many variant forms of soma sacrifices collectively called
jyotis:t:oma, among which are the seventeen-day-long Va-
japeya and the Ra ̄jasu ̄ ya, the royal consecration. Other well-
known ́srauta rituals are the sacrifices to the new and full
moons (Dar ́sapu ̄rn:ama ̄sau), the horse sacrifice (A ́svamedha),
and the animal sacrifice (Pa ́subandha). Some S ́rautasu ̄ tras
end in more or less independent appendices called
sulbasu ̄tras; because they describe the exact layout of the sac-
rificial area (vedi), they are, in effect, the earliest Indian texts
on geometry and mathematics.
In addition to rites that are part of the daily life of the
householder and rituals on such occasions as building a
house or digging a tank, the Gr:hyasu ̄ tras principally deal
with the sam:ska ̄ras. These are the rites of passage that guide
a Hindu through the various stages of his life, from concep-
tion until death, especially the Upanayana (his second birth,
at which time he begins the study of the Veda and is invested
with the sacred thread) and marriage. Many topics treated
in the Gr:hyasu ̄ tras also appear in the Dharmasu ̄ tras, al-
though the latter expand their teachings to cover all the du-
ties and obligations of the different asramas (“stages of life”)
and varn:as (“classes of society”). The Dharmasu ̄ tras, in
prose, are considered to be the precursors of the versified
Dharma ́sa ̄stras.
Treatises in su ̄ tra style also form the basic texts for the
six Hindu dar ́sanas (orthodox philosophical systems). They
are Jaimini’s Pu ̄rvam ̄ıma ̄m:sa ̄ Su ̄tras, Ba ̄dara ̄yan:a’s Uttara-
m ̄ıma ̄m:sa ̄ Su ̄tras, or Veda ̄nta Su ̄tras, Gautama’s Nya ̄ya Su ̄tras,
Kan:a ̄da’s Vai ́ses:ika Su ̄tras, Kapila’s Sa ̄m:khya Su ̄tras, and Pa-
tañjali’s Yoga Su ̄tras. Some of these philosophical su ̄ tras are
so concise that they have lent themselves to divergent inter-
pretations, and they have thus become the authoritative texts
for very different philosophical systems. Ba ̄dara ̄yan:a’s su ̄ tras,
for example, are the common source for all later schools of
Veda ̄nta, including S ́an:kara’s Advaita, Ra ̄ma ̄nuja’s Vi ́sis:t:a ̄d-
vaita, and Madhva’s Dvaita. The su ̄ tra style was also adopted
in certain Buddhist and Jain scriptures.
The area of su ̄ tra literature in which the ideal of brevity
and conciseness has been realized most perfectly is the gram-
matical literature, which technically belongs to the
Veda ̄n ̇ gas, mentioned earlier. Pa ̄n:ini’s As:t:a ̄dhya ̄y ̄ı not only
uses as few words as possible; it has recourse to all kinds of
devices to abbreviate the su ̄ tras, such as the replacement of
longer grammatical terms with shorter symbols. The com-
mentators on Pa ̄n:ini’s work go to great length to account for
the presence and meaning of each and every syllable in the
As:t:a ̄dhya ̄y ̄ı.
It would be misleading to suggest specific dates for the
Kalpasu ̄ tras and for su ̄ tra literature generally. The texts clear-
ly belong to the end of the Vedic period, and they are
thought to be earlier than the epic period. Allowing for ex-
ceptions belonging to earlier or later dates, the major part of
the su ̄ tra literature may be safely situated in the second half
of the first millennium BCE.
SEE ALSO S ́a ̄stra Literature.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The most recent, informative, and comprehensive book on the
Kalpasu ̄ tras is Jan Gonda’s The Ritual Sutras (Wiesbaden,
1977), vol. 1, pt. 2, of History of Indian Literature, edited by
Jan Gonda. Some of the Gr:hyasu ̄ tras and Dharmasu ̄ tras are
available in English translation in volumes 2, 14, 19, and 30
of the series “Sacred Books of the East” (Oxford, 1879–
1910), edited by F. Max Müller.
New Sources
Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhay-
ana, and Vasishtha. Annotated text and translation by Patrick
Olivelle. Delhi, 2000.
LUDO ROCHER (1987)
Revised BibliographySUZUKI, D. T. (1870–1966), also known as Suzuki
Daisetsu Teitaro ̄, Buddhist scholar, prolific author, and itin-
erant lecturer, remains the single most important figure in
the popularization of Zen in the twentieth century. At the
time of his death in 1966, Suzuki had authored dozens of
volumes on Zen and Buddhism in English and had produced
an even greater oeuvre in his native Japanese. His writings
on Zen remain influential in the West, and translations of
his work into Korean, Chinese, and other Asian languages
have contributed to a resurgence of popular interest in Zen
throughout East Asia. Suzuki’s accomplishments as a scholar,
popularizer, and evangelist are remarkable, given that his
philological skills were acquired largely on his own and that
he had no formal credentials as a Zen teacher. (Whereas he
was a serious lay practitioner, he neither ordained as a priest
nor received Dharma transmission.) He owed his success to
his considerable intellectual and linguistic gifts, his seemingly
boundless enthusiasm and energy, his prodigious literary
output, and his having the right message at the right time.
EARLY YEARS. Born Suzuki Teitaro ̄ in the town of Kanazawa
(Ishikawa prefecture) on October 18, 1870, Suzuki was the
youngest of five children. (The name Daisetsu or “great sim-
plicity” was given to him later by his Zen teacher Shaku So ̄en
[1859–1919].) Suzuki’s family belonged to the Rinzai sect
of Zen, but Suzuki credited his own serious interest in Bud-
dhism to the influence of his high-school mathematics teach-
er Ho ̄jo ̄ Tokiyori (1858–1929), a student of the Zen master
Imakita Ko ̄sen (1816–1892). Ho ̄jo ̄ was also responsible for
introducing Zen to Nishida Kitaro ̄ (1870–1945), a classmate
and friend of Suzuki who would later emerge as Japan’s pre-
eminent modern philosopher.
Suzuki’s father, a physician, died soon after Suzuki’s
fifth birthday, and in 1889 Suzuki was forced to leave school
and a probable career in medicine owing to his family’s on-
going financial difficulties. Suzuki made a living for a while
as a primary school English teacher and in 1891 entered the
Tokyo Senmon Gakko ̄, later renamed Waseda University.
Later that same year, at the urging of his friend Nishida,
Suzuki transferred to Tokyo Imperial University, and at the8884 SUZUKI, D. T.