Shrautasutras (श्रौतसूत्राणि)
Shrautasutras (Samskrit: श्रौतसूत्राणि), as the name suggest, refers to the texts which have been derived from the Shruti or the Vedas. The Shrauta sutras contain a very detailed, meticulously accurate and vivid description of the several yajnas that were performed in ancient times. These works were manuals compiled for the practical purpose of giving directions to those who engaged in such yajnas. They are based on ancient Brahmana texts, which they quote at every step, many individual sutras being couched in the very language of the Brahmana texts.[1]
परिचयः ॥ Introduction
The Shrauta rituals cover a whole gamut of rituals from the simplest to the most complicated. Most of them are no more practiced, but their study is useful for historical reasons. According to Prof. Radhakrishna Bhat,
"Most of the ‘Haviryajnas’, ‘Agnihotra’, ‘Darsapurnamasa’ and ‘Caturmasya’ yajnas, the basic ‘Somayajnas’, ‘Agnistomas’ and its varieties, and some culturally and historically important yajnas like ‘Vajapeya’, “Asvamedha’, ‘Sarvamedha’ etc are found in ‘Yajurveda’ (Adhvaryuveda). Later in ‘Puranas’ the references to Vedic rituals and practices are found. In classical Sanskrit literature some references to Vedic rituals and practices are mentioned. This shows that the Vedic ritual tradition is continued to modern period too without any interruption". [2]
The procedures for Shrauta karmas are compiled in Shrauta Sutras as given in the Kalpa Vedanga. Some of the Shrauta Sutras associated with particular vedas are as follows[3]
| Vedas | Srautasutras |
|---|---|
| Rig Veda | Asvalayana, Sankhyayana |
| Krishna Yajurveda : Taittriya | Baudhayana, Bharadvaja, Apastamba, Hiranyakeshi, Vaikhanasa, Vadula, Kathaka |
| Krishna Yajurveda : Maitrayani | Manava and Varaha |
| Shukla Yajurveda | Katyanana |
| Samaveda | Arsheyakalpa, Kshudrasutra, Jaiminiya, Latyayana and Drahyayana |
| Atharvaveda | Vaitana |
Besides these above mentioned Srautasutras, there are many others but their texts are not available at present.
References
- ↑ Kane, Pandurang Vaman. (1941) History of Dharmasastra (Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Law) Volume 2, Part 2. Poona : Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
- ↑ Radhakrishna Bhat, N. Vedic Ritual Tradition of Karnataka, Vedic Heritage Portal.
- ↑ Purkayastha, Dipanjona (2014) Ph. D Thesis from Assam University : A Study of the Asvalayana srauta sutra with reference to the principal sacrifices