Kalpa Vedanga (कल्पवेदाङ्गम्)

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Kalpa (Samskrit : कल्पः) not to be confused with Kalpas defined by Kala pramana (time) is a part of the Shad Vedangas. They are called as Sutragranthas consisting of a group of texts that relate specifically to aspects of conduct of Vedic yajnas or Shrauta yajnas, their procedural and result explanations, measurements involved and associated dharmas. Usually described as the "arms of Vedapurusha", they systematically codified the ceremonies given in the Brahmana texts of the Vedas referred to as manuals for karmakanda or yajna related activities. It may be noted that the article is titled Kalpa Vedanga to distinguish it from Kalpa, the time terminology.

Guru describing preparation of Vedi for Yajna

Introduction

The origin of Kalpa was for the organization of all the extensive rituals described in Vedas (वैदिककर्मकाण्डः | Vaidika Karmakanda). Kalpas are texts classified under the Shad Vedangas. They include the contents directly mentioned in Brahmanas and Aranyakas, presented in a systematic manner, explaining those not mentioned explicitly in the Brahmanas and omitting others not directly related to a particular yajna or ceremony.

Since Kalpas generally presuppose the knowledge of Veda samhitas and Brahmanas, they are often placed after the Vedic time. Unlike Brahmanas, the Kalpasutras are not included in Shrutis and bear the names of human authors. Thus they are Paurusheyas whereas Vedas are Apaurusheya. However, Kalpasutras are not mere summaries of Brahmanas and they both differ in their aim and scope.

Brahmanas explain the significance of various procedural acts in vedic yajnas and to lay down the doctrines. Kalpasutras are chiefly concerned with giving a succinct and systemic account of all the yajnas (not just Vedic) along with the customs and traditions prevalent at the time of their composition. While brahmanas are texts with explanatory rationale, Kalpasutras systematically record the account of yajnas as described the respective shakas of Vedas.

The Kalpasutras are a veritable repository of ancient vedic traditions and amply augment and elucidate the cultural data derived from the Samhitas and Brahmanas. They are the "sutras" that interlink the Vedas and the modern day life.

Etymology

• एष वै प्रथमः कल्पः प्रदाने हव्यकव्ययोः । eṣa vai prathamaḥ kalpaḥ pradāne havyakavyayoḥ । Manusmriti (3.147) defines Kalpa as विधिः । Vidhi to follow in the offering of हव्यकव्याः | havyakavyas (yajna vidhis).

• कल्प्यते विधीयते | kalpyate vidhīyate | (Shabdakalpadruma) defines kalpa as vidhis (for yajnas)

• वैदिकविधानज्ञापकेशास्त्रभेदे स चाश्वलायनापस्तम्बबौधायनकात्यायनादि-सूत्रात्मकः। vaidikavidhānajñāpakeśāstrabhede sa cāśvalāyanāpastambabaudhāyanakātyāyanādi-sūtrātmakaḥ | (Vachaspatyam) Kalpa is defined as the (set of) sutras defining the vaidika vidhanas (vedic rituals) as given by Ashvalayana, Apastamba, Baudhayana, Katyayana among others.

• As given by Vishnumitra, कल्पो वेदविहितानां कर्मणामानुपूर्व्येण कल्पनाशास्त्रम् | kalpo vedavihitānāṃ karmaṇāmānupūrvyeṇa kalpanāśāstram | ie. Kalpa shastra is a guideline for all the actions laid down in Veda (such as yajnas and yagas)   

Sutra Style of Writing

As we see the Vedas and their extensive associated literature needed to be preserved for the coming generations. In order to accomplish the task of preserving the precious mass of cultural traditions in a manageable and recollectable form, the seers of ancient Bharata invented the style of composition of texts characterized by utmost brevity and rigid systematization. A short sentence composed in this peculiar style is called Sutra, i.e., a thread. A diffuse and scattered precepts are succinctly systematized in a compact sentence called sutra, just as the loose fibres are compressed into a terse thread.

Among the different types of Sutras composed during Sutra period the Kalpasutras are by far the most important reflecting the cultural history of that period.

Four classes of Kalpasutras

Kalpa Vedanga deals with four types of Sutragranthas, all closely allied and complementary to each other. They are

श्रौतसूत्राणि || Shrautasutras

गृह्यसूत्राणि || Grhyasutras

धर्मसूत्राणि || Dharmasutras

शुल्बसूत्राणि || Sulbasutras

Some of these four types of texts belonging to the same school were composed by one and the same author in some cases. All the Vedas possess their distinct Kalpasutras, their number being the largest for Yajurveda and the smallest being two for Atharvaveda. The kalpasutras belonging to the Yajurveda are complete (with all the four sutragranthas) whereas those belonging to other Vedas are deficient in one or the other type of Sutras.

