Shakha (IAST śākhā), literally "branch" or "limb", is the Sanskrit term for a recension or version of Vedic texts according to a particular school. The scholars of a given shakha are properly called a caraṇa, but the term shakha is used also to refer to the members of a school. IAST, or International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is the academic standard for writing the Sanskrit language with the Latin alphabet and very similar to National Library at Calcutta romanization standard being used with many Indic scripts. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम्) is a classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... The Vedas are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures form part of the core of the Brahminical and Vedic traditions within Hinduism and are the inspirational, metaphysical and mythological foundation for later Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra and even Bhakti forms of Hinduism. ...

Shaunaka in his Caraṇa-vyūha lists the shakhas for each Veda:

• 5 for the Rigveda, Śākala, Bāṣkala, Ashvalayana, Shankhayana, Mandukayana,
• 42 or 44 for the Yajurveda, out of a reputed total of 68,
• 12 for the Samaveda (but a thousand are said to have once existed),
• 9 for the Atharvaveda.

Only a small number of recensions have survived. The Rigveda is known in the Shakala-shakha only (with surviving Bashkala fragments), the Yajurveda is known in five (partially in six) shakhas (Vajasaneyi Madhandina, Kanva; Taittiriya, Maitrayani, Caraka-Katha, Kapisthala-Katha), the Samaveda in one or two (Jaiminiya and Kauthuma), the Atharvaveda in two (Shaunakiya and Paippalada). The Rig Veda ऋग्वेद (Sanskrit ṛc praise + veda knowledge) is the earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas. ... The Yajur Veda यजुर्वेद is one of the four Hindu Vedas; it contains religious texts focussing on liturgy and ritual. ... The Sama Veda (सामवेद), or Veda of Holy Songs, is third in the usual order of enumeration of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. ... The Atharva Veda is a sacred text of Hinduism, part of the four books of the Vedas. ... The Yajur Veda यजुर्वेद is one of the four Hindu Vedas; it contains religious texts focussing on liturgy and ritual. ...

Concerning the text of the Vedas themselves (the Mantras), the differences between the shakhas are minor, except for the case of the Atharvaveda. The Paippalada tradition was discontinued, and its text is known only from manuscript collected since the 19th century. Both the Shaunakiya and the Paippalada traditions contain textual corruption, and the original text of the Atharvaveda may only be approximated from comparison between the two. The Bashkala recension of the Rigveda has the Khilani which are not present in the Shakala text. The Khilani are are a collection of 98 apocryphal hymns of the Rigveda, recorded in the Bashakala, but not in the Shakala school. ...

Associated with the Vedas are commentaries, the oldest being the Brahmanas. These texts are independent for each shakha, so that it appears that the formation of the shakhas in Vedic India corresponds to the beginning of the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit (roughly 10th century BC). The Brahmana (Sanskrit ब्राह्मण) are part of the Hindu Shruti; They are composed in Vedic Sanskrit, and the period of their composition is sometimes referred to as the Brahmanic period or age (approximately between 900 BC and 500 BC). ... The Vedic civilization is the Indo-Aryan culture associated with the Vedas, the earliest known records of Indian history. ... Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, the earliest sacred texts of India. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) // Overview Events Partition of ancient Israel into the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel (c. ...

• Rigveda: The Shakala has the Aitareya-Brahmana, The Bashkala has the Kausitaki-Brahmana.
• Yajurveda: The Yajurvedin shakhas are divided in "White" and "Black" schools. The White recensions have separate Brahmanas, while the Black ones have their Brahmanas interspersed between the Mantras.
  • White Yajurveda: vājasaneyi madhyandina (VS): Shatapatha Brahmana; kānva: ShBK
  • Black Yajurveda: taittirīya saṃhita (TS) with an additional Brahmana, Taitiriya Brahmana (TB), maitrayani saṃhita (MS), caraka-katha saṃhita (KS), kapiṣṭhala-katha saṃhita (KapS).
• Samaveda: The Kauthuma shakha has the PB, SadvB, the Jaiminiya shakha has the Jaiminiya Brahmana.
• Atharvaveda: No Brahmana is known for the Shaunaka shakha; the Paippalada is possibly associated with the Gopatha Brahmana.

Similar to the Brahmanas, the shakhas have independent Aranyakas, Shrautasutras, Grhyasutras and Upanishads. The Aitareya Brahmana is the Brahmana associated with the Rigveda in the Shakala school. ... Shatapatha Brahmana (Brahmana of one-hundred paths) is one of the prose texts describing the Vedic ritual. ... The Aranyakas (Sanskrit आरण्यक, Forest Books, Forest Treatises) are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures are sometimes argued to be part of either the Brahmanas or Upanishads. ... Sutra (सूत्र) in Sanskrit is derived from the verb √siv, meaning to sew. ... Sutra (सूत्र) in Sanskrit is derived from the verb √siv, meaning to sew. ... The Upanishad (उपनिषद्, Upaniá¹£ad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ...