Advanced Institute for Research on Religion and Culture (ARRC)

M.Th. 1st Year (Hinduism) Sub: Detailed study of Hinduism

Introduction:
Aranyakas are the concluding portion of the brahmanas, just as Upanishads are the
concluding portion of the Aranyakas. The very name itself suggests that these narrate the
details of Yajnas discussed while residing in the aranya or forest. These were propounded by
rishis, who resided in the forests and revealed the secrets of the Yajnas.1
1. Aranyakas:
Aranyaka have been translated, for nearly a century, as “wilderness texts”. 2Aranyakas
appeared as a reaction against the ritualism and Sacerdotalsim 3 of the Brāhmaṇas. An
esoteric text propounded by hermits in the forests, as their name signifies, hence it is called as
forest texts or jungle books.4 Aranyakas are composed in the wilderness or jungle, outside the
village they dealt more with ritual and less with cosmology and metaphysics than the
Upanishads.5 These texts comprised everything which was of a secret, uncanny character, and
spelt danger to the uninitiated, and which, for that reason, might only be taught and learnt in
the forest, and not in the villages.6
The Aranyakas are distinguished from the Brahmanas in that they may contain information
on secret rites to be carried out only by certain persons, as well as more philosophical
speculation. Thus they were intended to be studied only by the initiated, by which might have
been meant either hermits who had withdrawn into the forest and no longer took part in ritual
sacrifices or pupils who were given instruction by their teachers in the seclusion of the forest,
away from the village. The Aranyakas are given over to secret explanations of the allegorical
meaning of the ritual and to discussion of the internal, meditative meaning of the sacrifice, as
contrasted to its actual, outward performance. The philosophic portions, more speculative in
content, are sometimes called Upanishads.7

1
Satya Shrava, History of Vedic Literature (New Delhi: Pravana Prakasham), 279.
2
Gavin Flood, Hinduism (oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003), 82.
3
Sacerdotalism is the belief that propitiatory sacrifices for sin require the intervention of a priest.
4
R. Antoine, “Sacred books and religious literature,” Religious Hinduism, J. Neuner & R. De Smet
(eds.) (Allahabad: St. Paul Publications), 32
5
Wendy Doinger, The Hindus (London: Penguin Press, 2009), 167.
6
Maurice Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers,
1991), 233.
7
Matt Stefon, “Aranyaka”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aranyaka,
(9.12.2018).

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There are three main sections of Aranyakas, which further consists of sub sections and those
are as follows.
1. Aranyakas of the Rigveda consists Aitareya Aranyaka, Kaushitaki Aranyaka, and
Samkhayana Aranyaka,
2. Aranyakas of the Yajurveda consists Brihadaranyaka (Madhyandina), Brihad Aranyaka
(Kanva recension), Taittiriya Aranyaka and Maitrayaniya Aranyaka.
3. Aranyakas of Samaveda consists Talvakara Aranyaka.8
2. Importance of Aranyakas:
Aranyakas are important because they are regarded as revolutionary or the transitional phase
from ritual to philosophy. Macdonell says that ‘Aranyakas in tone and content form a
transition to Upanishads’.9 According to Deussen Aranyakas consist of the allegorical
speculations on rituals, which for the most parts were not practicable and as such they
emancipated from the limitations of a formal cult. 10 In Aranyakas there can be found a
compromise between these two thoughts; ritualistic and philosophical. Aranyakas do not
reject the significance of the sacrifices but they advise to realize the truth which is behind the
sacrifices.11
The Aranyakas do not give us rules for the performance of sacrifices and explanations of
ceremonies, but provide us with the mystic teaching of the sacrificial religion. As a matter of
fact, some of the oldest Upanishads are included in the Aranyaka texts, which are meant for
the study of those who are engaged in the vow of forest life, Vanaprasthas. As those who
retire to the forests are not like the householders bound to the ritual, the Aranyakas deal with
the meaning and interpretation of the sacrificial ceremonies. It is possible that certain sacred
rites were performed in the seclusion of the forests where teachers and pupils meditated on
the significance of these rites.12
3. Teachings of Aranyakas:
The main concepts of Aranyakas is mysticism, symbolism of sacrifice, and priestly
philosophy.13 It was taught as a secret teaching that how different process of daily life are to
be understood as sacrifice in a deeper sense and how higher reward comes to the lot of one
who carries it out in practice, knowing its secret significance. In this way the breathing
process is also interpreted as one of the five sacrifices 14 and a very high reward is promised to
him who always performs the five sacrifices through breathing on the strength of the
8
R. Antoine, “Sacred books and religious literature,”…, 32.
9
Arthur A. Macdonell, A History of Sanskrit Literature (New Delhi:Motilal Bansaridass Publishers,
1991), 172.
10
Paul Deussen, The Philosophy of the Upanishads (New Delhi:Motilal Bansaridass Publishers, 2000),
120.
11
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/138507/9/09_chapter%20ii.pdf, (9.12.2018).
12
S. Radhakrishnan, Introduction to The Principal Upanishads,
http://www.uramamurthy.com/u_intro3.html, (9.12.2018).
13
Maurice Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature…, 233.
14
The offering is usually a mixture of prayers, invocations, and different kinds of foods, liquids and
other ritual material.

