The rituals constituting the Brahmanas received systematic treatment in what are called Kalpa-Sutras. These are exegetical texts of the Vedas. The need for them arose because short manuals were required by the priests as an aid for their daily performance.
Among these texts, those that deal with Vedic sacrifices are called Srauta-Sutras and those that deal with domestic rituals are called Grihya-Sutras which, though not valuable as pieces of literature, are yet valuable as "Folk-lore" journals of ancient India. They portray an accurate picture of the social lie, popular customs and usage of ancient India.
Some important Grihya Sutras are listed below:
1.Apastamba 2. Aswalayana 3.Baudhayana 4.Bharadwaja 5.Gobhila 6.Hiranyakesia 7. Jaimineeya 8.Khadira 9.Manava 10.Paraskara 11.Sankhayana 12.Varaha Grihya Sutras.
There is another class of texts called Dharma Sutras that are an extension of the Grihya Sutras. These texts deal mainly with secular and religious laws relating to the Ashramas.
These are again supplemented by what are called Parisishtas or addenda. The Commentaries of which 25 are known; Prayogas, of which 24 are known.
There are also a dozen Karikas or specialised treatises on individual Samskaras.
In addition to these are Apta-vakyas or the words of the saints and the wise who observe and follow Sanatan Dharma (Vedic religion).They have the sanctity of Smritis in cases of doubt.
According to me Grihya sutras are very important and they are to be reformulated as per the requirements of the modern day life and they must be propagated among people through the discourses at the temples and religious gatherings like Ganesh puja, Durga puja etc.
I started the blog www.grihyasutras.blogspot.com to do my bit to bring them to the notice of more people.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment