A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism Klaus K Klostermaie

Y
Yädavas
The descendants of King Yadu, the son
of King YAYÄTI of the lunar dynasty.
Kø•æa was born among the Yädavas,
who were known as pastoralists but also
established a kingdom in Dvärakä, in
Gujarat. When Dvärakä was submerged
by the ocean, all its inhabitants perished.
The founders of the Vijayanägara
empire claimed to be descendants of
those Yädavas who were not present at
Dvärakä when it was destroyed.
Yädava-prakäÿa (11th century)
Advaitin guru, the first teacher of
RÄMÄNUJA, who rejected his interpretation
of the Upani•ads, which he criticized
in his Vedärthasaƒgraha.
Yadu
See YÄDAVA.
yajña
See SACRIFICE.
Yajña-välkya
A celebrated sage, reputedly the author
of the White YAJURVEDA, the Ÿatapatha
Brähmaæa and the Bøhadäraæyaka
Upani•ad, as well as the Yäjñavalkyasmøti,
a code of law second in
importance only to the MANUSMØTI. He
figures prominently in the epics,
especially in the Rämäyaæa, where he is
represented as a dissenter from traditional
religion.
yajñopavïta
See JANËU.
Yajur-veda
The second of the VEDA saƒhitäs (collections),
a book for priests, containing
ritual formulas for full and new moon
yajñas (SACRIFICES), the räjasüya, the
aÿvamedha, and the SOMA sacrifices. It
insists on strict observance of the prescribed
ritual and considers the yajña so
important that even the gods have to
follow the commands of the brahmins.
It is divided into many ÿäkhäs (schools)
and is available in two recensions, the
White (Väjasaneyï) and the Black
(Taittirïya) Yajurveda.
yak•as
Semi-divine beings, the attendants of
KUBERA, the god of wealth.
Yama (‘restrainer’)
The Vedic god of the realm of the dead,
son of Vivasvat (the Sun); his twin sister
is Yamï or Yamunä. They are described
as the first human pair, the first to die,
and the first to depart to the netherworlds,
and Yama is the judge of all