24. (Nor shall he study) after having eaten in the evening,
25. Nor as long as his hands are wet.
26. (And he shall discontinue studying) for a day
and an evening, after having eaten food prepared in
honour of a dead person (for whom the Sapi;^^i-
kara;/a has not yet been performed),
27. Or until the food (eaten on that occasion) is dio^ested.
19. Manu IV, 121.
20. Manu IV, 121.
22. Manu IV, 107 ; Ya^n. I, 150.
23. Manu IV, 121.
24. ' Therefore he shall sup, after having finished his study.' — Haradatta.
25. Manu IV, 121 ; Ya^fi. I, 149.
26. Manu IV, 112; Ya^'n. I, 146.
27. 'If that food has not been digested by the end of that time (i. e. in the evening), he shall not study until it has been digested.' — Haradatta.
4d APASTAMBA. Ij 3^ H-
28. But he shall (always) eat in addition (to the
meal given in honour of a dead person), food which
has not been given at a sacrifice to the Manes.
PrA^NA I, PArALA 3, KlIAA^DA 11.
1. (The recitation of the Veda shall be interrupted
for a day and evening if he has eaten), on beginning
a fresh Ka;z^a (of his Veda), food given by a mother-
less person,
2. And also if he has eaten, on the day of the com- pletion of a Ka.7ida., food given by a fatherless person.
3. Some declare, that (the recitation shall be inter-
rupted for the same space of time), if he has eaten
at a sacrifice offered in honour of gods who were
formerly men.
4. Nor is the recitation interrupted, if he has
eaten rice received the day before, or raw meat
(though these things may have been offered in
honour of the dead),
28. 'Because in this Sutra the expression "food not given at a 5'raddha " occurs, some think that the preceding Sutra refers to "food eaten at a .Sraddha."' — Haradatta. This explanation is not at all improbable. At least I think that both the Suta- kanna and the .S'raddhanna (Manu IV, 112) are intended by the term pretasaw;k//pta.
11. I. The Black Ya^ur-veda, to which Apastamba belongs, is divided throughout into books called Ka/z^/as.
3. Haradatta names as such gods, on the authority of the Brahma-pura«a, Kuvera, Nandii'vara, and Kumara. Other com- mentators, however, explain Manushyaprakr/'ti by INIanushyamukha, 'possessing human faces.' A similar rule occurs Gautama XVI, 34, where a Manushyayaofia is mentioned as a cause for discontinu- ing the recitation of the Veda. In his commentary on Gautama, also, Haradatta is in doubt. He first refers the term to the sacra- ments like the Simantonnayana, and then adds, that some explain it to mean 'a sacrifice to gods who formerly were men.'
4. This Sutra is an exception to I, 3, 10, 26.
1,3,11. the Study of the Veda. 4i
5. Nor (if he has eaten at a funeral dhmer) roots or fruits of herbs and trees.
6. When he performs the ceremony for beginning
a Kanda, or when he studies the index of the Anu-
vakas of a {Kanda), he shall not study that (Ka;^^a)
on that day (nor in that night).
7. And if he performs the ceremonies prescribed
on beginning or endingr the recitation of one entire
Veda, he shall not study that Veda (during that day).
8. If the wind roars, or if it whirls up the grass
on the ground, or if it drives the rain-drops forward
during a rain-shower, (then the recitation shall be
interrupted for so long a time as the storm lasts.)
9. (Nor shall he study) on the boundary between a village and forest,
10. Nor on a highway.
11. If (some of his) fellow-students are on a
6. Haradatta's commentary on this Satra is very meagre, and he leaves the words 'yasya /^anuvakya?;z kurvita ' unexplained. I am not certain that my explanation is correct. But it is coun- tenanced by the statements of the Gr/'hya-sutras regarding the order of studying. Weber, Ind. Stud. X, 132.
7. Y%i~i. I, 145. This Sutra is a G^iiapaka or 'such a one which indicates the existence of a rule not expressly mentioned.' Above (I, 3, 9, i) the yearly performance of the Upakarma and Utsarga ceremonies for the beginning and end of the Brahmanic term has been prescribed. In this Siitra the performance of the Upakarma and Utsarga at the beginning and completion of the Parayawa or the vow to go through a whole Veda is incidentally mentioned. Thence it may be inferred that these ceremonies must be likewise performed on the latter occasions, though no absolute rule to this effect has been given. Such (Jnapakas are of frequent occurrence in all Sutras, and constitute one of the chief difficulties of their interpretation.
