The Yajurveda (Sanskrit: यजुर्वेद, IAST: yajurveda) is one of the four Vedas of Hinduism, deriving its name from yajus ("worship") and veda ("knowledge"). Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, it is primarily a compilation of prose mantras and ritual-offering formulas recited by priests during sacrificial actions, including those performed before the yajña fire. Its composition has been estimated by the scholar Michael Witzel to fall roughly between 1200 and 800 BCE, broadly contemporaneous with the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda.
The Yajurveda is traditionally grouped into two principal branches: the "black" or "dark" (Krishna) Yajurveda and the "white" or "bright" (Shukla) Yajurveda. The designation "black" is understood to refer to the un-arranged, motley character of its collection of verses, in contrast to the "white" Yajurveda, which is described as well arranged and clear. The Krishna Yajurveda has survived in four recensions, while two recensions of the Shukla Yajurveda have come down to modern times.
The text is structured in layers. Its earliest and most ancient stratum, the Samhita, contains about 1,875 verses; while distinct in character, these draw upon and build on verses found in the Rigveda. The middle layer comprises the Satapatha Brahmana, one of the largest Brahmana texts in the Vedic corpus, dealing with ritual exegesis and associated narratives. The youngest layer of the Yajurveda contains the largest set of principal Upanishads, which have influenced various schools of Hindu philosophy. These include the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Isha Upanishad, the Taittiriya Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Maitri Upanishad.
Manuscript transmission of the Yajurveda has been preserved across the Indian subcontinent and adjoining regions. Two of the oldest surviving manuscript copies of s