Brahmanas

Brahmanas are ancient Indian texts composed in Vedic Sanskrit that explain and codify the rituals of the Vedas. They accompany the Vedas as prose commentaries and ritual manuals, detailing the recitation of mantras, the sequence of sacrifices, and the materials and actions required for proper performance. Their aim is to explain not only how rituals are performed but why they should be performed in a given way.

The Brahmanas elaborate the purposes and meanings of rites, the symbolism of ritual actions, and the duties of the officiants, including the hotṛ, adhvaryu, and brahman priests. They connect ritual practice to cosmic order (rita) and the social order, and they often include etiological myths that account for the origins of particular ceremonies, forms of sacrifice, and the arrangement of sacred imagery and implements. The texts thus serve both as technical manuals and as interpretive literature linking ritual to broader religious concepts.

There are Brahmanas associated with each Veda. Some of the best known for the Rig Veda are the Aitareya Brahmana and the Kaushitaki Brahmana, while the Shatapatha Brahmana is a major text for the Yajur Veda. The Sama and Atharva traditions likewise have their own Brahmana traditions. The Brahmanas are among the earliest extensive prose works in Indian literature and they influenced later ritual compendia, Aranyakas, and, in various ways, the development of Upanishadic thought.

Overall, the Brahmanas provide essential insight into early Vedic ritual theory, priestly roles, and the relationship between ceremony, symbolism, and worldview in ancient Hinduism.