The udakashAnti is frequently a featured part of auspicious functions and rituals that are conducted in the kr'SHNa yajur vEdic tradition. The udakashAnti mantrams are comprised of important verses from the taittireeya samhita and the taittireeya brAhmaNas of the yajur vEda, and take about two hours to recite. The udakashAnti as it is followed today was originally compiled by bOdhAnya, hence it is also called bOdhAnya udakashAnti.
As a student of the vEdas, I set out to learn the udakashAnti, but I discovered that the texts I had access to were both difficult to read, and prone to printing mistakes. So I set out to create an error-free document of my own that was also learner-friendly and conducive to self-study. I would like to believe I have made some progress on both counts, thanks to the help of some people that have traveled the path before.
Having created the document, I am pleased to share it with anyone that might be interested. The text is available in both Sanskrit (dEvanAgari) and Kannada fonts in PDF format at the following links. Over time, I plan to document other vEdic texts in similar fashion, and list them here. If you have any comments, please send me an email at udakashanti@yahoo.com.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Ubhaya Vedantin Shri H. R. Krishnaswamy of
Bangalore, who thoroughly proof-read the texts, as well as
recited it in its entirety for further clarification of the swarams.
I am also grateful for the feed back and encouragement I received from Shri
U. Ve. K. Sreekrishna Tatachar, Ph.D., of Cincinnati, Ohio,
and inspiration from Shri. U. Ve. A. Krishnan of Srirangam,
President of
Veda Prasar Samiti, whose tireless efforts have
resulted in over 120 hours of the most authentic and authoritative
vedic chanting being permanently recorded for posterity, thus
preserving a tradition and history that is thousands of years old.
To the extraordinary shrOtreeyas who recited the vedas for these
recordings, with such authority, power, clarity and grace, I extend my
deep admiration and salutations. I am also grateful to Shri.
Sheshadrivasu Chandrashekharan of Bangalore whose
Baraha software was an invaluable asset
in creating and editing the udakashAnti documents.
Prasad
California