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knowledge. It is also said that who performs external sacrifice without knowing the internal
truth, and then the sacrifice becomes fruitless like fruitless offerings into ashes. Thus
Aranyakas bridge the gap between the two streams of thoughts; ritualistic and philosophical.15
In the Aranyakas and the Upanishads, one sees a rather different emphasis. Here we shall not
make difference between the Aranyakas and the Upanishads, since many well-known
Upanishads are themselves Aranyakas or parts of Aranyakas. Language acquires importance
in several different ways in these traditions. Both in ritual and philosophical contexts, various
persons attain a status of high eminence through their skill in priestly debate. In a slow shift
from the tradition of the Brahmanas, the Upanishads, without denying the rewards of rituals,
generally suggest that the rewards of all rituals are limited and that the performance of rituals
finally traps the performer in the cycles of births and deaths. The rewards of ritual, and the
general good and bad rewards of one’s actions (karma), define the nature of one’s future
births, such that one reaps the fruits of one’s past actions during those subsequent births.16

The Aranyakas, emphasizing the painful nature of these cycles of rebirths, pointing out that
the ideal goal should be to put an end to these cycle’s universal existence, that is, brahman
Putting an absolute end to the accumulation of birth and rebirth and to find one’s permanent
identity with the original ground of the karma through renunciation of possessions and
withdrawal from binding ritual obligations is now the advised alternative. This shift in the
goal leads to a gradual movement away from the rituals in the direction of a meditative life.
As part of this meditative practice, one is asked to practice the meditation aided by the sacred
syllable Om, which is the symbolic representation of Brahman. Here the language, in the
form of Om, becomes the tool for the attainment of one’s mystical union with Brahman, the
ground of the universal existence. The syllable itself is explained as consisting of the
elements a, u, and m, but finally ending with a portion of silence. These elements are said to
represent different states of one’s consciousness, the silence representing the final merger
with Brahman. Moving away from the knowledge of the Vedic chants (mantra), the
Aranyakas redirect a seeker toward the realization of the ultimate reality of Brahman.17

4. Divisions of the:

4.1. Aranyakas of Rigveda:

4.1.1. Aitareya Aranyaka: Aitareya Aranyaka has only five aranyakas. The first aranyakas
has five, the second seven, the third two, the fourth one and the fifth three chapters, i.e., in all
eighteen chapters. These chapters discuss about the fundamental duties and the vows to be
sung on a particular day. It also mentions the mantras to be recited in the morning, the
afternoon and the evening.

4.1.2. Kaushitaki Aranyaka: Unfortunately, there are not much information about Kaushitaki
Aranyaka, However it is the concluding portion of the Rig-Veda.

