Shukla Yajur Veda Madhyandini Shakha
"Aneyata Kshara Vashano Yajuhu"
"Gadyatmako Yajuhu"
In Shukla Yajur Veda Madhandini Shakha, while there are both Padya (where the Vedic text is divided into distinct passages, with very precise syntactic construction and Gadya, there is more of Gadya (i.e., continuous rendering of Vedic text, till the very end, with little or few breaks).
Madhyandini Shakha has 40 adhyayas, 1975 mantras, and 303 anuvakas. Of these, 663 mantras are taken from Rig Veda mantras. The Rig Veda mantras in Madhyandini Shakha are Padya mantras.
This shakha is essentially a scripture that is in the form of Gadya. In Yagnas, the Gadya mantras that are chanted are referred to as Yajus. In this shakha, the Padya Mantras are drawn from Rig Veda or Atharva Veda. In this shakha, there are few Padya mantras that belong exclusively to this shakha. That is the reason why this Shakha is referred to preponderantly as having Gadya.
The Rig Veda mantras are used to invite the Gods during Yagnas. The mantras of Madhyandini Shakha primarily relate to the procedures for performing yagnas.
This Shakha has four parts (angas): Samhita, Brahmana, Aaranyakas and Upanishads. The Upanishads of this Veda Shakha respectively are, Shukla Yajurved Samhita, Shathapatha Brahmana, Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad and Isavaasyopanishad. This Shakha has 40 adhyayas, of which 39 are mantras for various procedures for various yagnas; and the 40th adhyaya is Isavasyopanishad, which is the Gyana Kaanda (the part that deals with knowledge).
Shukla Yajur Veda has procedures for various Yagnas. For instance, Katyayani Shrouta Sutra gives precise instructions on how to perform a specific Yagna, along with specific instructions in Samhita and Brahmana sections. As another illustration, the 16 milestones for human being (shodasa samskara) such as garbhadaanam, upanayanam, marriage, etc., are described in Paraskara Grihya Sutra.
Procedures for many yagnas are described in this shakha. These include Darshapurnamasa, Agnihotra, Ashwamedha, Vaajapeya, Agnichayana, etc.
Samhita, Pada and Krama are the first part of learning in this Veda and constitute the Prakriti paath. This takes eight years to learn.
The next stage is mastering the eight steps and is referred to as Virkruti. These are respectively: Jata, Maala, Shikha, Rekha, Twajo, Dando, Ratho, and Ghanah. For the 663 Rig Veda mantras embedded in Shukla Yajur Veda Madhyandini shakha, that was described earlier, all these eight steps are relevant. For the gadya style Madhyandini-specific mantras, only Jata and Ghanah are possible. The Vikruti part will take additional four years to master.
The meaning for this Shakha has been composed by Uvatacharya. This Shakha was in the past popular in both north and south India. Presently it is more prevalent in north India, namely in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Orissa, as well as Nepal.