श्रौतसूत्राणि || Shrautasutras

They include procedures of great Shrauta yajnas as described in the Brahmanas of particular veda shakas. They also include Paribhasha sutras which imply general rules and their application in the interpretation of the Vedas. They detail the 14 yajnas (major) laid down in the Brahmana and thus Shrautasutras are highly related to Brahmanas. However, not all yajnas discussed in Shrautasutras are found in Brahmanas.

गृह्यसूत्राणि || Grhyasutras

They deal with the rules and regulations pertaining to the social and domestic activities and customs prescribed to a grhasta and his family. They detail the samskaras, 7 kinds of Grhyayajnas, and Panchamahayajnas. These texts have no relationship with the Brahmanas. The mantras that are recited in the performance of samskaras, such as Upanayana, are from the Veda samhitas of that particular shaka. Again just like the Shrautasutras, not all mantras given in the Grhyasutras are traceable to the extant Veda samhitas.

धर्मसूत्राणि || Dharmasutras

They are connected closely with the Grhyasutras in their contents but are elaborate with the laws of social, religious, political and economic life of the people. They deal with Varna, Ashrama and Rajadharmas. They take their concepts from the Vedas, and deal with social customs common to all the Veda shakas. Thus the concept is not confined to followers of one particular shaka whereas the ceremonies or yajnas described therein are undoubtedly inclined to follow the traditions of their own shakas. No Dharmasutra associated with Atharvaveda is available at present, though earlier works like Patanjali's Mahabhashya mentioned their existence. Examples include Baudhayana and Apastamba Dharmasutras.

शुल्बसूत्राणि || Sulbasutras

Associated mainly with Shrautasutras, these sutras deal with measurements and construction of the yajna vedi to conduct shrauta yajnas. They are the earliest available texts of geometry given to the world by the Vedic era. Example: Baudhayana and Apastamba Sulbasutras.

Vedas and Associated Sutra Works

Vedas	Shakas	Shrautasutra	Grhyasutra	Dharmasutra	Shulbasutra
Rigveda	Ashvalayana	Ashvalayana (आश्वलायनः) (Author Rshi Ashvalayana)	Ashvalayana	Vasishta	None available
	Shankhayana	Shankhayana (शाङ्खायनः)	Shankhayana (By Suyajna)
	Kaushitaki	Kaushitaki	Kaushitaki (By Shambhavya)	Vishnu dharmasutra
Shukla Yajurveda	Vajasaneya	Katyayana (कात्यायनः) (Author Rshi Katyayana)	Paraskara	Harita, Shankhalikhita	Katyayana
Krishna Yajurveda	Taittriya	Baudhayana (बौधायनः)(Author Rshi Baudhayana), Apastamba (आपस्तम्बः)(Author Rshi Apastamba), Hiranyakeshi (हिरण्यकेशी), Vaikhanasa, Bharadvaja, Varaha (वाराहः)	Baudhayana, Apastamba, Hiranyakeshi, Bharadvaja	Baudhayana, Apastamba, Hiranyakeshi	Baudhayana, Apastamba, Hiranyakeshi, Vadhula (वाधूलः)
	Maitrayani	Manava (मानवः)	Manava		Manava, Maitreyi (मैत्रेयी)
	Katha		Kathaka (काठक)
Samaveda	Kauthuma	Arsheya (आर्षेयः) (Rshi Mashaka), Latyayana (लाट्यायनः)	Gobhila (गोभिल)		None available
	Ranayana	Drahyayana (द्राह्यायनः)	Khadira (खादिर)
	Jaimini	Jaiminiya (जैमिनीयः)	Jaiminiya, Gautama and Chandogya	Gautama (गौतमः)
Atharvaveda		Vaitana (वैतानः)	Kaushika (कौशिक)	None available	None available

Comparison of the Sutragranthas

Here below are a few distinctions between Shrauta, Grhya and Dharmasutras.

