All Topics  
Brahmana

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Brahmana
 
 
  Topics Brahmana Topic Home

The s (Devanagari
Devanagari

, or 'Nagari', is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right, lacks distinct letter cases, and is recognizable by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that links them together....
: ) are part of the Hindu sruti
Sruti

If you are looking for the singer, see Shruti Haasan. For other meanings, see Sruti . is a term that describes the sacred texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism and is one of the three main sources of dharma and therefore is also influential within Hindu Law....
 literature. They are commentaries on the four Vedas
Vedas

The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in History of India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest Hindu scripture of Hinduism....
, detailing the proper performance of rituals.

Each Vedic shakha
Shakha

A shakha , is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedas texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school....
 (school) had its own Brahmana, and it is not known how many of these texts existed during the Mahajanapadas
Mahajanapadas

Mahajanapadas literally "Great Kingdoms" . Ancient Buddhist texts like Anguttara Nikaya make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics which had evolved and flourished in the northern/north-western parts of the Indian subcontinent prior to the rise of Buddhism in India....
 period. About twenty Brahmana have survived into modern times.

The Brahmanas were seminal in the development of later Indian thought and scholarship, including Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy

Hindu philosophy is divided into six Sanskrit nastika schools of thought, or darshanas :#Sankhya, a strongly dualist theoretical exposition of mind and matter....
, predecessors of Vedanta
Vedanta

Vedanta is a spiritual tradition explained in the Upanishads that is concerned with the self-realisation by which one understands the ultimate nature of reality and teaches the believer's goal is to transcend the limitations of self-identity and realize one's unity with Brahman....
, law, astronomy, geometry, linguistics (Panini), the concept of Karma
Karma

Karma is the concept of "action" or "deed" in Indian religions understood as that which causes the entire cycle of causality originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhism philosophies....
, or the stages in life such as brahmacarya, grihastha
Grihastha

Grihasthya refers to the second phase of an individual's life in the Vedic ashram system....
 and eventually, sannyasi.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Brahmana'
Start a new discussion about 'Brahmana'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The s (Devanagari
Devanagari

, or 'Nagari', is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right, lacks distinct letter cases, and is recognizable by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that links them together....
: ) are part of the Hindu sruti
Sruti

If you are looking for the singer, see Shruti Haasan. For other meanings, see Sruti . is a term that describes the sacred texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism and is one of the three main sources of dharma and therefore is also influential within Hindu Law....
 literature. They are commentaries on the four Vedas
Vedas

The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in History of India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest Hindu scripture of Hinduism....
, detailing the proper performance of rituals.

Each Vedic shakha
Shakha

A shakha , is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedas texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school....
 (school) had its own Brahmana, and it is not known how many of these texts existed during the Mahajanapadas
Mahajanapadas

Mahajanapadas literally "Great Kingdoms" . Ancient Buddhist texts like Anguttara Nikaya make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics which had evolved and flourished in the northern/north-western parts of the Indian subcontinent prior to the rise of Buddhism in India....
 period. About twenty Brahmana have survived into modern times.

The Brahmanas were seminal in the development of later Indian thought and scholarship, including Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy

Hindu philosophy is divided into six Sanskrit nastika schools of thought, or darshanas :#Sankhya, a strongly dualist theoretical exposition of mind and matter....
, predecessors of Vedanta
Vedanta

Vedanta is a spiritual tradition explained in the Upanishads that is concerned with the self-realisation by which one understands the ultimate nature of reality and teaches the believer's goal is to transcend the limitations of self-identity and realize one's unity with Brahman....
, law, astronomy, geometry, linguistics (Panini), the concept of Karma
Karma

Karma is the concept of "action" or "deed" in Indian religions understood as that which causes the entire cycle of causality originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhism philosophies....
, or the stages in life such as brahmacarya, grihastha
Grihastha

Grihasthya refers to the second phase of an individual's life in the Vedic ashram system....
 and eventually, sannyasi. Some Brahmanas contain sections that are Aranyaka
Aranyaka

The Aranyakas are part of the Hinduism sruti , the four Vedas; these religion texts were composed in Late Vedic Sanskrit typical of the Brahmanas and early Upanishads; indeed, they frequently form part of either the Brahmanas or the Upanishads....
s or Upanishad
Upanishad

The Upanishads are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings of Vedanta. They do not belong to any particular period of Sanskrit literature: the oldest, such as the Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads, date to the late Brahmana period , while the latest were composed in the medieval and early modern period....
s in their own right.

