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The Aranyakas (Sanskrit आरण्यक āraṇyaka) are part of the Hindu śruti, the four Vedas; these religious 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. Literature regarded as central to the Hindu literary tradition was predominantly composed in Sanskrit, Indeed much of the morphology and linguistic "Veda" redirects here For other uses see Veda (disambiguation. The Rigveda ( Sanskrit sa ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise verse" and veda "knowledge" The Yajurveda ( Sanskrit यजुर्वेदः, a Tatpurusha compound of yajus "sacrificial formula' + veda The Samaveda ( Sanskrit: सामवेद sāmaveda, from sāman "melody" + veda "knowledge") is third (in the usual The Atharvaveda ( Sanskrit: अथर्ववेद atharvaveda, a Tatpurusha compound of {{IAST|atharvan}}, an ancient Rishi The oral tradition of the Vedas ( Śrauta) consists of several pathas, "recitations" or ways of chanting the Vedic Mantras Such traditions The Brāhmaṇa s ( Devanagari: sa ब्राह्मणं are part of the Hindu śruti literature The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings The Aitareya Upanishad is one of the older "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad ( Sanskrit: बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् is one of the older "primary" ( Mukhya The Isha Upanishad ( īśa upaniṣad, otherwise Ishopanishad īśopaniṣad or īśāvāsya upaniṣad) is one of the shortest of the Upanishads The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the older " primary " Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the "primary" ( Mukhya) Upanishads Together with the Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana and the Brihadaranyaka The Kena Upanishad (kenopaniṣad is one of the older "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Muṇḍaka Upanishad is one of the older "primary" ( Mukhya) Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. Māndūkya Upanishad is the shortest Upanishads - the scriptures of Hindu Vedanta. The Kaṭha Upanishad is one of the older Mukhya "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. Prashna Upanishad ( IAST praṣnopaniṣad is one of the older "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad (Sanskrit Śvetāśvatara) (400 - 200 BCE is one of the older "primary" Upanishads It is associated with the Black The Vedanga ( vedāṅga, "member of the Veda" are six auxiliary disciplines for the understanding and tradition of the Vedas. See Shiksha (NGO for the Indian non-governmental organization The main principle of Vedic meter is measurement by the number of syllables The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of vyākaraṇa is one of the six Vedanga disciplines Nirukta ("explanation etymological interpretation" is one of the six {{IAST|Vedānga}} disciplines of Hinduism, treating Etymology, particularly Jyotiṣa ( Sanskrit jyotiṣa, from jyótis- "light heavenly body" also spelled Jyotish and Jyotisha in English Kalpa is one of the six disciplines of Vedanga, treating Ritual. Indian epic poetry is the Epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent. The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki The following is a bibliography of Hindu scriptures and texts. Smriti (Sanskrit स्मृति " that which is remembered " refers to a specific body of Hindu religious Scripture If you are looking for the singer see Shruti Haasan. For other meanings see Śruti (disambiguation. For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" Darśana ( Darshan, दर्शन is a Sanskrit term meaning "sight" (in the sense of an instance of seeing or beholding from a root Pāñcarātra are Vaishnavite devotional texts dedicated to a single deity Sriman Narayana who manifests in different forms Tantras (" Looms " or " Weavings " refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions In Hinduism a Stotra is a hymn of praise These hymns praise aspects of the divine such as Devi, Siva, or Vishnu. Dharmaśāstra is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the śāstra, or Indic branch of learning pertaining to Hindu Dharma, religious The Nalayira Divya Prabandha (or Nalayira Divya Prabhandham) is a collection of 4000 verses (Naalayira in Tamil means 'four thousand' composed before 8th century The Tevaram ( Tamil: தேவாரம் Teva means "God" aram means "garland") denotes the first seven volumes of the Śrī Rāmacaritamānas ( Devanāgarī: hi श्री राम चरित मानस ( Hindi / Avadhi) is an Epic poem composed by the The Shikshapatri ( Devanagari: शिक्षापत्री is a text of two hundred and twelve verses written in Sanskrit by Bhagwan Swaminarayan The Vachanamrut of Bhagwan Swaminarayan is the most sacred and foundational scripture of the Swaminarayan faith. Ananda Sutram is the basic scripture of modern Yoga composed in Sanskrit by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti (1921-1990 in the year 1961 Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. If you are looking for the singer see Shruti Haasan. For other meanings see Śruti (disambiguation. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos The Brāhmaṇa s ( Devanagari: sa ब्राह्मणं are part of the Hindu śruti literature The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings "Aranyaka" (āraṇyaka) means "belonging to the wilderness" (araṇya), that is, as Taitt. Ar. 2 says, "from where one cannot see the roofs of the settlement". They contain Brahmana-style discussion of especially dangerous rituals such as the Mahavrata and Pravargya, and therefore had to be learned in the wilderness. They have also served as receptacles of later additions to the Vedic corpus. However, they have nothing to do, as later tradition has it, with Sannyasins or Vanaprasthas and they are not of "mystical" nature but very close to the Brahmanas proper.

