Within the Yajurvedic tradition, the landscape of śākhās, or recensional lineages, is framed above all by the distinction between the Śukla (White) and Kṛṣṇa (Black) forms. The Śukla Yajurveda is represented chiefly by the Mādhyandina (also known as Vājasaneyī) and Kāṇva śākhās, while the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda is preserved in the Taittirīya, Maitrāyaṇī, Kaṭha (or Caraka-Kaṭha), and Kapiṣṭhala-Kaṭha traditions. Each of these lineages transmits not only a particular textual recension, but also a characteristic way of organizing and understanding sacrificial practice. The diversity of śākhās thus reflects a living plurality within a single Vedic current, rather than a simple set of variant readings.

The most fundamental variation lies in how mantra and explanation are woven together. In the Śukla Yajurveda, the mantras of the Saṃhitā stand relatively distinct, while the ritual exposition is gathered separately in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, giving this stream a more clearly articulated architecture. By contrast, the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda interlaces mantra and Brāhmaṇa-like prose within the same Saṃhitā, so that instruction and invocation are encountered side by side. This structural difference shapes the very experience of the text: one encounters either a more orderly separation of sacred speech and its exegesis, or a more immediate, mixed tapestry of formula and interpretation.

Among the Kṛṣṇa recensions, the Taittirīya śākhā stands out as the most widely preserved, with its own Saṃhitā, Brāhmaṇa, and Āraṇyaka forming a coherent ritual universe. The Maitrāyaṇī, Kaṭha, and Kapiṣṭhala-Kaṭha śākhās, while related, maintain distinct arrangements and readings within this mixed mantra–prose format, and they exhibit their own emphases in ritual detail and priestly instruction. In the Śukla stream, the Mādhyandina and Kāṇva śākhās share the same basic separation of Saṃhitā and Brāhmaṇa, yet differ in specific mantra variants, ordering, and associated interpretive traditions. Over time, some śākhās have remained robust while others survive only in fragments or in more limited regional lineages, but together they bear witness to the many ways in which a single Vedic revelation has been heard, ordered, and enacted in sacrificial life.