Adhyāyas 19–25 · Chapter Overview
From The Shukla Yajurveda — The Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, taught by Acharya T Krishnatrey. This lesson is free to read.
<pre data-block="statement"> These seven adhyāyas carry the SAUTRĀMAṆĪ (19–21), a rite of healing and restoration in which Sarasvatī and the Aśvins are principal, and the AŚVAMEDHA (22–25), the great royal sacrifice. But what a beginner should take from them is not ritual mechanics. It is a cluster of some of the most humane and public-spirited mantras in the Veda: a ladder that climbs from vow to truth (19.30); a world where knowledge and power walk together (20.25); Sarasvatī shining through every thought (20.86); and above all the great PRAYER FOR THE REALM at 22.22, which asks for scholars, protectors, cattle, rain and welfare in one breath. The chapter also holds two riddle-pairs and closes with Aditi, in whom everything born and unborn is contained. Twelve mantras follow. </pre>