Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c32.22

c32.22

All these occurrences and names are explained in a story,⁸ which consists largely of fable and grew out of a misunderstanding of names. It says (among other things) that Yājñavalkya Brahmarāti when discarded had to disgorge the yajuses he had learnt from Vaiśampāyana, and the other disciples picked them up; that he then worshipped the sun and obtained his own special yajuses from the sun; and that the name Vājin arose because he was aśva-rūpa. Now vājin can be synonymous with vāja-sani, the name of a Yājñavalkya; this Yājñavalkya was (either Vājasanī or) Vājasaneya; hence his disciples, the Vājasaneyas of the White Yajus, were called shortly Vājins: but vājin was misunderstood as a ‘horse’, and so he is styled aśvarūpa.¹ Similarly, Tittiri was apparently the chief of the disciples of the Black Yajus,² and his followers were the Taittirīyas.