Shrautasutras, Grhyasutras and Dharmasutras- Contrasting Points

	Shrautasutras	Grhyasutras	Dharmasutras
1	They describe major yajnas (Shrauta) extending to days involving extensive procedures.	They deal with simple domestic ceremonies (grhya yajnas) of the daily life.	They do not discuss yajnas but elaborate about the conduct, ethics and justice among other things based on the earlier two sutras
2	They are related to the yajna karmas in the respective veda shakas	They are confined to the customs and conventions of their respective veda shakas and to a certain extent communities	They include broader views of the whole society across veda shakas and communities
3	These pertain to the activities in society, public life of a person	These pertain to the private life and family structure	These sutras codify rules and customs to prevail in the interactions between family and society.
4	Involve three or more fires - tretagni	Involves single grhya fire.	No fires are involved
5	Services of a number of rtviks - upto sixteen for Somayajna, are exclusively required.	They are performed by the grhastha himself, or by his representatives namely his wife, son, student or in some instances a rtvik.	They are not ceremonies as such and involve the moral, social and political spheres of a person or community as a reference
6	Offering of Soma is exclusively restricted to Shrauta yajnas	Grhyayajnas do not involve the usage of Soma rasa or plant.	Soma is not involved in this segment
7	Shrauta yajnas are very rarely performed in the present day.	Grhyayajnas are common in the present days if not widely followed	Dharmasutras are the backbone of the society and preserve the traditional lifestyle
8	Scope is limited to Shrauta karmas.	Scope is broader, including Shrauta and Grhaya karmas.	Scope is extensive inclusive of the global communities

Certain Shrauta and Grhyasutras clearly indicate their composition by a single author without any doubt. They are Shankhayana, Asvalayana, Baudhayana, Bhradvaja, Apastamba, Hiranyakeshi, Manava, Jaimini, Varaha and Varaha; where the authorship of both types of Sutras is ascribed by native tradition to a single teacher whose name is borne by both types of the Sutras. This can be ascertained by the facts such as cross-references to the Shrautasutra and a close agreement of the Sutras on both the vaidika yajnas and grhyayajnas, in language and style observed in them.

Shrauta and Grhyasutras

The grhyasutras, in general, presuppose the knowledge of the Shrautasutras of their respective schools. A good number of Shrautasutras are found repeated in the Grhyasutras belonging to the same veda shaka. A number of important rites such as Agraayaneshti, Madhuparka, Darshapurnamaseshti and Antyesti find description in the Shrautasutras as well as in the Grhyasutras. If a ceremony that has been described by some Shrautasutras happens to be treated of by the Grhyasutras, it cannot be taken for granted that it belongs to the domain of Shrautasutras.

Consider the case of Antyeshti or funeral ceremony that has been treated by both Shrauta and Grhyasutras. It is important to note that the funeral of an Ahitagni (one who had set up tretagni and conducted Shrautayajnas) involves the employment of the three fires, which is not applicable as a common rite for the funeral of each and every person. But the funeral ceremony is common to one and all. Thus it is clear that funeral, a whole, does not belong to the exclusive sphere of Shrauta karmas. The purvapaksha that - since three fires are used in the funeral ceremonies hence it is a Shrautakarma, does not hold good. Further, unlike the Shrauta ceremonies, the funeral of an Ahitagni is performed by the relatives of the deceased and not by a number of rtviks, who play an important role in Shrauta rites. Thus the uttarapaksha holds ground that the inclusion of funeral rites in the subject matter of Grhyasutras is, therefore, entirely compatible with the essential nature of these treatises which deal with domestic rites in general. The Grhyasutras describe the funeral rites for those who had set up tretagni in their life-time and also for those who did not.

Grhyasutras and Dharmasutras

In the whole body of Kalpasutras, as a rule, Dharmasutras follow the Grhyasutras of their respective veda shakas. The Baudhyana, Apastamba, Hiranyakeshi, and Vaikhanasa Grhyasutras have their respective Dharmasutras that follow them. The other Grhyas have no Dharmasutras to follow them. It is debatable whether each Grhya possessed a Dharmasutra belonging to one particular shaka or if Dharmasutras were composed only in a few shakas of the Kalpas.

Undeniably the primary differentiating feature of the Dharmasutras from the Grhyasutras is that they cover a wider range of subjects which are by no means confined to the limits of any particular veda shaka to which the sutras belong to. Moreover, the outlook of the Grhyasutras is limited to the customs and conventions of their respective schools confining themselves principally to the various events of domestic life.

Grhyasutras include the following topics which are elaborate in the Dharmasutras : Domestic fire, Grhyayajnas, yajnas involving cooked food, marriage, pumsavana, jatakarma, upanayana and other samskaras, rules for students, snatakas and anadhyayana, shraddha and offerings, madhuparka. Dharmasutras also contain rules on some of the above topics such as marriage and samskaras, Brahmacharya, snataka etc. While both of them contain similar topics, for example, duties of a Brahmachari are meagerly dealt with in grhyasutras as compared with the corresponding dharmasutra. Some sutras are common to both grhya and dharmasutras. Again the are points of difference between the dharmasutras and Smrtigranthas such as Yajnavalkya smrti and Manusmrti which will be discussed in Smrtis.