The Grihya Sutras, Part I

9781465579263

262 pages

Library of Alexandria

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Overview

THE Grihya-sutra ascribed to ;khyana, which has been edited and translated into German by myself in the XVth volume of the Indische Studien, is based on the first of the four Vedas, the Rig-veda in the Bshkala recension1, and among the Brhmana texts, on the Kaushitaka. Its reputed author, whom we ordinarily find called by his family name, ;khyana, had the proper name Suyagntilde;a. This we may infer from the lists of Vedic teachers given in different Grihya texts where they describe the Tarpana ceremony. Though in these lists the order of names varies very much, yet the two names Suyagntilde;a and ;khyana are constantly placed side by side, so that this fact alone would render it probable that they belonged to the same person. Thus we read in the ;khyana-Grihya IV, 10 = VI, 1: Kaholam Kaushitakim, Mahkaushitakim, Suyagntilde;am;khyanam, svalyanam, Aitareyam, Mahaitareyam. Here we have grouped together the two Brhmana authors (with the fictitious doubles, the great Kaushitaki, the great Aitareya) and the two corresponding Sutra authors belonging to the two chief branches of the Rig-veda literature; first comes one Brhmana author (for Kahola Kaushitaki is one person) with the Sutra author connected with him, then the second Sutra author and the corresponding Brhmana teacher.