8. Y%ii. I, 149; Manu IV, 102, 122.
II. Others explain the Sutra thus: 'If he meets fellow-
42 Apastamba. I. 3' "•
journey, he shall not study, during that day, (the passage) which they learn together.
12. And whilst performing acts for his pleasure,
13. Such as washing his feet, shampooing or anointing himself,
14. He shall neither study nor teach, as long as he is thus occupied.
15. (He shall not study or teach) in the twilight,
16. Nor whilst sitting on a tree,
17. Nor whilst immersed in water,
18. Nor at night with open doors,
19. Nor in the day-time with shut doors.
20. During the spring festival and the festival (of
Indra), in the month of Asha^^a (June-July), the
study of an Anuvaka is forbidden.
21. (The recitation) of the daily portion of the
Veda (at the Brahmaya^na is likewise forbidden if
done) in a manner differing from the rule (of the
Veda).
22. (Now follows) the rule (for the daily recita- tion) of that (Brahmaya^fia).
students, after they have come home from a journey, he shall not study with them on that day.'
15. Ya^n. I, 145; Manu IV, 113.
16. Yao-fi. I, 151 ; Manu IV, 120.
20. According to Haradatta, Apastamba uses the word Anuvaka in order to indicate that smaller portions of the Veda may be studied. Others think, that by Anuvaka, the Sawhita and the Brahmawa are meant, and that the study of the Angas is per- mitted. The Vasantotsava, or spring-festival, which, according to the Dramas, was, in olden times, kept all over India, falls, according to Haradatta, on the thirteenth of the first half of ^aitra, about the beginning of April.
21. ' Hence, if one has forgotten it and eaten one's breakfast, a penance, not the Brahmaya^ua, must be performed.' — Haradatta.
1, 3, Ii. the Study of the Veda. 43
23. Before taking his morning-meal, he shall go
to the water-side, and having purified himself, he
shall recite aloud (a portion of the Veda) in a pure
place, leaving out according to (the order of the)
texts (what he has read the day before).
24. If a stoppage of study is enjoined (for the day, he shall recite the daily portion) mentally.
25. If lightning flashes without interruption, or,
thunder rolls continually, if a man has neglected to
purify himself, if he has partaken of a meal in honour
of a dead person, or if hoarfrost lies on the ground,
(in these cases) they forbid the mental recitation (of
the daily portion of the Veda).
26. Some forbid it only in case one has eaten a funeral dinner.
27. Where lightning, thunder, and rain happen
together out of season, the recitation shall be inter-
rupted for three days,
28. Some (declare, that the recitation shall stop) until the ground is dry.
29. If one or two (of the phenomena mentioned
in Sutra 27 appear, the recitation shall be interrupted)
from that hour until the same hour next day.
30. In the case of an eclipse of the sun or of the
23. See Taittiriya Arawyaka II, 11, i and 11 ; A^v. Gri. Su. Ill,
2, 1-2. In our days this rule is usually not observed. Brahmawas mostly recite at the daily Brahmaya^ua, ' Veda-offering,' one par- ticular formula, which symbolically comprises the whole Veda. A few learned Brahmawa friends, however, have assured me, that they still recite the whole of their vS'akha every year according to this rule of Apastamba.
25. Ya^n. I, 149 ; Manu IV, 106, 120, 127; Taitt. Ar. II, 15, i.
26. INIanu IV, 109, 116.
27. Manu IV, 103 and 104.
30. Ya^n. I, 145; Manu IV, 105, 118.
44 APASTAMBA. I, 3, n-
moon, of an earthquake, of a whirlwind, of the fall of a
meteor, or of a fire (in the village), at whatever time
these events happen, the recitation of all the sacred
sciences (Vedas and Angas) must be interrupted
from that hour until the same hour next day.
31. If a cloud appears out of season, if the sun or
the moon is surrounded by a halo, if a rainbow, a
parhelion or a comet appears, if a (high) wind (blows),
a foul smell (is observed), or hoarfrost (lies on the
ground), at all these occasions (the recitation of all
the sacred sciences must be interrupted) during the
duration (of these phenomena).
32. After the wind has ceased, (the interruption of the recitation continues) for one muhurta.
T)^. If (the howl of) a wolf or of a solitary jackal
(has been heard, he shall stop the reading) until he
has slept.