Contents

The Wilderness Books

The Aranyakas discuss dangerous sacrifices, in the style of the Brahmanas and thus are primarily concerned with the proper performance of ritual. Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning "to make sacred" from Old French, from Latin sacrificium: sacr, "sacred" The Aranyakas are 'secret' in the sense that they are restricted to a particular class of rituals that nevertheless were frequently included in the Vedic curriculum that was primarily conveyed individually from teacher to student.

The Aranyakas are associated with and named after individual Vedic shakhas. A shakha ( Sanskrit IAST śākhā, literally "branch" or "limb" is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning

Aitareya Aranyaka

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 absolutistic. 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.

It is in Aitareya Aranyaka Praana is recommended to be worshipped in the form of Rishis. Praana is Vishvamitra because all the universe (‘vishwa’) is the object of experience of this praana deity. Brahmarshi Vishvamitra ( Sanskrit sa विश्वामित्र viśvā-mitra "all- friend " is one of the most venerated Praana is Vamadeva because the word “Vaama” indicates respectability and deservingness to be worshipped and served. In Hinduism, Vamadeva (वामदेव is the name of the "preserver" aspect of the god Shiva, one of five aspects of the universe he embodies It is also Atri Maharishi because, the word ‘traayate’ in Atri indicates the Praana that protects from sins. This article is about the sage named Atri See also the Gotra named Atri. The Praana enters this body and supports it therefore, it is Bharadvaja – where the ‘bhara’ word denotes supporting and the ‘Vaaja’ indicates the mortal body that is made mobile by the residence of praaana. Bharadwaja (भरद्वाज / भारद्वाज was one of the great sages ( Rishis ' whose accomplishments are detailed in the Puranas. Vashishta is also Praana because the word ‘vas’ indicates the dwelling in this body of the senses made possible by praana. Vasistha ( Sanskrit: वसिष्ठ in Hindu mythology was one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi) in the seventh i

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 here. The 7th, 8th and 9th constitute the well-known Taittiriya Upanishad. The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the older " primary " Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The tenth is a long Upanishad known as Maha-Narayana-Upanishad; it contains several important mantras culled from the three vedas. Chapters one to six form the Aranyaka proper.

The first one is the famous Surya namaskara chapter. The Sūrya-namaskāra chapter is the first chapter in the Taittirīya Āranyaka of Krishna Yajur Veda. The second one is a description of the five maha-yajnas that every brahmin has to do daily. Naturally the sacred thread, the yajnopavita, of the brahmin is extolled and elaborated here. The sandhya worship, the worship of the manes, worship of the brahman through the brahma-yajna, the cleansing homa-sacrifice called the kushmanda-homa are all dealt with in detail. In this chapter the word ‘shramana’ is used (2-7-1) in the meaning of a doer of penance (tapasvii); this word came to mean in later times, a recluse of the Buddhist and Jain religions.

The third and fourth chapters go into further technicalities of several other homas and yajnas. The fourth chapter has also sections on mantras that may be used for averting (or causing !) havoc. The fifth is an academic treatise on yajnas. The sixth one is a collection of ‘pitr-medha’ mantras, that is, the mantras recited on the occasion of, and used for, the rituals for the disposal of the dead body.

Shankhayana Aranyaka

There are fifteen chapters here. From the third to the sixth it constitutes the Kaushitaki Upanishad. The Kauśītāki Upanishad is one of the older "primary" Upanishads The seventh and eighth are known as a Samhitopanishad.

The first two chapters deal with the Mahavrata. The ninth talks about the greatness of Prana. The tenth chapter 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).

The eleventh chapter prescribes several antidotes in the form of rituals for warding off death and sickness. It also details the effects of dreams. The 12th chapter elaborates the fruits of prayer. The 13th gets into 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.

The 14th 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. The final chapter gives a long list of genealogy of spiritual teachers from Brahma downwards up to Guna-Sankhayana. Brahma is the Hindu god ( deva) of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva.

Brihad – Aranyaka

This is the famous Upanishad of that name. The Self is the subject of discussion here from all aspects. For a complete discussion see Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad. The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad ( Sanskrit: बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् is one of the older "primary" ( Mukhya

Rahasya Brahmanas

There is also a certain continuity of the Aranyakas from the Brahmanas in the sense that the Aranyakas go into the meanings of the 'secret' rituals not detailed in the Brahmanas. Later tradition sees this as a leap into subtlety that provides the reason for Durgacharya in his commentary on the Nirukta to say that the Aranyakas are ‘Rahasya Brahmana’ , that is, the Brahmana of secrets. Nirukta ("explanation etymological interpretation" is one of the six {{IAST|Vedānga}} disciplines of Hinduism, treating Etymology, particularly

References

See also

Michael Witzel (born July 18, 1943 at Schwiebus, Germany now Poland is Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University, United The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad ( Sanskrit: बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् is one of the older "primary" ( Mukhya
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