rudram in hiranyakesin zrautasUtra

[Arlo Griffiths]

I assume your priest meant by 'rudram' what is also known as the
;Satarudriya-litany. On this litany, see the brief note (p. 329) in Gonda's
"Vedic Literature: Samhitas and Brahmanas", but especially the article which
Gonda devoted to the litany, pp. 75-91 of "Sanskrit and Indian Studies,
Essays in Honor of D.H.H. Ingalls" (Dordrecht 1980) [= J. Gonda, Selected
Studies, Vol. VI, part 1, 526ff.].

> 1) A vedic priest of the taittirIya saMhitA from Maharashtra has told me
> that the rudram he recites is not only in the taittirIya saMhitA but is also
> quoted in the satyASADha hiraNyakezin zrautasUtra.  Can someone give me the
> exact reference of where in the hiraNyakezin zrautasUtra the Rudram is
> quoted?

Your priest seems to have been entirely on the mark. In Gonda's article, p.
77, I read: "The whole text or the first and last sections of it occur at
H[ira.nyake;si]G[.rhya]S[uutra] 2,8,11 in a description of the spit-ox
sacrifice...". Now, the HirGS is actually just part of the entire
Satyaa.saa.dhasuutra (see Kashikar, "A Survey of the ;Srautasuutras"
[Journal of the Univ. of Bombay, XXXV/2, 1966] pp. 60-61) so the reference
to the *;srauta*-suutra is not really wrong.


> 2) Is the Rudram quoted there in its entirety, or only with the commencing
> words of the verses?  M. Winternitz in "History of Indian Literature" vol.
> 1, page 276 says for the zrautasUtras of the Black Yajur Veda. "...the
> zrauta and gRhyasUtras of the Black Yajurveda, give the prayers in the form
> which they assume in the saMhitAs of the Black Yajurveda; and they give only
> the first words of the verses or Yajus-formulas...".

More up to date is Gonda, "The Ritual Suutras" (1977), pp. 502ff. Kirste's
edition of HirGS does NOT give the litany in full, but it may be different
in the Poona Anandasrama edition of the entire Suutra, which I unfortunately
don't have  at hand. The place in question should be in chapter XX of the
entire Suutra.


> 3) Is the Rudram quoted in any of the other zrautasUtras of the Yajur Veda
> (black or white)?  If so can someone give me the references?

Yes, see Gonda's article in the Ingalls Festschrift.


> 4) Do the different zrautasUtras of the taittirIya saMhitA, the apastamba,
> baudhAyana, bhAradvAja, and hiraNyakezin each define a different sub-school
> with minor or major differences in the performance of vedic ritual or is it
> the case that a vedic priest of the taittirIya saMhita who was familiar with
> the hiraNyakezin zrautasUtras would also be familiar with other zrautasUtras
> of the taittirIya saMhitA for the performance of his priestly duties?

Yes, they do. Some information may be had from the works quoted above. In
addition, you might consult the extensive intro. to Kashikar's Bharadvaaja
;Srauta/ Pait.rmedhika/Pari;se.sa-suutra edition.
    Perhaps some information on the cooperation of priests of various
subschools can also be found in Staal's "Agni", but I am not sure about
that. It is not my impression that a vaikika would normally learn the
suutras of more than one subschool, as this would be entirely redundant. On
learning the mantra-texts of various basic schools, see D. Knipe, "Becoming
a Veda in the Godavari Delta" (Festschrift Staal).
    For specific questions regarding the texts of the
Satyaa.saa.dha-subschool, you should consult Prof. Shingo Einoo
<seino at ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp>.

Hope this helps,

-- Arlo Griffiths

CNWS / Instituut Kern
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