Shloka 13
यजुर्वेदशाखाः, याज्ञवल्क्य–वैशम्पायनसंवादः, सूर्यस्तुतिः
Yajurveda branches and Yājñavalkya’s solar revelation
यजूंष्य् अथ विसृष्टानि याज्ञवल्क्येन वै द्विज जगृहुस् तित्तिरीभूत्वा तैत्तिरीयास् तु ते ततः
yajūṃṣy atha visṛṣṭāni yājñavalkyena vai dvija jagṛhus tittirībhūtvā taittirīyās tu te tataḥ
Then the Yajus mantras that Yājñavalkya had cast forth were gathered by the twice-born sages; becoming partridges (tittirīs), they collected them—hence they came to be known as the Taittirīyas.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Why the Yajur branch is called Taittirīya and how the mantras were recovered
Teaching: Historical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Sacred tradition survives through adaptive guardianship: when knowledge is endangered, the community reconstitutes itself to preserve it, forming enduring śākhās.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Support institutions and communities that preserve learning; be willing to take unconventional effort to protect what is valuable and true.
Vishishtadvaita: The continuity of śruti through communal preservation reflects an ordered, providential cosmos where dharma is maintained through living bodies (śarīra) serving higher purpose.
FAQs
This verse gives an etymological origin: sages gathered the discarded Yajus-mantras by becoming “tittirīs” (partridges), and thus the school became known as Taittirīya.
Through a narrative of recovery and transmission: even when mantras are “cast off,” qualified dvijas retrieve and preserve them, establishing an authoritative śākhā lineage.
Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic frame treats stable Vedic transmission as part of dharma and cosmic order ultimately upheld by Vishnu as the Supreme sustaining reality.