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30-423: The Apastamba Dharmasutra is part of Apastamba Kalpasutra collection, along with Apastamba Shrautasutra and Apastamba Grihyasutra . One of the best preserved ancient texts on Dharma, it is also notable for mentioning and citing views of ten ancient experts on Dharma, which has led scholars to conclude that there existed a rich genre of Dharmasutras text in ancient India before this text was composed. Duties of

60-562: A guru, ascetics, sudras who work as personal servants, people who are blind, dumb, deaf and sick, anyone excluded from acquiring property. — Apastamba Dharmasutras 2.26.10-17 The Āpastamba Dharmasutra is notable for placing the importance of the Veda scriptures second and that of samayacarika or mutually agreed and accepted customs of practice first. Āpastamba proposes that scriptures alone cannot be source of Law (dharma), and dharma has an empirical nature. Āpastamba asserts that it

90-403: A practice of "northerners" but it in unclear what "north" means in the context it is used. Further, the ancient grammarian Panini refers to it too, and he is generally placed in northwest Indian subcontinent. Olivelle states that the three Taittiriya school Dharmasutras mention practices of north and south, but never clarify how far north or south they are referring to, but placing Dharmasutras in

120-564: A small number of recensions have survived. Saraswati Gangadhar 's devotional poetry written in Marathi called Shri Gurucharitra describes different shakhas of 4 Vedas in 27th chapter. The schools are enumerated below, categorised according to the Veda each expounds. Śaunaka 's Caraṇa-vyuha lists five shakhas for the Rig Veda, the Śākala , Bāṣkala , Aśvalāyana , Śaṅkhāyana , and Māṇḍukāyana of which only

150-460: A southerner from Andhra, Āpastamba was familiar with southern customs, including matriliny. He gave importance to the 'married pair' (ĀDS 2.1.7-10) who performed Vedic rites together for the prosperity of the family." Āpastamba used a hermeneutic strategy to assert that the Vedas once contained all knowledge including that of ideal Dharma, but parts of Vedas have been lost. Human customs developed from

180-519: A specific school is an important aspect of class identity. By the end of the Rig Vedic period the term Brāhmaṇa had come to be applied to all members of the priestly class, but there were subdivisions within this order based both on varna (class) and on the shakha (branch) with which they were affiliated. A Brāhmaṇa who changed school would be called "a traitor to his śākhā " ( śākhāraṇḍaḥ ). The traditional source of information on

210-488: A teacher Next the teacher's conduct towards his pupil. Loving him like a son and totally devoted to him, the teacher should impart knowledge to him, without holding anything back, with respect to any of the Laws. Except in emergency, moreover, he should not employ a pupil, for purposes to the detriment of the pupil's studies. — Apastamba Dharmasutras 1.8.23-25 Translator: Patrick Olivelle The Dharmasutra

240-570: Is attributed to Apastamba, the founder of a Shakha (Vedic school) of Yajurveda . According to the Hindu tradition, Apastamba was the student of Baudhayana, and himself had a student named Hiranyakesin. Each of the three founded a Vedic school, and each of their schools produced a collection of literature within the Krishna Yajurveda tradition, one that included separate Kalpasutra compilations. They were founders of their traditions, but it

270-496: Is correct up to five decimal places. Apastamba in his Sulbasutras provide approximate value of square root of 2 as follows: Several ancient commentaries ( bhasya ) were written on this Dharmasūtra, but only one by Haradatta named ' Ujjvalā ' has survived into the modern era. Haradatta, possibly from South India and one who lived in 12th- or 13th-century commented on the praśnas of Āpastamba Gṛhyasūtra as well as Gautama's Dharmasūtra. Haradatta's commentary on Apastamba Dharmasutra

300-516: Is difficult to find absolute sources of law, in ancient books or current people, according to Patrick Olivelle , with "The Righteous (dharma) and the Unrighteous (adharma) do not go around saying, 'here we are!'; Nor do gods, Gandharvas or ancestors declare, 'This is righteous and that is unrighteous'." Most laws are based on agreement between the Aryas, states Āpastamba, on what is right and what

330-455: Is in sutra format, and part of thirty prashnas (प्रश्न, portions, issue, questions) of Apastamba Kalpasutra. The Apastamba Dharmasutra is the 28th and 29th prashna of this compilation, while the first 24 prashnas are about Shrautasutras (vedic rituals), 25th is an ancillary mantra section, 26th and 27th are Grihyasutras (householder rites of passage), and the last or the 30th prashna is a Shulbasutra (mathematics for altar building). The text

