Baudhayana Sulbasutram (With Hindi Commentary Agnika, English Translation, Explanations, Tables and Geometrical Figures)

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About the Book The Baudhayana Sulbasutram by the ancient seer Baudhayana a master piece of Hindu genome of the fire altars, Vedas, Manalapan and fire hearths. It is the 30t chapter of the Baudhayana Srautasutram of the 8th century BC. The present book is an Endeavour to make the readers o ancient antiquity understands concepts of geometry of sacrifice prevalent in the Vedic period. The book is divided into three chapter along with an introduction a four appendices :

Appendix-A-Index to words Appendix-B-Index to Sutra Appendix-C-Units of Measurement and Appendix-D-Technical Terms.

A Hindi commentary Agni and English translation aphorisms have been provide along with the tables and geo-metrical figures so that the students as well as the scholars may understand easily the purport of the author of the Sulbasutra.

About the Authors Dr Dharam Pal Kularia, Professor of Sanskrit (retd.), M.D. University, Rohtak, is an I renowned scholar of Sulba-sutras. He did his Ph.D. on "The Sulbasutras: A Critical Study" from M.D. University, Rohtak in 2005. He is the author of 'The Katyayana Sulbasutra', 'The Maitrayaniya Sulbasutra', and ‘The Baudhayana Sulbasutra'. He has authored many research papers on the Sulbasutras, published in international as well as National Journals.

Anita Hooda is an Assistant Professor of English, Janta Mahavidyalaya, Chandrapura, Maharashtra. She did MA (Eng.) from Kurushetra University, Kurushetra (HR) and PhD from Ch. Charan Singh University (Meerut) She did PG Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication. She has Published several papers in National and Inter-national Journals.

Preface We feel elated to give this book to the readers - students as well as the erudite scholars - and hope that it will be help- full in understanding the geometry of the ritual enclosures.

The Vedas played a pivotal role in mauling the Indian culture. The Yajurveda proved to be a fountain head of the Vedic ritualism and a vast literature in the form of the Srautasutras . came into vogue to record the detailed procedure required for the performance of various Yajnas. The Sulbasutras being the part of Srautasutras deal with the geometry of ritual enclosures which are essential for the performance of various sacrifices. As the adhvaryu, the priest representing the Yajurveda, makes arrangements for the paraphernalia required for the accomplishment of the sacrifices, hence, all the Sulbasutras belong to the Yajurveda.

In the present book, the sulba has been produced along with the Hindi commentary Agnika, English translation, explanation, tables and geometrical figures. A sincere effort has been made to explain the sutras in a simple way so that the purport of the author of the Sulbasutra is conveyed to the readers. The rationale underlying the formulas given in the sulba has been discussed threadbare in the light of antiquity so that the justice may be meted out to the ancient seers of the ritual tradition. The geometrical figures have been provided for clarity and understanding of the various concepts, shapes and kinds of various ritual enclosures. The tables showing the placer of bricks in the construction of various Vedas and cities have b incorporated. There are four appendices in the book - In to words, Index to sutras, Units of Measurements, and Technical Terms.

We express our deep gratitude to Abhishek Prakashan RR Printers for their valuable service.

The valuable suggestions from the readers are invited that the infirmities, if any, may be removed in future.

Introduction 1. The Meaning of the, Sulba The word sulba is derived from the root 'sulb' (to mea- sure). In the Sulba literature, the sulba has two meanings: 1. The instrument of measurement and 2. The science of measurement. The sautsutra can be defined as the science of measurement in which the instrument of measurement and the process of measurement are described for the purpose of construction of the ritual enclosures and the fire altars of various shapes and sizes. It has been referred as sulba prasna, sulbasutra, saulbi kriya, vihara prasna, viharayoga, rajjusamasa, sulba vijnana etc.

The person who' was expert in the science of measurement was called sulbavida and he was supposed to be well versed in numerals (samkhya), the expert in measuring (parimara), the uniform stretcher of the cord (samasutraniranchakai and the inquisitive (pariprachaka).

2. The place of the Sulbasutrasin the Vedic literature The Vedic literature can be divided into three categories, viz, 1. The Samhitas (the Rgveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharveda) 2. the Brahmans and 3. the Vedangas i.e. tale six auxiliary lures of the Vedas, viz, Sikst: (the science of pronunciation), Chanda (metric), vyakarana (grammar), Nirukta (etymology), Jyotisa (astronomy) and Kalpa (rituals). The Srautasutras being one of the three ingredients of the Kalpasutras, viz., the Srautasutras, the Grhyasutras and the Dharma sutras form an important part of the Vedic literature.

The Grhyasutras deal with the domestic rites. The Dharma sutras delve into the matters concerning the economic life, polity, government, civil and criminal law. The Srautasutras deal with the Vedic rites in a systematic and detailed manner strictly following the Samhitas and the Brahmanas.

The Sulbasutras are the important part of the Srautasutras and are the manuals of the methods of measurement and construction of Vedas, cities, mandapas etc. for the performance of the sacrifices.

3. The Number of the Sulbasutras

All the extant Sulbasutras belong to the Yajurveda, the reason being that it was the duty of the adhvaryu and his associates to provide the required paraphernalia for the performance of the sacrificial rituals. In a sacrifice, four priests, viz, hota, adhvaryu, udgata and brahma, play important roles. The hota represents the Rgveda, the adhvaryu the Yajurveda, the udgata the Samaveda and the brahma supervises the functioning of the rituals.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages