Apastambha Grihya Sutras - part I (Prasna I - Khanda I)

Translation of Buhler (1879)

1. Now, therefore, we will declare the acts productive of merit which form part of the customs of daily life, as they have been settled by the agreement (of those who know the law).

2. The authority (for these duties) is the agreement of those who know the law,

3. And (the authorities for the latter are) the Vedas alone.

4. (There are) four castes--Brâhmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sûdras.

5. Amongst these, each preceding (caste) is superior by birth to the one following.

6. (For all these), excepting Sûdras and those who have committed bad actions, (are ordained) the initiation, the study of the Veda, and the kindling of
the sacred fire; and (their) works are productive of rewards (in this world and the next).

7. To serve the other (three) castes (is ordained) for the Sûdra.

8. The higher the caste (which he serves) the greater is the merit.

9. The initiation is the consecration in accordance with the texts of the Veda, of a male who is desirous of (and can make use of) sacred knowledge.

10. A Brâhmana declares that the Gâyatrî is learnt for the sake of all the (three) Vedas.

11. (Coming) out of darkness, he indeed enters darkness, whom a man unlearned in the Vedas, initiates, and (so does he) who, without being learned in the Vedas, (performs the rite of initiation.) That has been declared in a Brâhmana.

12. As performer of this rite of initiation he shall seek to obtain a man in whose family sacred learning is hereditary, who himself possesses it, and who is devout (in following the law).

13. And under him the sacred science must be studied until the end, provided (the teacher) does not fall off from the ordinances of the law.

14. He from whom (the pupil) gathers (âkinoti) (the knowledge of) his religious duties (dharmân) (is called) the Âkârya (teacher).

15. Him he should never offend.

16. For he causes him (the pupil) to be born (a second time) by (imparting to him) sacred learning.

17. This (second) birth is the best.

18. The father and the mother produce the body only.

19. Let him initiate a Brâhmana in spring, a Kshatriya in summer, a Vaisya in autumn, a Brâhmana in the eighth year after conception, a Kshatriya in the eleventh year after conception, (and) a Vaisya in the twelfth after conception.

20. Now (follows the enumeration of the years to be chosen) for the fulfilment of some (particular) wish,

21. (Let him initiate) a person desirous of excellence in sacred learning in his seventh year,

22. A person desirous of long life in his eighth year,

23. A person desirous of manly vigour in his ninth year,

24. A person desirous of food in his tenth year,

25. A person desirous of strength in his eleventh year,

26. A person desirous of cattle in his twelfth year.

27. There is no dereliction (of duty, if the initiation takes place), in the case of a Brâhmana before the completion of the sixteenth year, in the case of a Kshatriya before the completion of the twenty-second year, in the case of a Vaisya before the completion of the twenty-fourth year. (Let him be initiated at such an age) that he may be able to perform the duties, which we shall declare below.

28. If the proper time for the initiation has passed, he shall observe for the space of two months the duties of a student, as observed by those who are studying the three Vedas.

29. After that he may be initiated.

30. After that he shall bathe (daily) for one year.

31. After that he may be instructed.

32. He, whose father and grandfather have not been initiated, (and his two ancestors) are called 'slayers of the Brahman.'

33. Intercourse, eating, and intermarriage with them should be avoided.

34. If they wish it (they may perform the following) expiation;

35. In the same manner as for the first neglect (of the initiation, a penance of) two months (was) prescribed, so (they shall do penance for) one year.

36. Afterwards they may be initiated, and then they must bathe (daily),


-------------------------------------------------------------------

Paraphrase - KVSSNRao

The author (Apastambha) wishes to declare acts of productive merit in daily life according to the laws that are used by people who know Vedas and follow Vedas in this book.

There are four castes--Brâhmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sûdras and amongst these, each preceding (caste) is superior by birth to the one following. For persons of the first three castes, when initiated by gurus, the study of the Veda, and the kindling of the sacred fire; and doing things mentioned in Vedas are productive of rewards in this world and the next. Sudra has to work under persons of above three castes, and the higher the caste (which he serves) the greater is the merit.

People who want to learn Vedas have to be initiated by a person who studied Veda and is presently also studying them and also whose family has a tradition of learning Vedas. The guru or acharya who teaches dharma must not be offended at any time. While father and mother produce the physical body, the teacher helps in development of the mental faculties and thus he is giving a second birth. This second birth is much more valuable than the first.

The brahmana boy is to be initiated into study at the age of eight, kshatriya boy at the age of eleven, and the vysya boy at the age of twelve. Even the periods of season are different for different groups of boys. For Brâhmins it is spring, summer for Kshatriyas, and autumn for Vaisyas. Even among Brahmins, if he person wants to be excellent in studies, he is to be initiated at the age of seven, if some body wants to be of manly vigour, he can be initiated at the age of nine. If somebody has more desire for food, he can start studies at the age of ten.

Brahmins can initiate studies even up to the age of sixteen, a kshatriya can initiate up to the age of twenty two, and a vaisya can initiate up to the age of twenty four. If somebody comes up even after this period, he may be tested for a total period of one year two months for his commitment to learning and then can be initiated.

Somebody whose father and grandfather have not studied Vedas needs a greater period of preparation for commencing regular study. The interaction of scholars with children of uneducated parents is discouraged.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Thought by NRao

I am also reading these sutras for the first time. I studied Sociology for my IAS attempt in 1984. There is a concept of Functionalist perspective in Sociology. Every practice and every rule has a function at least when it was initiated and accepted by substantial number in a group. But I am sure over a period of time some of these rule can become dysfunctional and there has to be mechanism in the society to identify and remove these rules. Social deviance, another concept Sociology talks about people, who disregard the current rules of the society and do things independently. Probably these are the first people to challenge a rule may be after a lot of thinking, and these people provide an opportunity to scientists to verify whether the old rule is still functional or new rule is functional. At this stage, we can only keep giving our opinions. I shall slowly find out the sociological research studies on various rules and bring them out through this site.

----------------------------------------------------------

Comments

Please post your comments freely. If you want you can send your comments to kvssnraos@gmail.com. I shall post them in the appropriate place in this site.

For Part 2

http://grihyasutras.blogspot.com/2007/08/apastambha-grihya-sutras-part-2-prasna.html