Shakha (IAST śākhā), literally "branch" or "limb", is the Sanskrit term for a recension or version of Vedic texts according to a particular school. The scholars of a given shakha are properly called a caraṇa, but the term shakha is used also to refer to the members of a school.

Shaunaka in his Caraṇa-vyūha lists the shakhas for each Veda:

• 5 for the Rigveda, Śākala, Bāṣkala, Ashvalayana, Shankhayana, Mandukayana,
• 42 or 44 for the Yajurveda, out of a reputed total of 68,
• 12 for the Samaveda (but a thousand are said to have once existed),
• 9 for the Atharvaveda.

Only a small number of recensions have survived. The Rigveda is known in the Shakala-shakha only (with surviving Bashkala fragments), the Yajurveda is known in five (partially in six) shakhas (Vajasaneyi Madhandina, Kanva; Taittiriya, Maitrayani, Caraka-Katha, Kapisthala-Katha), the Samaveda in one or two (Jaiminiya and Kauthuma), the Atharvaveda in two (Shaunakiya and Paippalada).

Concerning the text of the Vedas themselves (the Mantras), the differences between the shakhas are minor, except for the case of the Atharvaveda. The Paippalada tradition was discontinued, and its text is known only from manuscript collected since the 19th century. Both the Shaunakiya and the Paippalada traditions contain textual corruption, and the original text

Associated with the Vedas are commentaries, the oldest being the Brahmanas. These texts are independent for each shakha, so that it appears that the formation of the shakhas in Vedic India corresponds to the beginning of the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit (roughly 10th century BC).

• Rigveda: The Shakala has the Aitareya-Brahmana, The Bashkala has the Kausitaki-Brahmana.
• Yajurveda: The Yajurvedin shakhas are divided in "White" and "Black" schools. The White recensions have separate Brahmanas, while the Black ones have their Brahmanas interspersed between the Mantras.
  • White Yajurveda: vājasaneyi madhyandina (VS): Shatapatha Brahmana; kānva: ShBK
  • Black Yajurveda: taittirīya saṃhita (TS) with an additional Brahmana, Taitiriya Brahmana (TB), maitrayani saṃhita (MS), caraka-katha saṃhita (KS), kapiṣṭhala-katha saṃhita (KapS).
• Samaveda: The Kauthuma shakha has the PB, SadvB, the Jaiminiya shakha has the Jaiminiya Brahmana.
• Atharvaveda: No Brahmana is known for the Shaunaka shakha; the Paippalada is possibly associated with the Gopatha Brahmana.

Similar to the Brahmanas, the shakhas have independent Aranyakas, Shrautasutras, Grhyasutras and Upanishads.

References

• Michael Witzel, Tracing the Vedic dialects in Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes ed. Caillat, Paris, 1989, 97–265.