Re: [nukkad] SHASTRI

[Amir'AliMackwani <>]

Great Exposition, Dr Tirumurti Vasudevan and your son

Tirumurti Vasudevan wrote:
> sorry for a very delayed reply. i hope the original interest is still
> there to read through this article.
> this is the creation of my son who is a sastra vidvan himself. first i
> thought of pointing to a wiki and getting away. to my surprise i found
> it was absolutely inadequate. so  i asked my son to write on it. he
> took his own time to do it. he is not the kind to do a half hearted
> job and therefore
> i am afraid it is quite lengthy.
>
> you might want to save it and read at leisure.
> regards
> tv
> ====================================
>
> // shriiraamo vijayate //
> An introduction to the shaastra-s
>
> Some notes on translating Samskrita words
> I request my readers to never be satisfied with a single word English
> translation of any Samskrita word. A word in any language has a
> certain set of shades of meaning, and it is highly unlikely that
> another word in another language has the exact same set of meanings.
> To a certain extent, words in closely related languages may have many
> common meanings. But when two languages were born in different
> cultural backgrounds, a supposed translation for a word belonging to a
> certain language may in fact convey entirely different overtones to a
> reader who is not acquainted with that language.
> In the present case, Samskrita and English are languages with highly
> different cultural backgrounds. So please refrain and discourage the
> deplorable but prevalent custom of giving one word English
> translations for Samskrita words.
>
> The meaning of the word "shaastra"
> The word shaastra comes from the root shaas, which has various shades
> of meaning such as to teach, to instruct, to discipline. The shaastras
> may be enumerated under the following categories:
> 1.Veda
> 2.Vedaanga
> 3.Upaanga
> 4.Upaveda
> 5.Miscellaneous
>
> The Vedas
> The Vedas are the first shaastra. They are the oldest and holiest of
> the ancient Indian texts. They are organized into the Rig Veda, Yajur
> Veda, Saama Veda and Atharva Veda.
> Each Veda contains:
> 1.Mantras expressing lofty thoughts and meant for chanting and meditation,
> 2.Elaborate texts exploring the meanings of the mantras.
> 3.Instructions for dharmic rituals meant at the same time for the
> personal welfare of the doer of those rituals and for peace and
> prosperity of all living beings in general.
> 4.Rules for a dharmic life, enabling everyone to satisfy their just
> desires, but at the same time ensuring that the society as a whole is
> benefited or at least not hurt by each person's actions.
> 5.Philosophical thoughts, ruminations on the meaning of life, creation etc.
> 6.Pithy utterances that are embodiments of flashes of Divine Experience.
> The four different branches of the Veda mentioned above basically
> differ in the kind of mantras that they contain:
> The Rig Veda contains mantras that call upon the deities, the various
> forces of the one Supreme Being, to receive their offerings and grant
> peace and prosperity.
> The Yajur Veda contains mantras that are related to the performance of
> the dharmic rituals, and are used in the preparation of materials to
> be offerred to the Supreme Being, the actual offering of those
> materials etc.
> The Saama Veda contains musical forms, similar to the raaga-s of
> classical Indian music. Mantras chiefly from the Rig Veda are sung in
> these musical forms to please the Supreme Being.
> The Atharva Veda contains mantras that are more "down-to-earth". There
> are mantras used for the achievement of assorted mundane desires,
> without which the average human would not attach much importance to
> rituals meant to propitiate some unseen Supreme Being. There are also
> mantras meant to protect dharmic rituals from hindrance by
> malevolents.
> Each Veda is divided into many branches, each of them chiefly
> propagated by a certain sage and hence named after him. For example,
> the branch of the Yajur Veda propagated by the sage Tittiri is called
> Taittiriiya.
>
> The Vedaangas
> The Vedaangas, literally "organs of the Vedas", are shaastras that are
> accorded the first place in the process of protecting the Vedas,
> understanding their import and then following the path shown by them.
> Many of these shaastras also double up as guidelines for other matters
> than directly pertaining to the Veda.
> First we have three shaastras devoted to protecting the sound form of
> the Vedas. The Vedic mantras are not special only because of the lofty
> thoughts embodied in them, but also because the very sound of those
> mantras are highly efficient in one's spiritual growth, as for example