15
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/138507/9/09_chapter%20ii.pdf, (9.12.2018).
16
Madhav M. Deshpande, “Bhasa”, The Hindu World, Sushil Mittal & Gene Thursby (eds.) (New
York: Routledge, 2005), 511.
17
Madhav M. Deshpande, “Bhasa”…, 511.

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4.1.3. Samkhayana Aranyaka: The Samkhayana Aranyaka has fifteen chapters, in almost all
respect it is much like Aitareya Aranyaka. The methods and forms narrated in Aitareya
Aranyaka, have also been narrated in this.18

4.2. Aranyakas of Yajurveda:

4.2.1. Brihadaranyaka (Madhyandina): The Brihadaranyaka has six chapters, and 44 sub-
brahmanas. The Sub-brahmanas are further divided into khandas and kandikas. These chapter
mentions performance of Yajna.

4.2.2. Brihad Aranyaka (Kanva recension19): it is composed of 6 chapters, its chapters are
similar to the chapters of the details of Yajnas, along with the discussion on the subject
matter of soul, the nature, and connected divine subjects and is, therefore, named as an
Upanishad.

4.2.3. Taittiriya Aranyaka: Taittiriya Aranyaka has ten chapters, this Aranyaka talks about
hell, water, and a unique type of chariot having 1000 spokes, many wheels and 1000 horses.
The sacred thread or yajnopavita is found mentioned for the first time in this aranyaka. It is
stated that a Yajna performed by a person wearing the sacred thread was well recognised.

4.2.4. Maitrayaniya Aranyaka: Maitrayaniya Aranyaka has seven chapters. Maitreyi

4.3. Aranyaka of Samaveda:

4.3.1. Talvakara Aranyaka: The Talvakara Aranyaka has four chapters. The language of this
aranyaka is similar to that of the brahmana. The best explanation of many hymns is available
in it. 21

Conclusion:
Aranyakas have a significant place in the Vedic literature and in Indian thought. They do not
make any harm to one who studies them, but one should approach them with purity and
responsibility. They do not reject any practices or rituals but only shows limitations of their
results. They help us to avoid the practice of blind beliefs which have no truth behind them.
Aranyakas provide us a chance not only to realize the truth behind the rituals but also the
truth behind whole the universe. Aitareyaranyaka, and Kausitakiaranyaka of Rigveda,
Brhadaranyaka, and Taittiriyaranyaka of Yajurveda are the available Aranyakas. They
contain various aspects like rituals, philosophy, culture, etc. which can be found through
specified studies.

18
Satya Shrava, History of Vedic Literature…, 281-284.
19
Style of recitation followed in south India, predominant around the period of Shankaracharya’s birth.
20
Satya Shrava, History of Vedic Literature…, 284-290.
21
Satya Shrava, History of Vedic Literature…, 292.

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Bibliography:

Antoine, R. “Sacred books and religious literature.” Religious Hinduism. J. Neuner & R. De
Smet (Eds.). Allahabad: St. Paul Publications.

Deshpande, Madhav M. “Bhasa.” The Hindu World. Sushil Mittal & Gene Thursby (Eds.).
New York: Routledge, 2005.

Deussen, Paul The Philosophy of the Upanishads. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers, 2000.

Doinger, Wendy. The Hindus. London: Penguin Press, 2009.

Flood, Gavin. Hinduism. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003.

Macdonell, Arthur A. A History of Sanskrit Literature. New Delhi: Motilal Bansaridass

Shrava, Satya. History of Vedic Literature. New Delhi: Pravana Prakasham.

Winternitz, Maurice. A History of Indian Literature. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal

Webliography:

Radhakrishnan, S. Introduction to The Principal Upanishads. http://www.uramamurthy.com/

Stefon, Matt. “Aranyaka”. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aran

http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/138507/9/09_chapter%20ii.pdf,
(9.12.2018).