The four Vedas, Rg, Yajur, Sama and Atharva, the foundations, on which the grand and most ancient edifice of Hindu religion and philosophy are built. The Yajurveda ranks second in importance and is divided into two collections, Taittiriya and Vajasaneya, better known as Krishna or Black and Shukla or White Yajurveda. The latter is called white because its arrangement is systematic, orderly and free of obscurities which bedevil the former. The Yajurveda is actually a handbook or manual for the Adhvaryu priests, who specialized in conducting sacrifices. The White Yajurveda contains 2000 hymns arranged in forty books. Most of the hymns are culled from the Rgveda. The Yajur or sacrificial formulas are in prose, to be intoned in measured cadence. The important sacrifices dealt here are: Asvamedha or horse sacrifice, Purushamedha or sacrifice at full and new moon. Griffith's translation is true to the original. It explains recondite portions with the unobtrusive commentary of Mahidara.

'Veda’ literally means 'knowledge' in Sanskrit. It is because the term was derived when the ancients thought of putting their experiences in an organised manner. It can't be said in the written form because it is certain that in that hoary past period writing had not been invented. Nevertheless, the four Vedasy viz. Rigveda, Saamveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda, are known to contain the pristine gems of Indian wisdom. They appear universally important because they constitute one of the first records of the human 'awakened' experiences. They can be said to be the very fount of Indian wisdom. It is their status, apart from the contents, that made them universally popular. It is to highlight their extreme significance that we are undertaking this project of revealing before the curious readers their Sookta or aphorism- wise translation.

The present English translation is based on the original German work written by Professor Winternitz and has been revised in the light of further researches on the subject by different scholars in India and elsewhere. Vol. I relates to Veda (the four Samhitas), Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanisads, Vedangas and the Literature of the ritual. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Puranic literature and Tantra. Vol. II deals with the Buddhist Literature of India and the Jaina Literature. Vol. III covers Classical Sanskrit Literature comprising ornate Poetry, Drama, Narrative Literature, Grammar, Lexiocography, Philosophy, Dharma-Sastra, Artha-Sastra, Architecture, Music, Kama-Sutra, Ayurveda, Astronomy, Astrology and Mathematics.

Hindu canonical text, with English explanation and critical introduction.

Marcel Mauss was the nephew and most distinguished pupil of mile Durkheim, whose review L'Ann e sociologique he helped to found and edit. Henri Hubert was another member of the group of sociologists who developed under the influence of Durkheim. The present book is one of the best-known essays pulbished in L'Ann e sociologique and has been regarded as a model for method and mode of interpretation. Its subject is at the very center of the comparative study of religion. The authors describe a basic sacrifice drawn from Indian sources and show what is fundamental and constant, comparing Indian and Hebrew practices in particular, then Greek and Roman, then additional practices from many eras and cultures.