Sutra Of Immeasurable Meanings

''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo
''sutra''
page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a condensed manual or text. Sutras are a genre of ancient and medieval Indian texts found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

In Hinduism, sutras are a distinct type of literary composition, a compilation of short aphoristic statements.Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, , pages 54–55 Each sutra is any short rule, like a theorem distilled into few words or syllables, around which teachings of ritual, philosophy, grammar, or any field of knowledge can be woven. The oldest sutras of Hinduism are found in the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of the Vedas. Every school of Hindu philosophy, Vedic guides for rites of passage, various fields of arts, law, and social ethics developed respective sutras, which help teach and transmit ideas from one generation to the next.

In Buddhism, sutras, also known as ''suttas'', are canonical scriptures, many of which are regarded as records of the oral teachings of Gautama Buddha. They are not aphoristic, but are quite detailed, sometimes with repetition. This may reflect a philological root of ''sukta'' (well spoken), rather than ''sutra'' (thread).

In Jainism, sutras, also known as ''suyas'', are canonical sermons of Mahavira contained in the Jain Agamas as well as some later (post-canonical) normative texts.

Etymology

The Sanskrit word ''Sūtra'' ( Sanskrit: सूत्र, Pali: ''sutta'', Ardha Magadhi: ''sūya'') means "string, thread".M Winternitz (2010 Reprint), A History of Indian Literature, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 249 The root of the word is ''siv'', "that which sews and holds things together". The word is related to ''sūci'' (Sanskrit: सूचि) meaning "needle, list", and ''sūnā'' (Sanskrit: सूना) meaning "woven".

In the context of literature, ''sūtra'' means a distilled collection of syllables and words, any form or manual of "aphorism, rule, direction" hanging together like threads with which the teachings of ritual, philosophy, grammar, or any field of knowledge can be woven.

A ''sūtra'' is any short rule, states Moriz Winternitz, in Indian literature; it is "a theorem condensed in few words". A collection of ''sūtras'' becomes a text, and this is also called ''sūtra'' (often capitalized in Western literature).

A ''sūtra'' is different from other components such as '' Shlokas'', ''Anuvyakhayas'' and ''Vyakhyas'' found in ancient Indian literature. A ''sūtra'' is a condensed rule which succinctly states the message, while a '' Shloka'' is a verse that conveys the complete message and is structured to certain rules of musical meter, an ''Anuvyakhaya'' is an explanation of the reviewed text, while a ''Vyakhya'' is a comment by the reviewer.Max Muller
History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature
Oxford University Press, page 110–111

History

Sutras first appear in the Brahmana and Aranyaka layer of Vedic literature.M Winternitz (2010 Reprint), A History of Indian Literature, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 251–253 They grow in number in the Vedangas, such as the Shrauta Sutras and Kalpa Sutras. These were designed so that they can be easily communicated from a teacher to student, memorized by the recipient for discussion or self-study or as reference.

A sutra by itself is condensed shorthand, and the threads of syllable are difficult to decipher or understand without associated scholarly Bhasya or deciphering commentary that fills in the " weft".

The oldest manuscripts that have survived into the modern era that contain extensive sutras are part of the Vedas, dated from the late 2nd millennium BCE through to the mid 1st millennium BCE. The Aitareya Aranyaka, for example, states Winternitz, is primarily a collection of ''sutras''. Their use and ancient roots are attested by sutras being mentioned in larger genre of ancient non-Vedic Hindu literature called ''Gatha'', ''Narashansi'', ''Itihasa'', and ''Akhyana'' (songs, legends, epics, and stories).Max Muller
History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature
Oxford University Press, pages 40–45, 71–77

In the history of Indian literature, large compilations of sutras, in diverse fields of knowledge, have been traced to the period from 600 BCE to 200 BCE (mostly after Buddha and Mahavira), and this has been called the "sutras period". This period followed the more ancient ''Chhandas period'', ''Mantra period'' and ''Brahmana period''.

Hinduism

Some of the earliest surviving specimens of ''sutras'' of Hinduism are found in the ''Anupada Sutras'' and ''Nidana Sutras''. The former distills the epistemic debate whether Sruti or Smriti or neither must be considered the more reliable source of knowledge, while the latter distills the rules of musical meters for Samaveda chants and songs.

A larger collection of ancient sutra literature in Hinduism corresponds to the six Vedangas, or six limbs of the Vedas. These are six subjects that said in the Vedas to be necessary for complete mastery of the Vedas. The six subjects with their own ''sutras'' were "pronunciation ( Shiksha), meter ( Chandas), grammar ( Vyakarana), explanation of words ( Nirukta), time keeping through astronomy (Jyotisha), and ceremonial rituals (Kalpa). The first two, states Max Muller, were considered in the Vedic era to be necessary for reading the Veda, the second two for understanding it, and the last two for deploying the Vedic knowledge at yajnas (fire rituals).Max Muller
History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature
Oxford University Press, pages 108–113 The ''sutras'' corresponding to these are embedded inside the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of the Vedas. Taittiriya Aranyaka, for example in Book 7, embeds sutras for accurate pronunciation after the terse phrases "On Letters", "On Accents", "On Quantity", "On Delivery", and "On Euphonic Laws".Max Muller
History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature
Oxford University Press, pages 113–115

The fourth and often the last layer of philosophical, speculative text in the Vedas, the Upanishads, too have embedded sutras such as those found in the Taittiriya Upanishad.

The compendium of ancient Vedic sutra literature that has survived, in full or fragments, includes the Kalpa Sutras, Smarta Sutras, Srauta Sutras, Dharma Sutras, Grhya Sutras, and Sulba Sutras. Other fields for which ancient sutras are known include etymology, phonetics, and grammar.

Post-vedic sutras

Some examples of sutra texts in various schools of Hindu philosophy include
* Brahma Sutras (or Vedanta Sutra) – a Sanskrit text, composed by Badarayana, likely sometime between 200 BCE to 200 CE.NV Isaeva (1992), Shankara and Indian Philosophy, State University of New York Press, , page 35 with footnote 30 The text contains 555 ''sutras'' in four chapters that summarize the philosophical and spiritual ideas in the Upanishads.James Lochtefeld, Brahman, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing, , page 124 It is one of the foundational texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy.
* Yoga Sutras – contains 196 sutras on Yoga including the eight limbs and meditation. The ''Yoga Sutras'' were compiled around 400 CE by Patanjali, taking materials about yoga from older traditions. The text has been highly influential on Indian culture and spiritual traditions, and it is among the most translated ancient Indian text in the medieval era, having been translated into about forty Indian languages.
* Samkhya Sutra – is a collection of major Sanskrit texts of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, including the sutras on dualism of Kapila. It consists of six books with 526 sutras.

* Vaisheshika Sutra – the foundational text of the Vaisheshika school of Hinduism, dated to between the 4th century BCE and 1st century BCE, authored by Kanada. With 370 sutras, it aphoristically teaches non-theistic naturalism, epistemology, and its metaphysics. The first two sutras of the text expand as, "Now an explanation of Dharma; The means to prosperity and salvation is Dharma."Klaus K. Klostermaier (2010), A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition, State University of New York Press, , pages 334–335
* Nyaya Sutras

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