The published (surviving) Rigveda Samhita belongs to which branch (shakha)?

The Rigveda Samhita that has survived and is commonly published belongs to the "Shakala" shakha (branch or recension).

About shakhas:

• In ancient times, each Veda was preserved by different schools of priests, called "shakhas" (branches).
• Each shakha had its own slightly different version (recension) of the Vedic text, and its own Brahmanas and ritual texts.
• Many shakhas have been lost over time; only a few survive for each Veda.

Rigveda shakhas:

• Traditionally, the Rigveda had several shakhas, of which five are often mentioned: Shakala, Bashkala, Ashvalayana, Shankhayana and Mandukayana.
• Only the Shakala recension has survived complete.
• It is named after the teacher Shakalya, who prepared the "padapatha" (word-by-word text) of the Rigveda.
• It has 10 mandalas and 1,028 hymns (including 11 supplementary "Valakhilya" hymns).
• The Bashkala recension was slightly different but has been largely lost.

Shakhas of other Vedas:

• Samaveda: Kauthuma, Ranayaniya and Jaiminiya.
• Shukla Yajurveda: Madhyandina and Kanva.
• Krishna Yajurveda: Taittiriya, Maitrayani, Katha and Kapishthala.
• Atharvaveda: Shaunaka and Paippalada.

How the Rigveda was preserved:

It was preserved orally with great accuracy through different methods of recitation, such as the "samhitapatha" (continuous text), "padapatha" (word by word), "kramapatha", "jatapatha" and "ghanapatha", which repeated words in complex patterns to avoid errors.

The first printed edition of the Rigveda (with Sayana's commentary) was published by Friedrich Max Muller between 1849 and 1874.

Sayana was a 14th-century scholar of the Vijayanagara court who wrote commentaries on the Vedas.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Bashkala is another (largely lost) Rigveda shakha.
• ✗Kanva is a shakha of the Shukla Yajurveda.
• ✗Kauthuma is a shakha of the Samaveda.