The Philosophy of the Upanishads c5.6

c5.6

A further preliminary remark is that each of the above twelve parts of the Veda has been preserved as a rule not separately, but in several often numerous forms, inasmuch as each Veda was taught in different *Śâkhâs* (literally, "branches" of the tree of the Veda), *i.e.* Vedic schools, which in their treatment of the common subject-matter varied so considerably from one another that, in course of time, distinct works were produced, the contents of which nevertheless remained practically the same. In particular, each of the three ancient Vedas (in the case of the fourth the relations are usually different) comprises not one Brâhmaṇa, but several; and similarly there exist for each Veda not one but several Upanishads. On this subject more will be found below.