History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.95

v6.c81.95

Coming to the Śrautasūtras,⁵¹ the two principal meanings of vrata mentioned above often figure in them For example, the Āp. Śr S IV 2 5-7, IV. 16 11, V 7 6 and 16, V 8. 1, V. 25. 2-20, IX 3 15, XI 1. 7 and IX. 18 9, Āśv Śr S II 2 7, III. 13. 1-2, Śān Śr. S II 3 26 may be referred to for the first meaning and Āp Śr S X 12 4, X. 17 6, XI 15 3 and 6 for the second (viz. food or milk &c) The Gṛhyasūtras and Dharmasūtras also present the same meaning of vrata For sample, the Āsv. Gr III. 10 5-7 states· these are the vratas for him, viz he should not bathe at night, nor bathe naked, nor run while it is raining &c.; the Pār. Gr. II 8 says that the *snātaka* has to follow for three days after *samāvartana* certain observances such as not eating flesh, not using earthen vessels for drinking water, not seeing women, śūdras, corpses and crows, not speaking with śūdras, not urinating nor voiding ordure nor spitting in front of the sun, or he should simply speak the truth (instead of observing the other requirements of this passage). Gautama (VIII. 15), Śāṅkhāyana-gṛhya (II 11–12), Gobhila-gṛhya (III 1. 26–31) and others mention certain *vratas* (now obsolete) which every Vedic student was to undergo. Vide H. of Dh. vol II pp 370–373 for descriptions of these. The Āp Dh. S. II 1. 1. 1 ff' specifies⁵² the observances to be followed by the husband and wife from the day of their marriage such as eating only twice in the day, not eating to satiety, fasting on *parvan* days Similarly, the Āp. Dh S. (I. 11. 30 6, I 11 31) sets out the observances for *snātakas* (atha snātaka-vratāni) Pāṇini has a special sūtra ‘vrate’ (III. 2. 80) for explaining the formation of words from *vrata* with the affix *in* (nini) preceded by a substantive such as ‘sthaṇḍilaśāyin’ and ‘aśrāddha-bhojī’ (one who has taken the vow of not partaking of śrāddha food) Pāṇini (III. 1. 21)⁵³ also teaches the formation of a denominative verb from *vrata* in the sense of ‘doing’ (*vratayati vratam karoti*). It is the Kāśikā that adds a *vārtika* (absent in the Mahābhāṣya) that the verb so derived expresses both the eating of food and the eschewing of it.