Śruti

Template:Short description Template:Italic title Template:For multi Template:Hindu scriptures Śruti or shruti (Template:Langx, Template:IAST3, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" and refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism.<ref name=jameslochtefeld/> Manusmriti states: Śrutistu vedo vijñeyaḥ (Devanagari: श्रुतिस्तु वेदो विज्ञेयः) meaning, "Know that Vedas are Śruti". Thus, it includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts—the Samhitas, the Upanishads, the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas.<ref name=wendydof>Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (1988), Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism, Manchester University Press, Template:ISBN, pages 2-3</ref><ref>A Bhattacharya (2006), Hinduism: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology, Template:ISBN, pages 8-14</ref>

Śrutis has been variously described as a revelation through anubhava (direct experience),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or of primordial origins realized by ancient Rishis.<ref name=jameslochtefeld>James Lochtefeld (2002), "Shruti", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. Template:ISBN, page 645</ref> In Hindu tradition, they have been referred to as apauruṣeya (not created by humans).<ref>P Bilimoria (1998), 'The Idea of Authorless Revelation', in Indian Philosophy of Religion (Editor: Roy Perrett), Template:ISBN, Springer Netherlands, pages 3, 143-166</ref> The Śruti texts themselves assert that they were skillfully created by Rishis (sages), after inspired creativity, just as a carpenter builds a chariot.<ref name=scharfe>Hartmut Scharfe (2002), Handbook of Oriental Studies, BRILL Academic, Template:ISBN, pages 13-14</ref>

All six schools of Hinduism accept the authority of śruti,<ref>Klaus Klostermaier (2007), Hinduism: A Beginner's Guide, Template:ISBN, Chapter 2, page 26</ref>Template:Refn but many scholars in these schools have denied that the śrutis are divine.<ref name=royperrett/><ref>P Bilimoria (1990), Hindu Doubts About God - Towards a Mīmāmsā Deconstruction, International Philosophical Quarterly, Volume 30, Issue 4, pages 481-499</ref> A popular quote on supreme authority is Śruti can be found in Manusmriti (Adhyaya 1, Mantra 132) that Dharmaṃ jijñāsamānānāṃ pramāṇaṃ paramaṃ śrutiḥ (Devanagari: धर्मं जिज्ञासमानानां प्रमाणं परमं श्रुतिः, lit. means "To those who seek the knowledge of the sacred law, the supreme authority is the revelation Śruti."

Shruti (Śruti) differs from other sources of Hindu philosophy, particularly smṛti "which is remembered" or textual material. These works span much of the history of Hinduism, beginning with the earliest known texts and ending in the early historical period with the later Upanishads.<ref>Flood, Gavin. pp. 39.</ref> Of the śrutis, the Upanishads alone are widely known, and the central ideas of the Upanishadic śrutis are at the spiritual core of Hindus.<ref name=wendydoniger>Wendy Doniger (1990), Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism, 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, Template:ISBN, pages 2-3; Quote: "The Upanishads supply the basis of later Hindu philosophy; they alone of the Vedic corpus are widely known and quoted by most well-educated Hindus, and their central ideas have also become a part of the spiritual arsenal of rank-and-file Hindus."</ref><ref name=patrickolivelle>Patrick Olivelle (2014), The Early Upanisads, Oxford University Press, Template:ISBN, page 3; Quote: "Even though theoretically the whole of vedic corpus is accepted as revealed truth [śruti], in reality it is the Upanishads that have continued to influence the life and thought of the various religious traditions that we have come to call Hindu.</ref>

EtymologyEdit

The Sanskrit word "{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}" (Template:IAST3, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) has multiple meanings depending on context. It means "hearing, listening", a call to "listen to a speech", any form of communication that is aggregate of sounds (news, report, rumour, noise, hearsay).<ref name=monierwilliams/> The word is also found in ancient geometry texts of India, where it means "the diagonal of a tetragon or hypotenuse of a triangle",<ref name=monierwilliams/> and is a synonym of karna.<ref>TA Amma (1999), Geometry in Ancient and Medieval India, Template:ISBN, page 261</ref> The word śruti is also found in ancient Indian music literature, where it means "a particular division of the octave, a quarter tone or interval" out of twenty-two enumerated major tones, minor tones, and semitones.<ref name=monierwilliams>zruti Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany</ref> In music, it refers the smallest measure of sound a human being can detect, and the set of twenty-two śruti and forty four half Shruti, stretching from about 250 Hz to 500 Hz, is called the Shruti octave.<ref>Miloš Zatkalik, Milena Medić and Denis Collins (2013), Histories and Narratives of Music Analysis, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Template:ISBN, page 509</ref>

