'' (
Devanagari श्रौत) traditions are conservative
ritualistic traditions of
historical Vedic religion in
Hinduism, based on the body of
Śruti literature. They persist in a few places in
India today although constituting a clear minority within Hinduism. ''Śrauta'' is a
vrddhi derivation of ''Śruti'', just like ''
Smarta'' is the vrddhi derivation of ''
Smrti''.
Classification
Presently alive shrauta tradions are:
★
Rig veda: Ashvalayana and Sankhayana
★
Sama veda: Jaiminiya, Kauthuma, Ranayaniya
★
Krishna Yajurveda:Baudhayana, Manava, Bharadvaja, Apastamba and Hiranyakesin
★
Shukla Yajurveda: Katyayana
★
Atharva Veda: Kaushitaki and Vaitana
Practices
The Śrauta
tradition as per the
Vedas lays more emphasis on practice of the
Dharma rather than having a set of
beliefs. This is a distinguishing feature in
Dharmic religions as well as
pagan religions and is unlike the case in
Abrahamic religions. The daily practices of the Śrauta tradition mainly consist of
Yajnas. The
Yajnas are divided into two categories, namely:
nitya-karma and
kaamya karma. ''Nitya-karma'' refers to those
Yajnas that have to be performed daily or as per occasions. ''Kaamya-karma'' refers to those
Yajnas performed with a particular purpose such as getting a child (e.g.
Putrakameshti).
Yajnas
Main articles: Yajna
The
Vedas describe 400
Yajnas[1].
The Vedas give a scheme of Pancha Mahayajnas (Five Great Yajnas, see
Taittiriya Aranyaka 2.10) namely:
★ Devayajna- consists of offering ''ahutis'' to ''devas''
★ Pitruyajna- consists of offering Libations
[2] to ancestors or pitrus
★ Bhutayajna- consists of offering ''bali'' or foodstuffs to all creatures
★ Manushyayajna- consists of feeding guests
★ Brahmayajna- consists of chanting
Vedas, namely
Rigveda,
Yajurveda,
Samaveda but not the
Atharvaveda.
Pantheon
Main articles: Hindu deities,
Rigvedic deities
The pantheon in the Śrauta tradition consist of various
gods and
goddesses, known as
Devas. The associated theology may, however, not be typical of what is associated with the English term 'god'. Interpretations may go more towards identification with psychological or natural forces, an approach sometimes described as
soft polytheism. For instance, the
deva Agni has one aspect as the flame. But this flame symbolises the psychological power associated with Agni namely the power of will. Agni can be called God-will, while similarly
Indra is the God-mind;
Sarasvati is the Power of Inspiration, not merely of learning
[3]. But as stated above, the focus of Shrauta is not on theology but rather on ritual practice.
Since Shrauta focuses on conservative Vedic rituals, the pantheon corresponds to the
Rigvedic deities more to that of mainstream (
Puranic) Hinduism, among the most prominent deities being Agni and Indra,
Soma,
Savitar, and with goddesses such as
Vac or
Sarasvati (c.f.
Chamakam 6):
Oral tradition
Main articles: Guru-shishya tradition
The word Śrauta is derived from the word
Śruti meaning that which is heard. The Śrauta tradition of handing the
Vedas down the generations consisted in solely of
oral tradition from the
Guru (teacher) to the Shishya (student). Vedic scholars have made use of manuscripts in order to teach the
Vedas to their students at least since the Middle Ages, and of printed books since the advent of Western philology in
British India, but the use of writing has always been clearly secondary to the commitment of the texts to memory.
Methods of chanting
Main articles: Patha
The oral tradition of the
Vedas consists of several ways of chanting the
Vedas. Mainly, the students are first taught the
Samhita Paatha. Here, paatha means a way of chanting. The other methods of chanting include:
"vakya", "
pada", "karma", "jata", "mala", "sikha", "rekha", "dhvaja","danda", "ratha", "ghana".
Some Vedic scholars are called "ghanapaathins". It means they have learnt the chanting of the scripture up to the advanced stage called "ghana". "Paathin" means one who has learnt the "paatha". Ghanapaathins chant the ghana by intoning a few words of a mantra in different ways, back and forth. The sonority natural to Vedic chanting is enhanced in ghana. Similarly, in the other methods of chanting like karma, jata, sikha, mala, and so on the intonation is nothing less than stately. ''The chief purpose of such methods is to ensure that even not even a syllable of a mantra is altered to the slightest extent''. The words are braided together, so to speak, and recited back and forth
[4].
Present situation of Śrauta tradition
Today the Śrauta tradition most prominent in Southern India, with communities in
Tamil Nadu,
Kerala,
Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, but also in
Uttar Pradesh,
Maharashtra and other states; the best known of these groups are the
Nambudiri of Kerala, whose traditions were notably documented by
Frits Staal. The
Smarta tradition of
Hinduism is more prevalent in the country. The Smarta and Shrauta traditions are not mutually exclusive; some Smartas continue to practise the Vedic rituals.
The
Aupasana [5]is performed in many houses. However the Śrauta tradition emphasises also on
Agnihotra (whose performer is called
Agnihotri).
Prominent Śrauti scholars and communities
★ The
Nambuduris of
Kerala are the most famous Śrautis in India
[6].
★ The other prominent Śrautis include
smartas in
Mattur,
Sringeri,
Holenarsipur and other places in
Karnataka
★ The village
Sengalipuram in
Tamil Nadu is also famous for producing great Śrauti scholars like
Sengalipuram Anantarama Dikhshitar
★
Warangal and
Guntur in
Andhra Pradesh have produced many Śrauti scholars
★
Dr. Jayanta Kumar Dirghangi is a Śrauti
agnihotri living in
Memphis, Texas in the
United States[7]
Recent Śrauta yaagas
Some recent Śrauta Yaagas that took place are:
★
Atiraatra- in
Kerala[8][9][10]
★
Agnistoma- in
Kerala[11][12]
★
Nakshratreshti- in
Karnataka[13][14]
★
Arunaketuka Yaaga- in
Kalahasti,
Andhra Pradesh
References
★ Essentials of Krishna and Shukla Yajurveda- RL Kashyap; SAKSI, Bangalore, Karnataka
External links
★
Namboothiri Websites Trust Contains a wealth of information on Śrauta tradition
★
Hindu Dharma A comprehensive guide to Hinduism contaiting valuable information on Śrauta tradition also.
Notes
1. Grhasthashrama
2. Libations at answers.com
3. Essentials of Krishna and Shukla Yajurveda- RL Kashyap; SAKSI, Bangalore, Karnataka ISBN 8179940322
4. Methods of Chanting
5. Aupasana
6. Veda at namboothiri.com
7. On a Vedic quest
8. Athiraathram.org
9. Athirathram.org
10. Somayaga2005.com
11. Somayagam.org
12. Somayaagam at namboothiri.com
13. Nakshatreshti Homam
14. Rare Vedic Yaaga
See also
★
Smarta
★
Shrautasutra
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