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Shukla yajur veda

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Sudarsan.Parthasarathy • September 7, 2000 


Sri Raamajayam

This is what AdiyEn heard about Shukla Yajur Veda, from a Bay Area Bhagavathaa who started learning Shukla Yajur Veda(after already learning Krishna Yajur Veda).  According to the story I heard, it is not authored, as rightly questioned/feared by Sri.Malolan Cadambi.  It was given as UpaDEsam by Surya Bhagavan to Sri.Yajnya Valkya.  

The story AdiyEn was told was Sri.Yajnya Valkyaa was a disciple of Sage Parasara, who sent Sri.Yajnya Valkyaa to an ailing King, to cure his disease.  The King was one with a Paapaathmaa and his ailment knows no easy cure.  Hence Sri.Yajnya Valkyaa performed severe austerities including an Yajnaa for nearly a year.  Day by day the king's ailment increased instead of getting decreased, that he started abusing Sri.Yajnya Valkyaa.  In a fit of rage, he kicked the Yajnya Kalasam(supposed to be the deity for Yajna), saying the Yajna was a gimmick.   Sri.Yajnya Valkyaa, was terribly offended that the King had disrespected Vedas, that he walks out without curing the King.  He demonstrated the power of his Yajnyaa, by sprinkling the water from the Kalasam over a tree struck dead by lighting, which greened/bloomed and started bearing fruits immediately.  The king realizing his mistake sought mercy of Sri.Yajnya Valkyaa, which Yajnya Valkyaa promptly refused, since the King disrespected!
 his Guru and the Mahaa Vidyaa, the Vedas.   

However the Guru, Sage Parasara, heard the incident, but still felt obliged to the King for supporting Vedic causes, and ordered Sri.Yajnya Valkya to help the King, again.  Sri.Yajnya Valkya debated and finally refused, to the fury of Sage Parasara.   He was asked unlearn/surrender what he had been taught, since he refused his Guru.  Promptly Sri.Yajnya Valkyaa spitted out what he learnt, as grains of rice.   Seeing Vedas scattered on the floor as grains, the other Sishyaas, assumed the form of birds and started assimmilating the scattered grain(&Vedas).  That is why it came to be known Taittreya Upanishad(Taittri is a kind of bird, I guess).

Totally lost, Sri.Yajnyaa Valkyaa, is left only with Gayathri and he does Mahaa Japam and invokes Saraswathi and asks her to teach her Vedas not known to Humanity(since he had surrendered what he learnt to his Guru).   Saraswathi said, the Lord has already given the four Vedas as UpadEsam, and there is nothing that is not known to Humanity. Seeing Sri.Yajnyaa Valkyaa's resolve and taking pity on him, she recommended that there is 'Shukla Yajur Veda'(white or clear Yajur Veda) unlike 'Krishna Yajur Veda'(Dark and considered difficult), unknown to humanity, which was taught to Surya by Sriman Naarayana.  It is same as Krishna Yajur Veda, but apparently much clearer and straight-forward.

So Sri.Yajnyaa Valkyaa sought the mercy of the Sun, and followed him around the world with horses(I forgot the source, but from Netherworld) and assimmilated the Shukla yajur Veda.

Then the story goes that Yajnyaa Valkyaa attends a Sathas of King Janaka(father of Seetha), and sees a jealous Guru in Parasara, who challenges him in duel and successfully answers all his Guru's questions with the acquired knowledge of Shukla yajur Veda.  In return Yajnya Valkyaa asks his Guru to describe "Para Brahmam" completely.  Having been outsmarted, Parasara loses and his head shattered to a thousand pieces.

AdiyEn do not know more, but was told there are only a handful of Shukla Yajur Vedins in India/abroad.  AdiyEn am myself curious what is the authenticity of this story, and what is the Sri Vaishnavite perspective on Shukla Yajur Veda. 


AdiyEn Sri Raamanuja Daasan,

Sudarsana Dasosmi

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