In scholarly works on Hinduism, śruti refers to ancient Vedic texts from India. Monier-Williams<ref name=monierwilliams/> traces the contextual history of this meaning of śruti as, "which has been heard or communicated from the beginning, sacred knowledge that was only heard and verbally transmitted from generation to generation, the Veda, from earliest Rishis (sages) in Vedic tradition.<ref name=jameslochtefeld/> In scholarly literature, Śruti is also spelled as Shruti.<ref>Shruti, Encyclopædia Britannica (2015)</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Distinction between śruti and smṛtiEdit

Smriti, literally meaning "that which is remembered," refers to a body of Hindu texts usually attributed to an author. Traditionally written down but constantly revised, Smriti in contrast to Śrutis (the Vedic literature) considered authorless, which were transmitted verbally across the generations and fixed.<ref name=wendydof/> Smriti is a derivative secondary work and is considered less authoritative than Śruti in Hinduism.<ref>James Lochtefeld (2002), "Smrti", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing, Template:ISBN, page 656-657</ref> While Śruti texts are fixed and their originals preserved better, each Smriti text exists in many versions, with many different readings.<ref name=wendydof/> In ancient and medieval Hindu tradition, Smritis were considered fluid and freely rewritten by anyone.<ref name=wendydof/><ref>Sheldon Pollock (2011), Boundaries, Dynamics and Construction of Traditions in South Asia (Editor: Federico Squarcini), Anthem, Template:ISBN, pages 41-58</ref>

Both śrutis and smṛtis represent categories of texts of different traditions of Hindu philosophy.<ref>Coburn, Thomas B. 1984. pp. 448</ref> According to Gokul Narang, the Sruti are asserted to be of divine origin in the mythologies of the Puranas.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> For the people living during the composition of the Vedas the names of the authors were well known.<ref name="Staal2008">Staal, J.F. (2008): Discovering the Vedas. Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin Books India, p. xv</ref> Ancient and medieval Hindu philosophers also did not think that śruti were divine, authored by God.<ref name=royperrett>Roy Perrett (1998), Hindu Ethics: A Philosophical Study, University of Hawaii Press, Template:ISBN, pages 16-18</ref>

That Vedas were heard was a notion that was developed by the school or darsana of Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā.<ref name="Staal2008" /> The Mīmāṃsā tradition, famous in Hindu tradition for its Sruti exegetical contributions, radically critiqued the notion and any relevance for concepts such as "author", the "sacred text" or divine origins of Śruti; the Mimamsa school claimed that the relevant question is the meaning of the Sruti, values appropriate for human beings in it, and the commitment to it.<ref>Francis X. Clooney (1987), Why the Veda Has No Author: Language as Ritual in Early Mīmāṃsā and Post-Modern Theology, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 55, No. 4, page 660</ref>

Nāstika philosophical schools such as the Cārvākas of the first millennium BCE did not accept the authority of the śrutis and considered them to be human works suffering from incoherent rhapsodies, inconsistencies and tautologies.<ref name=richardhayes>Richard Hayes (2000), in Philosophy of Religion: Indian Philosophy (Editor:Roy Perrett), Routledge, Template:ISBN, pages 187-212</ref><ref name=ma>Original Sanskrit version:Sarvasiddhanta Samgraha, pages 3-7;
English version: The Charvaka System with commentary by Madhava Acharya, Translators: Cowell and Gough (1882), pages 5-9</ref>

Smṛtis are to be human thoughts in response to the śrutis.<ref name=wendydof/> Traditionally, all smṛtis are regarded to ultimately be rooted in or inspired by śrutis.<ref name=wendydof/>

TextsEdit

The śruti literature include the four Vedas:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, Template:ISBN, pages 33-40</ref>

Each of these Vedas include the following texts, and these belong to the śruti canon:<ref>A Bhattacharya (2006), Hinduism: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology, Template:ISBN, pages 8-14</ref>

The literature of the shakhas, or schools, further amplified the material associated with each of the four core traditions.<ref>Flood, Gavin. 1997. pp. 39</ref>

Of the above śrutis, the Upanishads are most widely known, and the central ideas of them are the spiritual foundation of Hinduism.<ref name=wendydoniger/> Patrick Olivelle writes, Template:Quote

