History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c47.16

v3.c47.16

The Śrauta-sūtras contain a very detailed, meticulously accurate and vivid description of the several sacrifices that were performed in ancient times. These works were manuals compiled for the practical purpose of giving directions to those who engaged in such sacrifices. They are based on ancient Brāhmaṇa texts, which they quote at every step, many individual sūtras being couched in the very language of the Brāhmaṇas, and on actual practice and only bring together what was in vogue. The object of the following pages is not to present a thorough and detailed treatment of Vedic sacrifices, but only to indicate what the cult of the Vedic sacrifice was like and to furnish a brief description of some prominent sacrifices. The treatment is mainly based on the Śrautasūtras of Āśv., Āp., Kāt., Baud., Satyāṣāḍha with occasional references to the Saṁhitās and Brāhmaṇas. The several divergences among the sūtras, the paddhatis and modern practice are not generally dwelt upon for the sake of saving space. One very useful work is a compilation called 'Śrautapadārthanirvacana,' by Nageshwar Shastri published in the Benares Sanskrit series, though one of its drawbacks is that it gives no references to any texts. The Mīmāṁsā-vidyālaya at Poona has prepared sets of all the utensils required in sacrifices and has published an album containing pictures of utensils and maps of various altars required in Vedic sacrifices. The Cāturmāsyas, the Paśubandha, the Jyotiṣṭoma have been described in some detail, the darśapūrṇamāsa has been dealt with *in extenso*, and other sacrifices have been only briefly touched upon in this work.