Brahmana

Brahmana refers to a class of prose texts in the Vedas that explain the performance, rationale, and meanings of the sacrifices described in the Vedic mantras. These texts are part of the ritual literature known as Brahmanas, and they primarily address priestly conduct, the correct procedures for yajna, and the etiologies behind rites. They often present myths and legends embedded in ritual contexts to justify and instruct, and they tend to be organized around a Veda and its associated rites. The Brahmanas date from roughly the late first millennium BCE to earlier layers, with each tradition tying to a specific Veda.

Among the best known are the Aitareya Brahmana (Rigveda), the Shatapatha Brahmana (White or Shukla Yajurveda), and the Taittiriya Brahmana (Black Yajurveda). These works elaborate the duties of the officiants—hotr, adhvaryu, and brahman priests—the materials and recitation rules for offerings, and the theological and cosmological context of ritual actions. They also provide etiological narratives that connect ritual practice to social order and mythic history.

In later scholarship, Brahmanas are seen as a transitional link between the ritual-practice focus of the Samhitas and the broader philosophical explorations that emerge in the Aranyakas and Upanishads. In ordinary usage, the term Brahmana can also denote a Brahmin, a member of the priestly varna, though this social sense is distinct from the textual category in the Vedic corpus. The term should not be confused with Brahman, the ultimate reality described in later Vedanta.