A History of Sanskrit Literature c12.4

c12.4

To the *Rigveda* belong the Çrauta manuals of two Sūtra schools (*charaṇas*), the Çānkhāyanas and the Āçvalāyanas, the former of whom were in later times settled in Northern Gujarat, the latter in the South between the Godāvarī and the Kṛishṇā. The ritual is described in much the same order by both, but the account of the great royal sacrifices is much more detailed in the *Çānkhāyana Çrauta Sūtra*. The latter, which is closely connected with the *Çānkhāyana Brāhmaṇa*, seems to be the older of the two, on the ground both of its matter and of its style, which in many parts resembles that of the Brāhmaṇas. It consists of eighteen books, the last two of which were added later, and correspond to the first two books of the *Kaushītaki Āraṇyaka*. The Çrauta Sūtra of Āçvalāyana, which consists of twelve books, is related to the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*. Āçvalāyana is also known as the author of the fourth book of the *Aitareya Āraṇyaka*, and was according to tradition the pupil of Çaunaka.