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[sv-rituals] Some observations on sandhyAvandana - 1

From the Bhakti List Archives

Mani Varadarajan • May 9, 2002 


Respected Bhagavatas,

I have long felt a need to find the origins of our
daily rituals, particularly the sandhyAvandana which
is universally considered the basic religious rite for
those who have had upanayana.  While I have seen countless
books and pamphlets detailing how to perform sandhyAvandana
in every conceivable manner -- smArta sampradAya, Sri Vaishnava,
mAdhva, sAma vedIya, yajur vedIya, Rg vedIya, etc., there
are sadly few works out there which document the original basis
for this sacred ritual, and with what intention the rishis
have codified its practice.  Certainly in our belief system
the sandhyA is of vital importance; yet, the lack of information
as to the purpose and meaning of the various aspects has always
struck me as a glaring omission. Finally, I was so bothered
that I went to my local university library and tried to find
the source texts from which our current sandhya routine 
has developed.  

There are two kinds of texts codifying 'dharma' or religious 
activity, 'sUtra' and 'smRti'.  The latter are also known as
dharma-shastras and are the more well known of the two.  The
dharma-shastras include Manu Smriti, Daksha Smriti, Yajnavalkya
Smriti, etc.  However, it is generally held by traditional and
modern scholars that the sUtra literature is of greater antiquity
and therefore of greater authority.  While the smritis are there 
to clarify the often cryptic sUtras, it is to the sUtras that we
must turn to find the original rules which govern our religious
practices today.

Everyone who undergoes upanayana is first instructed as to what
Veda they belong to, i.e., what Veda they are supposed to study
and propagate, and which sUtra they follow for their religious
practice.  Yajur Vedins follow the rules prescribed in either the
Apastamba Sutra or the Bodhayana Sutra. I belong to the Apastamba
Sutra but I was unable to find a full text of Apastamba's work
when I looked into this matter. The following notes are based
on the Bodhayana Sutra as published by the Kasi Samskrta
Granthamala.  The printed edition also contained the very helpful
commentary of one Govinda Swami whose exact identity I am unclear
about.

In my next email I will share my observations. It would be nice
to discuss this with an expert on Vedic rituals, and if anyone
has access to one please do consult with them and share what
you have learnt.  Please note that my notes are far from complete 
and probably raise more questions than they answer!

More in my next email.

With regards,

 || namo vedapurushAya ||

Mani


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