The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2712 page)

 
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see
UPANAYANA
.

 
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(Skt.). The
Vedic
collection of sacrificial prayers (
yajus
) used by the Adhvaryu priest. Of the four
Vedas
, it most reflects the Vedic sacrifice in its ritual character and full scope. The
Yajur Veda
has two major divisions: the
Black Yajur Veda
existing in four versions and the
White Yajur Veda
existing in two versions. The titles appear to have arisen as polemical terms used by the followers of the White school to characterize the purity of their tradition. Keith estimated the recension of the
Black Yajur Veda
at not later than 600 BCE.

 
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(P
li; Skt.,
Yak
a
).
1
In Buddhism, historical and legendary communities. References to Yakkhas belong to three main types or classes:

(i) the records of Buddhist contact with individual Yakkhas or communities of Yakkhas;
(ii) the records showing the actual process of amalgamation of the Yakkha tribes with the ‘cultured peoples’;
(iii) the records which preserve the myths and legends of the Yakkhas as they persisted in society long after the Yakkhas lost their tribal identities.

2
Supernatural beings in Buddhism (cf. Hindu
yak
a
) who may be neutral in their relations to humans, but who more often are malevolent.

 
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