Apastamba-Srauta-Sutra: Sanskrit Text with English Translation and Notes (Two Volumes)

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Apastambasrautasutra is an important work belonging to the Kalpa category of the Vedanga texts. The Vedic ritual is mainly of two types: Srauta and Grhya. The Srautasutras and Gryasutras describe these types of the rituals respectively. There are numerous Srautasutras and they belong to a particular Veda. Thus the Apastambasrutasutra belongs to the Taittiriya-Branch of the Black Yajurveda. The Srauta-ritual requires establishment of three sacred fires on the paart of the performer who must be a married man and already performing the Grhya (domestic) ritual. The Srautasutras describe the rituals like Agnihotra, New and Full moon sacrifices, Nirudhapasubandha, Agnistoma, Vajapeya, Asvamedha and so on. Apastambasrauta-sutra describes these and many other numerous vedic sacrifices. It is a very systematic and disciplined work and deserves to be studied as a model of the Srautasutras. There was no English translation available of this text. In the present work an attempt is made to meet with this requirement.

About the Author

Prof. G.U. Thite retired as the Professor and Head of the Department of Sanskrit and Prakrit languages, University of Pune. Now he is working as the Curator, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune. His publications: Sacrifice in the Brahmana-text, Pune, 1975; Yajna asaya ani aviskara (ed.) Pune, 1979, Medicine its magicoreligious aspects according to Vedic and later literature, Pune, 1981, Music in the Veda: its magicoreligious significances, Delhi, 1996, Yajna Kal, aj ani Udya, Pune, 2000. Several papers in English, Marathi, and Sanskrit published in Indian and Foreign Journals. Knowledge of German and French. He never followed the way of thinking of Indian Scholars. Some of his thought provoking theses are following: 1. Neither in ancient days nor in modern days Sanskrit Scholars (including Mimamsssakas) know about Veda in general and the Vedic ritual in particular. 2. Sanskrit was not and cannot be a popular language. Whatever is now attempted to popularize is "Ghost-Sanskrit". 3. Science and Technology were ascribed to Sudras by the Sanskrit Scholars and were neglected upto the first half of the 20th century. Brahmans studied Veda (by heart), Grammar and Philosophy. 4. There was no ecological awareness in Sanskrit literature. There is no word for "nature" in Sanskrit. 5. Sanskrit and Veda should be studied from the point of view of "history" and "philology" and not anachronistically from the point of view of "Relevance mania" and psuedo-science.