sūtras

''Sutra'' ()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 derivation from Vedic or Sanskrit ''sūkta'' (well spoken), rather than from ''sūtra'' (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 Müller (1859)
History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature
London: Williams and Norgate, 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, Shulba Sutras, Srauta Sutras, Dharma Sutras, Grhya Sutras, and Smarta traditions . 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 – an ancient text of Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy composed by Akṣapada Gautama, sometime between the 6th century BCE and 2nd century CE.Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, , page 129 It is notable for focusing on knowledge and logic, and making no mention of Vedic rituals. The text includes 528 aphoristic sutras, about rules of reason, logic, epistemology, and metaphysics. These sutras are divided into five books, with two chapters in each book. The first book is structured as a general introduction and table of contents of sixteen categories of knowledge. Book two is about ''pramana'' (epistemology), book three is about ''prameya'' or the objects of knowledge, and the text discusses the nature of knowledge in remaining books.

* Mimamsa Sutras – the foundational text of the Mimamsa school of Hinduism, authored by Jaimini. It emphasizes the early part of the Vedas, i.e., rituals and religious works, as means to salvation.Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, , pages 67–86 The school emphasized precision in the selection of words, construction of sentences, developed rules for hermeneutics of language and any text, adopted and then refined principles of logic from the Nyaya school, and developed extensive rules for epistemology. An atheistic school that supported external Vedic sacrifices and rituals, its Mimamsa Sutra contains twelve chapters with nearly 2700 ''sutras''.
* Dharma-sutras – of Āpastamba, Gautama, Baudhāyana, and Vāsiṣṭha
* Artha-sutras – the Niti Sutras of Chanakya and Somadeva are treatises on governance, law, economics, and politics. Versions of Chanakya Niti Sutras have been found in Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The more comprehensive work of Chanakya, the Arthashastra is itself composed in many parts, in ''sutra'' style, with the first Sutra of the ancient book acknowledging that it is a compilation of Artha-knowledge from previous scholars.
* Kama Sutra – an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexual and emotional fulfillment in life
* Moksha-sutras
* Shiva Sutras – fourteen verses that organize the phonemes of Sanskrit
* Narada Bhakti Sutra – a venerated Hindu sutra, reportedly spoken by the famous sage Narada
* Shandilya Bhakti Sutra – collection of one hundred bhakti sutras spoken by the Vedic sage Brahmarshi Shandilya. These sutras are also called as ''Shandilya Sutras''.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, a ''sutta'' or ''sutra'' constitutes a segment of the canonical literature. These early Buddhist sutras, unlike Hindu texts, are not aphoristic; rather, they tend to be quite lengthy. The Buddhist term ''sutta'' or ''sutra'' likely derives from Sanskrit ''sūkta'' (''su'' + ''ukta''), meaning "well spoken," reflecting the belief that "all that was spoken by the Lord Buddha was well-spoken".K. R. Norman (1997), ''A philological approach to Buddhism: the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Lectures 1994''. (Buddhist Forum, Vol. v.)London: School of Oriental and African Studies,p. 104 They embody the essence of sermons conveying "well-spoken" wisdom, akin to the Jain sutras.

In Chinese, these are known as 經 (pinyin: ''jīng''). These teachings are organized as part of the Tripiṭaka, specifically referred to as the '' Sutta Pitaka''. Numerous significant or influential Mahayana texts, such as the '' Platform Sutra'' and the '' Lotus Sutra'', are termed sutras despite being attributed to much later authors.

In Theravada Buddhism, suttas constitute the second "basket" (pitaka) of the Pāli Canon. Rewata Dhamma and Bhikkhu Bodhi describe the Sutta Pitaka as:

Jainism

In the Jain tradition, sutras are an important genre of "fixed text", which used to be memorized.

The Kalpa Sūtra is, for example, a Jain text that includes monastic rules, as well as biographies of the Jain Tirthankaras. Many sutras discuss all aspects of ascetic and lay life in Jainism. Various ancient sutras particularly from the early 1st millennium CE, for example, recommend devotional bhakti as an essential Jain practice.

The surviving scriptures of Jaina tradition, such as the Acaranga Sutra ( Agamas), exist in sutra format, as is the Tattvartha Sutra, a Sanskrit text accepted by all four Jainism sects as the most authoritative philosophical text that completely summarizes the foundations of Jainism.

See also

* Ananda Sutram
* Chinese Buddhist canon
* List of suttas
* Shastra
* Sutra copying
* Sutram
* Tibetan Buddhist canon

Notes and references

Further reading

*
* Monier-Williams, Monier. (1899) ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary''. Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass. p. 1241
*

External links

SuttaCentral
Public domain translations in multiple languages of suttas from the Pali Tipitaka and other collections.
Buddhist Scriptures in Multiple Languages
Sacred-texts.com
A Modern sutraIda B. Wells Memorial Sutra Library
(Pali Suttas)
Chinese and English Buddhist SutrasPolity SutraYoga Sutra of Patanjali Translations in Multiple Languages, Yoga Sutra Chanting by Vimal Sharma

{{Authority control

Buddhist literature
Hindu literature

Jain literature
Religion in ancient history