RAS question
The 'Shatapatha Brahmana' is associated with which Veda?
Correct answer: (A) Yajurveda.
The Shatapatha Brahmana is a famous Brahmana text associated with the Shukla, or White, Yajurveda.
Explanation
The Shatapatha Brahmana is associated with the Yajurveda, specifically its Shukla, or White, branch. The literature of each Veda has Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanisad portions; the Brahmana texts give instructions for performing rituals. The Yajurveda is mainly concerned with yajna and rituals, and much of its literature is in prose. It has two branches: Krishna Yajurveda and Shukla Yajurveda. The Taittiriya Brahmana is associated with the Krishna Yajurveda. The famous Brahmana text of the Shukla Yajurveda, the Shatapatha Brahmana, survives. This is why Yajurveda is the correct answer. The Shatapatha Brahmana is also an important prose text containing accounts of the great flood and the Prajapati creation myth.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Rigveda is incorrect because its principal Brahmana texts are Aitareya Brahmana and Shankyayana Brahmana, not Shatapatha Brahmana.
- (C) Samaveda is incorrect because its Brahmana texts include Daivatam, Vamshabrahmanam and Tandyam, whereas the Shatapatha Brahmana belongs to the Shukla Yajurveda.
- (D) Atharvaveda is incorrect because Gopatha Brahmanam is its only surviving Brahmana, whereas the Shatapatha Brahmana belongs to the Shukla Yajurveda.
Concept
The map of Vedic literature links Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanisad texts to particular Vedas. RAS ancient-history MCQs often test these precise text–Veda associations because they are foundational facts, not merely matters of broad chronology.