Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s14.68

v1.c3.s14.68

Caraka primarily denotes a ‘wandering student,’ a sense actually found in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.¹ More especially it denotes the members of a school of the Black Yajurveda, the practices of which are several times referred to with disapproval in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa.² In the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā³ the Caraka teacher (Carakācārya) is enumerated among the sacrificial victims at the Puruṣamedha, or human sacrifice. His dedication there to ill-doing is a clear hint of a ritual feud.