A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, so far as it illustrates the Primitive Religion of the Brahmans c9.s2.25

c9.s2.25

If we compare the Saṃhitâ and Brâhmaṇa of the Vâjasaneyins with those of the Charakas, we see that the order of the sacrifices is on the whole the same, and that the chief difference between the two consists in the division of Mantras and Brâhmaṇas, which is carried out more strictly by Yâjnavalkya than in the ancient text of the Taittirîyas. This was most likely the reason why the text of Yâjnavalkya was called Śukla Yajur-veda, which is generally translated by the White Yajur-veda. But some commentators explain Śukla more correctly by śuddha¹, and translate it by "cleared," because in this new text the Mantras had been cleared and separated from the Brâhmaṇas, and thus the whole had been rendered more lucid and intelligible. In opposition to this they suppose that the old text was called Kṛiṣhṇa or dark, because in it the verses and rules are mixed together, and less intelligible; or because, as Vidyâraṇya says, it contained the rules of the Hotṛi as well as of the Adhvaryu priests, and thus bewildered the mind of the student.¹