List

Each Brahmana is associated with one of the four Vedas, and within the tradition of that Veda with a particular shakha
Shakha

A shakha , is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedas texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school....
 or school:
  • Rigveda
    Rigveda

    The Rigveda is an ancient Indian subcontinent sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the Rigvedic deities . It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas....
    • Shakala shakha: Aitareya Brahmana
      Aitareya Brahmana

      The Aitareya Brahmana is a ritualistic Vedic text in Vedic Sanskrit language. This Brahmana is associated with the Rigveda in the Shakala shakha....
       (AB)
    • Bashkala shakha : Kaushitaki Brahmana
      Kaushitaki Brahmana

      The Kaushitaki Brahmana is a Brahmana of the Bashkala shakha associated with the Rigveda .These "Brahmanas" are required to maintain the purity of the Brahmins through the observance of numerous restrictions, many of which relate to diet and contact with lower castes....
       or Brahmana (KB, SankhB)
  • Samaveda
    Samaveda

    The Samaveda , is third of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. Its earliest parts are believed to date from 1000 BC and it ranks next in sanctity and liturgical importance to the Rigveda....
    • Kauthuma: Tandyamaha or (PB), Brahmana
    • Samavidhana Brahmana
    • Arseya Brahmana
    • Devatadhyaya or Daivata Brahmana
    • Mantra or Chandogya Brahmana (MB)
    • Samhitopanisad Brahmana
    • Vamsa Brahmana
    • Jaiminiya Brahmana (JB)
    • Jaiminiya Arseya Brahmana
    • Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana
      Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana

      The Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana is a Vedas text associated with the Jaiminiya shakha of the Samaveda. It may be considered a very early Upanishad, together with the B?hadara?yaka and Chandogya Upanishads dating to the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit, likely predating the 6th century BC....
       (JUB)
  • Yajurveda
    Yajurveda

    The Yajurveda is one of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. Estimated to have been composed between 1,400 and 1000 BCE, the Yajurveda 'Samhita', or 'compilation', contains the liturgy needed to perform the yajna of the historical Vedic religion, and the added Brahmana and Shrautasutra add information on the interpretation...
    • Krishna: the Brahmana sections are integrated into the Samhitas:
      • Maitrayani Samhita (MS) and an Aranyaka (= accented Maitr. Up.)
      • (Caraka)Katha Samhita (KS); the Katha school has an additional fragmentary Brahmana (KathB) and Aranyaka (KathA)
      • Kapisthalakatha Samhita (KpS), and a few fragments of its Brahmana
      • Taittiriya Samhita (TS). The Taittiriya school has an additional Taittiriya Brahmana (TB) and Aranyaka (TA) as well as the late Vedic Vadhula Anvakhyana (Br.)
    • Shukla
      • Vajasaneyi Madhyandina: Shatapatha Brahmana
        Shatapatha Brahmana

        The Shatapatha Brahmana is one of the prose texts describing the Historical Vedic religion ritual, associated with the Shukla Yajurveda. It survives in two recensions, Madhyandina and Kanva , with the former having the eponymous 100 brahmanas in 14 books, and the latter 104 brahmanas in 17 books....
        , Madhyadina recension (SBM)
      • Kanva: Shatapatha Brahmana, Kanva recension (SBK)
  • Atharvaveda
    Atharvaveda

    The Atharvaveda is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda".According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Atharvanas and the Angirasa, hence its oldest name is ....
    • Paippalada: Gopatha Brahmana
      Gopatha Brahmana

      The Gopatha Brahmana is the Brahmana associated with the Paippalada recension of the Atharva Veda....


External links