Which of the following is a Samhita of Shukla Yajurveda?

The answer is A) Vajasaneyi. The Yajurveda has two main branches. The Shukla (White) Yajurveda has two recensions, the Madhyandina and the Kanva, and both are known as the Vajasaneyi Samhita, named after Yajnavalkya, who was called Vajasaneya. The Krishna (Black) Yajurveda is the branch where mantras and Brahmana-type prose remain mixed together, and it has four surviving samhitas.

Why the others are wrong:

• B) Maitrayani is a Krishna Yajurveda samhita.
• C) Taittiriya is also a Krishna Yajurveda samhita, and it is the most widely studied one in the south.
• D) Kathak (Kathaka) belongs to the Krishna Yajurveda and is associated with the Charaka school.

Core concept: the Shukla-Krishna split is about how the text is arranged. In the Shukla branch, mantras are kept separate from the explanatory Brahmana material. This is basic Ancient History, and it links to the Vedic religion and ritual sections of the syllabus, where you need to know which Veda served which priest. The Yajurveda is the Veda of the Adhvaryu priests.

Trap: candidates often pick Taittiriya because it is the most familiar name, and assume it is Shukla. Remember that the Taittiriya school belongs to the Krishna Yajurveda, so the Shukla samhita here is the Vajasaneyi.