Expiatory Rites in Keralite Tantra
by T. S. Syamkumar | 2017 | 59,416 words
This page relates ‘Expiatory Rites in Dharmasutras (Introduction)’ of the study on Expiatory Rites in Sanskrit literature and ancient Indian religion and society, with special reference to Keralite Tantra. Further references to texts include those found in Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism as well as Dharmashastra literature. This study also investigates temple records and inscriptions of Kerala in order to demonstrate the connection between social life and expiatory rites and its evolution.
6.1. Expiatory Rites in Dharmasūtras (Introduction)
The Dharmaśāstra is the law literature in Sanskrit. The Dharma legal literature discusses crime and punishments, religious duties, Varṇa system, customs and its usages. The Dharmaśāstra literature includes Dharmasūtras, Gṛhyasūtras and Smṛti treatises. The influence of Dharmaśāstras is very much seen in Indian society. The perceptible result of Varṇa based caste system signifies the effect of Dharmaśāstra in Indian social order. Expiatory rites are the integral part of this Dharma legal literature. The Dharmaśāstra authorities suggest expiatory rites to the aspirants for liberation from the impurities, crimes, and from offences. The Dharma authorities made use of the expiatory rites for controlling the social mind and perpetuate the Varṇa based Brahmanical order.
Dharmasūtras accommodate to the same literary tradition of Vedas.[1] The Sūtra traditions are seen according to the Vedic branches (Śākha) or schools spread in different time and place.[2] Hence ritual specialization, and doctrinal and ritual arguments of Dharmasūtras are different, but a common character can also be seen among them. The subject matter of Dharmasūtras include the education of the young and related rites and ceremonies, marriage and marital rites and obligations, dietary restrictions and food transactions, the right professions and the proper relations among diverse social groups, sins and their expiations, institutions for the pursuit of holiness, king and administration of justice, crimes and punishments, and death and familial rites. In different Dharmasūtras, the classifications of sins and expiatory rites seen are not same due to their changes according to the social conditions.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
P.V. Kane gives the chronology of Dharmaśāstras as following: Gautama 600-400 BCE, Āpastamba 450-350 BCE, Baudhāyana 500-20 BCE, Vasiṣṭa 300-100 BCE, Manu 2nd century BCE to CE 2nd century. Viṣṇu 300 BCE-CE100, Yājñavalkya CE first two centuries, Nārada CE 100-300, Vaikhānasa CE 300-400. Moreover, Patrick Olivelle notes: “This sort of chronology is a mere house of cards without too much supporting evidence. My own opinion is that, whatever may be said about the original versions, with regard to the texts as we have them now, Āpastamba is the oldest, followed by Gautama, Baudhāyana, (although this text has undergone extensive additions), and Vasiṣṭa, all probably composed between the 4th century and 1st century BCE. Then come Manu, Nārada, Yājñavalkya, Viṣṇu and Vaikhānasa, in no particular order, all of them composed well in to the common era, although Viṣṇu contains sections belonging to an old Sūtra text.”, Olivelle Patrick, “Caste and Purity: A study in the Language of the Dharma Literature”, Tradition Pluralism and Identity, in the Honour of T. N. Madan, ed. Veena Das et.al, Sage Publications, New Delhi, 1999, p. 51.
[2]:
Dharmasūtras were not considered as the work of single authors, and periodic additions were made to them. The authorship of Dharmasūtras is confusing. For instance Gautama and Vasiṣṭa, are ancient seers. They could not have been the historical authors of the texts ascribed to them. These texts represent some of the earliest evidence for a phenomenon that became common in the versified Smṛtis, namely the emergence of eponymous literature, that is the ascription of treatises to eminent persons of the mythical past. The geographical origin of Dharmasūtras is not very clear. Buhler argued that Āpastamba came from South India. Some considered they originated in north India, but Kane accepts the former and concluded that Āpastamba came from South India. So, territorial variations are also seen in the Dharmasūtras. For a detailed discussion on this topic vide Olivelle, P., ed. Dharmasūtras, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2000, pp. 4-5.