> in calming the mind, causing it to focus in meditation and so on.
> Therefore it is vital that the sound form of the mantras be protected
> from distortion.
> This sound form first consists of individual varna-s (loosely
> translated as "letters"), then words, and then sentences, which may
> either be formed in poetic meter or not. For this purpose are the
> first three vedaangas:
> 1.Shikshaa is related to (but not the same as) phonetics. It describes
> the processes involved in the pronunciation of varnas and prescribes
> the proper ways of pronunciation.
> 2.Vyaakarana is similar to grammar. It enumerates the rules describing
> the formation of words from word-roots and from other words. It also
> provides guidelines on what word-forms are used in which contexts and
> senses of meaning. It thereby guards the sequence of varnas composing
> words, ensuring that words in mantras do not deform.
> 3.Chandas describes the various metres used in mantras that are
> embodied in poetic form. The rules prescribe what kind and number of
> letters should compose each foot of a poetic verse, thereby providing
> a sort of "checksum" for the contents of verses.
> The above shaastras also serve as guides for pronunciation, grammar
> and poetic composition, respectively, of the Samskrita language.
> The other three Vedaangas are:
> 4.Nirukta which teaches how to analyse the words in Vedic mantras for
> various shades of meaning.
> 5.Jyautisha which describes the motions of heavenly bodies and based
> on that, the calendrical systems used for determining the occasions of
> festivals and appropriate times for other dharmic activities.
> 6.Kalpa which summarizes the procedures mentioned in the Vedas for the
> dharmic rituals in a succinct format that is directly usable during
> their actual performance.
>
> The Upaangas
> The Upaangas or "secondary organs" are the next step in the
> interpretation and application of the content of the Vedas.
> 1.Miimaamsaa which teaches the rules to be followed in the
> interpretation of the Vedic texts. It is branched into two. Puurva
> Miimaamsaa deals with the first part of the Vedas that concerns itself
> chiefly with dharma and Uttara Miimaamsaa deals with the philosophical
> second part of the Vedas.
> 2.Nyaaya which is a highly developed system of logic
> 3.Dharma Shaastra which summarizes the rules for a dharmic life that
> have been mentioned in a scattered manner in the various parts of the
> Vedas.
> 4.Itihaasa Puraana which are epics and other books that present the
> philosophy and dharma contained in the Vedas in a manner palatable to
> the masses. They aim to get people interested in dharma, via telling
> them stories of great people, extolling the praises of the Supreme
> Being and how He is accessible through dharma.
>
> The Upavedas
> The four Upavedas or "additional vedas" are:
> 1.Ayurveda which is not only a highly developed medical system, but
> most importantly a guide for a healthy life, true to its name "the
> science of life".
> 2.Dhanurveda which is a system of weaponry and war. It also includes war 
>ethics.
> 3.Gaandharva Veda which is usually identified with music but relates
> to the fine arts in general.
> 4.Sthaapatya related to building and architecture.
> Sometimes Artha Shaastra related to economics, politics and social
> order is considered as number 4. Further, the four Upavedas are often
> associated in order with the four Vedas.
>
> Miscellaneous
> There are many shaastras that do not fit into the above four chief
> categories. They are too numerous to be completely listed here. We
> only give a selection:
> 1.Vaisheshika discusses a system of material classification of all
> objects in the world into categories such as "objects" "qualities"
> "actions" etc.
> 2.Saankhya proposes a world-view based on the three guna-s (never to
> be merely translated as "qualities") - sattva, rajas and tamas.
> 3.Yoga teaches practises to calm and control the mind and elevate it
> to be suitable for spiritual experience.
> 4.Rasaayana is similar to chemistry.
> 5.Vimaana Shaastra contains instructions for building airplanes and
> other vehicles.
>
> Conclusion
> There are many other shaastras, but the one common factor among all of
> them, even in Kaama Shaastra (which I have not listed above due to
> being well known), is that they never lose sight of the spiritual goal
> in life. Even the practise of Artha Shaastra or Kaama Shaastra is
> prescribed in a way that is not conflicting with Dharma, as Dharma is
> paramount, since only Dharma can ensure individual as well as social
> well-being. Dharma is also the only path to spiritual fulfillment or
> Moksha.
>   

-- 
Amir'Ali Mackwani

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