as the Shukla Yajurveda. The only difference being that the Shukla Yajurveda gives only the mantras pertaining to the Yajna rituals while the Krshna Yajurveda also adds the pertinent brahmana sections.