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360-527: Is systematically arranged, cross references to other sections of the Kalpasutra compilation so extensively and accurately, as if it is the work of a single author. Of the two books of this Dharmasūtra, the first is devoted to the student tradition and the second book is devoted to the householder tradition. Who doesn't pay taxes? The following are exempt from taxes: vedic scholars, women of all classes, pre-pubescent boys, all students studying with

390-605: Is the only shakha of the Atharvaveda for which both printed texts and an active oral tradition are known to still exist. For the Atharvaveda, both the Shaunakiya and the Paippalada traditions contain textual corruptions, and the original text of the Atharvaveda may only be approximated from comparison between the two. The Paippalada tradition was discontinued, and its text is known only from manuscripts collected since

420-540: Is unclear if they authored the Dharmasutras. It is, states Patrick Olivelle, possible that the Apastamba Dharmasutra is ascribed to Apastamba, but actually composed by others in his school. The Apastamba tradition may be from south India, possibly near where modern Andhra Pradesh is between Godavari and Krishna rivers, but this is not certain. The verse 2.17.17 of the Apastamba Dharmasutra mentions

450-538: Is wrong. Laws must also change with ages, states Āpastamba, a theory that became known as Yuga dharma in Hindu traditions. Āpastamba also asserts in verses 2.29.11-15 a broad minded and liberal view, states Olivelle, that "aspects of dharma not taught in Dharmasastras can be learned from women and people of all classes". The Apastamba Dharmasutra also recognizes property rights of women, and her ability to inherit wealth from her parents. Sita Anantha Raman notes, "As

480-1004: The Śākala and Bāṣkala and very few of Asvalayana are now extant. The Bashkala recension of the Rigveda has the Khilani which are not present in the Shakala text but is preserved in one Kashmir manuscript (now at Pune). The Shakala has the Aitareya-Brahmana , The Bashkala has the Kausitaki-Brahmana . Shri Gurucharitra mentions 12 shakhas for the Rig Veda namely śrāvakā, śravaṇiyā, jaṭā, śaphaṭa, pāṭhakrama(2), daṇḍa, aśvalāyanī, śāṃkhāyanī, śākalā, bāṣkalā and māṇḍūkā (श्रावका, श्रवणिया, जटा, शफट, पाठक्रम(2), दण्ड, अश्वलायनी, शांखायनी, शाकला, बाष्कला, माण्डूका) in Ovi 35 to 38. There is, however, Sutra literature from

510-665: The Aśvalāyana shakha, both a shrauta sutra and a grhya sutra, both surviving with a commentary ( vrtti ) by Gargya Naranaya. Gargya Naranaya's commentary was based on the longer commentary or bhashya by Devasvamin , written in the 11th century. The Śaṅkhāyana shakha has been recently rediscovered in Banswada in Rajasthan where two septuagenarians are the last surviving practitioners. Śaunaka 's Caraṇa-vyuha lists forty-two or forty-four out of eighty-six shakhas for

540-589: The 20th century. However some Orissa Brahmins still continue the tradition of Paippalada. No Brahmana is known for the Shaunaka shakha. The Paippalada is possibly associated with the Gopatha Brahmana . Patrick Olivelle Patrick Olivelle is an Indologist . A philologist and scholar of Sanskrit Literature whose work has focused on asceticism , renunciation and the dharma , Olivelle has been Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions in

570-641: The Department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin since 1991. Olivelle was born in Sri Lanka . He received a B.A. (Honours) in 1972 from the University of Oxford , where he studied Sanskrit , Pali and Indian religions with Thomas Burrow and R.C. Zaehner . He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1974 for a thesis containing the critical edition and translation of Yadava Prakasa's Yatidharmaprakasa under

600-1034: The Mantras. Śaunaka 's Caraṇa-vyuha lists twelve shakhas for the Sama Veda out of a thousand that are said to have once existed, but that of these only one or perhaps two are still extant. The two Samaveda recensions are the Jaiminiya and Kauthuma. In Ovi 203 to 210 of chapter 27, Shri Gurucharitra mentions 8 of the thousands of shakhas namely āsurāyaṇīyā, vāsurāyaṇīya़ā, vātāntareyā, prāṃjalī, ṛjñagvainavidhā, prācīna yogyaśākhā, jñānayoga and rāṇāyaṇīyā (आसुरायणीया, वासुरायणीय़ा, वातान्तरेया, प्रांजली, ऋज्ञग्वैनविधा, प्राचीन योग्यशाखा, ज्ञानयोग, राणायणीया). Of these rāṇāyaṇīyā (राणायणीया) has 10 shakhas namely rāṇāyaṇīyā, sāṃkhyāyanī, śāṭhyā, mugdala, khalvalā, mahākhalvalā, lāṅ‌galā, kaithumā, gautamā and jaiminī (राणायणीया, सांख्यायनी, शाठ्या, मुग्दल, खल्वला, महाखल्वला, लाङ्‌गला, कैथुमा, गौतमा, जैमिनी). The Kauthuma shakha has