Role in Hindu LawEdit

Shrutis have been considered the authority in Hinduism. Smṛtis, including the Manusmṛti, the Nāradasmṛti and the Parāśarasmṛti, are considered less authoritative than śrutis.<ref>James Lochtefeld (2002), "Smrti", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. Template:ISBN, pages 656 and 461</ref> Template:Quote Only three of the four types of texts in the Vedas have behavioral precepts: Template:Quote

Bilimoria states the role of śruti in Hinduism has been inspired by "the belief in a higher natural cosmic order (Rta succeeded later by the concept Dharma) that regulates the universe and provides the basis for its growth, flourishing and sustenance – be that of the gods, human beings, animals and eco-formations".<ref>Bilimoria, Purushottama (2011), The idea of Hindu law, Journal of Oriental Society of Australia, Vol. 43, pages 103-130</ref>

Levinson states that the role of śruti and smṛti in Hindu law is as a source of guidance, and its tradition cultivates the principle that "the facts and circumstances of any particular case determine what is good or bad".<ref name=davidlevinson/> The later Hindu texts include fourfold sources of dharma, states Levinson, which include atmanastushti (satisfaction of one's conscience), sadacara (local norms of virtuous individuals), smṛti and śruti.<ref name=davidlevinson>Devid Levinson (2002), Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, Volume 1, SAGE Publications, Template:ISBN, page 829</ref>

TransmissionEdit

The śrutis, the oldest of which trace back to the second millennium BCE, had not been committed to writing in ancient times. These were developed and transmitted verbally, from one generation to the next, for nearly two millenniums. Almost all printed editions available in the modern era are copied manuscripts that are hardly older than 500 years.<ref>Quotation of "... almost all printed editions depend on the late manuscripts that are hardly older than 500 years, not on the still extant and superior oral tradition" - M Witzel, "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood, Gavin, ed. (2003), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Template:ISBN, pages 68-71</ref> Michael Witzel explains this oral tradition as follows:

Template:Quote

Ancient Indians developed techniques for listening, memorization and recitation of śrutis.<ref name=scharfe28>Template:Cite book</ref> Many forms of recitation or pathas were designed to aid accuracy in recitation and the transmission of the Vedas and other knowledge texts from one generation to the next. All hymns in each Veda were recited in this way; for example, all 1,028 hymns with 10,600 verses of the Rigveda was preserved in this way; as were all other Vedas including the Principal Upanishads, as well as the Vedangas. Each text was recited in a number of ways, to ensure that the different methods of recitation acted as a cross check on the other. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat summarizes this as follows:<ref name=filliozat-p139/>

Samhita-patha: continuous recitation of Sanskrit words bound by the phonetic rules of euphonic combination;
Pada-patha: a recitation marked by a conscious pause after every word, and after any special grammatical codes embedded inside the text; this method suppresses euphonic combination and restores each word in its original intended form;
Krama-patha: a step-by-step recitation where euphonically-combined words are paired successively and sequentially and then recited; for example, a hymn "word1 word2 word3 word4...", would be recited as "word1word2 word2word3 word3word4 ...."; this method to verify accuracy is credited to Vedic sages Gargya and Sakalya in the Hindu tradition and mentioned by the ancient Sanskrit grammarian Panini (dated to pre-Buddhism period);
Krama-patha modified: the same step-by-step recitation as above, but without euphonic-combinations (or free form of each word); this method to verify accuracy is credited to Vedic sages Babhravya and Galava in the Hindu tradition, and is also mentioned by the ancient Sanskrit grammarian Panini;
Template:IAST, Template:IAST and Template:IAST are methods of recitation of a text and its oral transmission that developed after 5th century BCE, that is after the start of Buddhism and Jainism; these methods use more complicated rules of combination and were less used.

These extraordinary retention techniques guaranteed an accurate Śruti, fixed across the generations, not just in terms of unaltered word order but also in terms of sound.<ref name=scharfe28/><ref>Wilke, Annette and Moebus, Oliver. Sound and Communication: An Aesthetic Cultural History of Sanskrit Hinduism (Religion and Society). De Gruyter (February 1, 2007). P. 495. Template:ISBN.</ref> That these methods have been effective, is testified to by the preservation of the most ancient Indian religious text, the [[Rigveda|Template:IAST]] (Template:Circa 1500 BCE).<ref name=filliozat-p139>Template:Cite book</ref>

This part of a Vedic student's education was called svādhyāya. The systematic method of learning, memorization and practice, enabled these texts to be transmitted from generation to generation with inordinate fidelity.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

ReferencesEdit

NotesEdit

Template:Reflist

CitationsEdit