34. At night (he shall not study) in a wood, where there is no fire nor gold.
35. Out of term he shall not study any part of the Veda which he has not learnt before.
36. Nor (shall he study during term some new part of the Veda) in the evening.
^y. That which has been studied before, must
never be studied (during the vacation or in the
evening).
31. Manu IV, 104, and see above.
32. One muhurta = 48 minutes.
36. Other commentators interpret the Sutra in a different sense. They take it to mean : ' And during the night (from the twelfth to the thirteenth of each half of the month, he shall not study at all, be it in or out of term).'
37. ' What has been studied before, must not be studied (again) at any time in the vacation nor in the evening.' — Haradatta.
I, 4, 12. the Study of the Veda. 45
]S. Further particulars (regarding the interruption
of the Veda-study may be learnt) from the (teaching
and works of other) Vedic schools.
PrA^NA I, PArALA 4, KHAiVDA 12.
1. A Brahma;^a declares, 'The daily recitation (of the Veda) is austerity.'
2. In the same (sacred text) it is also declared,
' Whether he recites the daily portion of the Veda
standing, or sitting, or lying down, he performs aus-
terity thereby; for the daily recitation is austerity.
3. Now the Va^asaneyi-brahmawa declares also,
38. Haradatta thinks that by ' Parishad,' Manu's and other Dhar- ma-jastras are meant. This explanation is, however, not exact. Parishad, ' assemblage,' means, in the language of the 6'astras, either a Paii-^, an assemblage of learned Brahmans called together to decide some knotty point of law, or a Brahminical school, which studies a particular redaction of the Veda (see the Petersburg Diet. s. V.) The latter meaning is that applicable to this Sutra. By ' Parishada/z ' are here intended the Vedic schools, and their writings and teaching. Gautama also says, XVI, 49, Pratividyaw; yan smaranti smaranti, ' (he shall observe the stoppages of the Veda- study) which they teach in (the writings belonging to) each of the Vedas.'
12.1. 'It procures as much reward as penance.' — Haradatta. Manu II, 166; Weber, Ind. Stud. X, 113. The phrase occurs frequently in the Brahma;/as, e.g. Taitt. Ar. II, 14, 3.
2. Regarding the proper position at the 'Veda-offering,' or daily recitation, see above, I, 3, i, 23, and Taitt. Ar. II, ir, 3. Passages similar to the first part of the sentence quoted in this Sutra occur Taitt. Ar. II, 1 2, 3, and 15, 3. It ought to be observed, that the Taitt. Ar. in both places has the word ' vra^an,' which is also read in the P. and P. U. MSS. The second part is taken apparently from the same work, II, 14, 2.
3. See &atapatha-brahma«a XI, 5, 6, 8, where a passage very similar to that quoted by Apastamba occurs. Vasha/ and the other exclamations, which are pronounced by the HotrZ-priest, serve as signals for the Adhvaryu to throw the oblations into the fire.
46 APASTAMBA. I, 4, 12.
* The daily recitation is a sacrifice at which the Veda
is offered. When it thunders, when Hghtning flashes
or thunderbolts fall, and when the wind blows vio-
lently, these sounds take the place of the exclama-
tions Vasha^ (Vausha^ and Svaha). Therefore he
shall recite the Veda whilst it thunders, whilst light-
nine flashes and thunderbolts fall, and whilst the
wind blows violently, lest the Vasha/ (should be
heard) in vain.'
4. The conclusion of the passage from that(Va^a-
saneyi-brahma;^a is found) in another 6'akha (of the
Veda).
5. ' Now, if the wind blows, or if It thunders, or
If liorhtnincr flashes, or thunderbolts fall, then he
shall recite one i?/k-verse (in case he studies the
Rzg-veda.), or one Ya^us (in case he studies the
Ya^ur-veda), or one Saman (in case he studies the
Sama-veda), or (without having regard to his par-
ticular Veda, the following Ya^us), " Bhu// Bhuva//,
Suva//, in faith I offer true devotion." Then, for-
sooth, his daily recitation is accomplished thereby
for that day.'
6. If that is done, (if the passage of the Va^a-
saneyl-brahma;/a Is combined with that quoted In
Sutra 5, the former stands) not in contradiction with
the decision of the Aryas.
7. For they (who know the law) teach both the
continuance and the interruption (of the daily re-
citation of the Veda). That would be meaningless,