630-703: The PB, SadvB, the Jaiminiya shakha has the Jaiminiya Brahmana . Only one shakha of an original nine is now extant for the Atharvaveda. The nine sakhas were Paippalada, Tauda, Mauda, Shaunakiya, Jajala, Jalada, Brahmavada, Devadarsa and Chaarana-Vaidya. In Ovi 217 to 219 of chapter 27, Shri Gurucharitra mentions 9 shakhas namely paippalā, dāntā, pradāṃta, stotā, autā, brahmadā yaśadā, śaunakī, vedadarśā and caraṇavidyā (पैप्पला, दान्ता, प्रदांत, स्तोता, औता, ब्रह्मदा यशदा, शौनकी, वेददर्शा, चरणविद्या). The Shaunaka

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660-618: The Yajur Veda, but that only five of these are now extant, with a sixth partially extant. For the Yajur Veda the five (partially in six) shakhas are the (Vajasaneyi Madhandina, Kanva; Taittiriya , Maitrayani, Caraka-Katha, Kapisthala-Katha). The Yajurvedin shakhas are divided in Shukla (White) and Krishna (Black) schools. The White recensions have separate Brahmanas, while the Black ones have their(much earlier) Brahmanas interspersed between

690-580: The colonial British India. Kane estimated that Apastamba Dharmasutra dates from approximately 600-300 BCE, and later more narrowly to between 450 and 350 BCE. Lingat states that the internal evidence within the text hints of great antiquity, because unlike later Dharma texts, it makes no mention of Buddhism. Other scholars, such as Hopkins, assert that all this can be explained to be an artifact of its relatively remote geographical origins in Andhra region. Olivelle, and several other scholars, in contrast, state that

720-463: The first version of Apastamba Dharmasutra may have been composed after others, but the extant version of the Apastamba text is the oldest Dharma text from ancient India. Regardless of the relative chronology, the ancient Apastamba Dharmasutra, states Olivelle, shows clear signs of a maturing legal procedure tradition and that there were Dharma texts in ancient India before it was composed. The text

750-513: The original complete Vedas, but given the lost text, one must use customs between good people as a source to infer what the original Vedas might have stated the Dharma to be. This theory, called the ‘lost Veda’ theory, made the study of customs of good people as a source of dharma and guide to proper living, states Olivelle. Apastamba has given a strikingly accurate value for 2 {\displaystyle {\sqrt {2}}} in his which

780-560: The sect or collection of persons united in one school, and śākhā to the traditional text followed, as in the phrase śākhām adhite , ( "he recites a particular version of the Veda" )". The schools have different points of view, described as "difference of (Vedic) school" ( śākhābhedaḥ ). Each school would learn a specific Vedic Saṃhita (one of the "four Vedas " properly so-called), as well as its associated Brahmana , Aranyakas , Shrautasutras , Grhyasutras and Upanishads . In traditional Hindu society affiliation with

810-467: The shakhas of each Veda is the Caraṇa-vyūha , of which two, mostly similar, versions exist: the 49th pariśiṣṭa of the Atharvaveda, ascribed to Shaunaka , and the 5th pariśiṣṭa of the Śukla (White) Yajurveda, ascribed to Kātyāyana . These have lists of the numbers of recensions that were believed to have once existed as well as those still extant at the time the works were compiled. Only

840-703: The southern Indian peninsula implies that Brahmanical ideas had established themselves or emerged in the south by the 1st millennium BCE. According to Olivelle, the Yajurveda schools may have been in what is north India today, and the Apastamba Dharmasutra may have been composed in north India, rather than south. In contrast, Robert Lingat states that epigraphical evidence such as the Pallava inscriptions confirm that Apastamba tradition existed in South India, in ancient times, in parts of what became Madras Presidency in

870-528: The traditional texts followed by such a school. An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a śākhin . The term is also used in Hindu philosophy to refer to an adherent of a particular orthodox system . A related term caraṇa , ("conduct of life" or "behavior") is also used to refer to such a Vedic school: "although the words caraṇa and śākhā are sometimes used synonymously, yet caraṇa properly applies to

900-512: Was criticized by Boehtlingk in 1885 for lacking "European critical attitude", a view that modern scholars such as Patrick Olivelle have called unjustified and erroneous because Haradatta was a very careful commentator, far more than Boehtlingk and many other 19th-century Orientalists were. Shakha A shakha ( Sanskrit śākhā , "branch" or "limb") is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else

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