Āraṇyaka

views updated Jun 11 2018

Āraṇyaka (Skt., ‘that which pertains to the forest’). In Hinduism, the genre of texts within the Vedic corpus developed as an adjunct to the Brāhmaṇas. They are explanatory and speculative in nature, intending to give the secret aspects of rituals obtainable only by the advanced student instructed in the seclusion of the forest. They are generally listed as being four in number: the Aitareya, Kausītaki, Taittirīya, and Jaiminīya Āraṇyakas.

Aranyaka

views updated May 23 2018

Aranyaka each of a set of Hindu sacred treatises based on the Brahmanas, composed in Sanskrit c.700 bc. Intended only for initiates, the Aranyakas contain mystical and philosophical material and explications of esoteric rites.