Indian Life in the Sukla-Yajurveda (An Old and Rare Book)

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The wisdom of the ancient Indian saints and philosophers was laid down in the Holy Scriptures and the Vedas. To them, religion is for the world and the world is also for religion. Hinduism is not a religion of world negation. It regulates life in all its many relations; sacred and secular. The synthetic character of the Hindu view of life also believes in checks and balance between the mundane and the supramundane.

A knowledge of the foundations of modern times calls forth the study of the Vedic literature of considerable antiquity in which the roots of our culture and civilisation are laid. 'INDIAN LIFE IN THE SUKLA-YAJURVEDA takes us back to the hoary antiquity of India and reminds us the patterns of life of our ancestors. No wonder, provides an in- Deepth information about the then Indian life in all its diverse aspects such as socizi, economic, political, religious, theological- cum-philosophical and miscellaneous. Such topics as flora & fauna, calendar, language & literature etc., have been put in the miscellaneous chapter. The work thus presenting a comprehensive picture of Indian life as revealed in the Sukla- Yajurveda will be of great help to the researchers and Indologists.

Dr. Sitanath Dey (b. 1946-), a brilliant student and Gold-medallist of the Gauhati University, stood first in the first class in the M. A. Examination in Sanskrit with Veda as his special group securing highest aggregate marks in 1969. He has obtained the Ph. D. degree from the University of Dibrugarh under the able guidance of the famous Indologist Dr. Jogiraj Basu and Dr. P. P. Upadhyaya. He started his service career at the G. С. College, Silchar (1969-70). Thereafter, he joined the M.B.B. College, Agartala and served there for 12 years. At present he is working as a regular teacher in the Calcutta University P.G. Centre, Agartala.

Dr. Dey has earned reputation right from the beginning of his career as an able teacher and bright scholar. The present work exposes his erudite scholarship.

Ancient India's contribution to the world culture and civilisation in various branches of knowledge spiritual and material (pară vidya and apara vidyā), have been handed over down the centuries through the Vedas, the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, the Upanisads, the Puranas, the Epics and numerous other works all of which constitute our great cultural heritage This vast store house of knowledge has naturally undergone significant changes marking stages of development in the course of its long literary tradition. Some of them were evolved long before the art of writing was invented. The formulations of the precocious grammarian Panini (c. 5th Century B.C.) are usually taken as the great watersheds. The post-Paninian works are termed as the classical Sanskrit literature while the Vedic literature is treated as Pre-Paninian. Vedic literature in its turn has several branches and divisions. The Sukla-Yajurveda Samhitä belongs to one of the four Vedas. It is also known as the Vajasaneyi Samhita after its seer, the famous Yajñabalkya, the son of Vajasani. The only available recensions (Śākhās) of the Sukla-Yajurveda Samhitä are Kanva and Madhyandina. In both the Sakhas, the Samhita consists of 40 chapters (Adhyayas) the last Chapter (Ch. XL) being known as the famous liopanisad.

The present work "Indian life in the Sukla-Yajurveda being the out-come of my doctoral thesis, introduces an analytical study of the Sukla-Yajurveda. An attempt has been made here to analyse the ancient Indian life and culture as depicted in the Sukla- Yajurveda. What follows is divided into four major parvans or books, each of which is again sub-divided into a few chapters. In all, there are twenty chapters which are preceded by an introduction and followed by a conclusion.

The object of this work as its very title indicates, is a thorough study of the ŚUKLA-YAJURVEDA SAMHITA, otherwise known as the Vajasaneyi Samhită. The study has been made from the view point of all major aspects such as-social, economic, political, religious, theological-cum-philosophical etc. Accordingly. The work has been divided into several books, each dealing with a particular aspect and comprising several chapters. Certain aspects not falling into the groups mentioned above have been included in a separate book under the heading Miscellaneous". Thus an attempt has been made to undertake an all-round investigation of this Samhita in all its available aspects. The study mainly concerns this particular Samhitā no doubt, but an attempt has been made to present a comparative study with a view to bring out the references to other Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upaniṣads.

Before we enter into discussion of the Sukla-Yajurveda in particular, it is necessary to discuss first the import of the term Veda' and its different classes in general. The term 'Veda' primarily means knowledge par excellence i.e. the sacred, religious knowledge. Secondly, the term denotes works containing the most sacred and authoritative knowledge.

According to Sayana, Äpastamba and the Pürvamimämsä, Veda' is the name given to Mantra and Brahmana jointly. The authority of the Veda is claimed on the ground that it is the final tribunal in matters of dispute concerning religion or philosophy or social customs. Veda is the fountain-head of all religions or duties-observes the Manusamhita.