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Dharmasutra Parallels: Containing the Dharmasutras of Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhayana and Vasistha

The Dharmasutra Parallels provide a synoptic presentation of the passages that may be found in the four Dharmasutras of Apastamba. The teachings of Gautama, Baudhayana, and Vasistha all focus on the same concepts. The Dharmasutras are the earliest complete legal code from ancient India that has survived to the current day. An in-depth examination of these early legal treatises is required if we are to have any hope of comprehending not only the legal history of the three or four centuries prior to the common era, but also the cultural and religious history of that time period. This was the time when many of the characteristics that are typically associated with Indian civilization began to take shape during that era.

Author

Patrick Olivelle

Shukla-Yajurved-Samhita

The Yajurveda Samhita, also known as the prayer book of the Adhvaryu priest, is said to have had as many as 101 recensions during the time of the grammarian Patanjali. However, only five of these recensions have survived and are available at this time. These recensions are known as Kathaka, Kapisthala, Maitrayani, Taittiriya, and Vajasaneyi. The first four of these recensions belong to what is designated as the The Vajasaneyi Samhita, which gets its name from Yajnavalkya Vajasaneya, the principal instructor of this Veda, has been passed down in two forms that are somewhat different from one another. These versions are known as the Kanva Samhita and the Madhyandina Samhita. The primary distinction between the texts of the ‘Black’ and ‘White’ Yajurveda is that the latter only includes the Mantras, which are the prayers and sacrificial formulae that the priest is required to recite, whereas the former includes, in addition, a presentation of the sacrificial rites that are associated with them as well as the Brahmana, which is a theological discussion on the same topic. This is the most important distinction between the two types

About the Author(s)

Pandit Jagdishlal Shastri

Atharva-Veda-Samhita

‘the Atharvan Veda’ or ‘the Magic Formula Knowledge.’ For ethnologists and religious historians alike, the Atharva-veda Samhita holds great significance because it is a treasure trove of information about ancient Indian popular beliefs, such as the belief in countless spirits, imps, ghosts, and demonic entities of all shapes and sizes, as well as the practise of witchcraft. There are critical notes on the text and readings of Paippalada of Kashmere version provided by the late Professor Rothfurter, as well as notices of similar passages in all other Vedic texts and data from Hindu scholars regarding authorship, divinity, and metre for each verse, as well as references to anciallary literat. This work includes all these things.

About the Author(s)