The vEdAs as defined previously are called s’rutis, they have been perfectly and unalterably preserved by the RSis and their disciples, by speech and hearing only. It was feared that writing them down could cause the books to fall into wrong (enemy?) hands. This may be the way developed nations gaurd their nuclear etc secrets.
The smRtis are texts that are connected to the vEdAs.
Of these, the sUtrAs or vEdAngAs are in sUtra format and are required in order to understand the vEdAs. These as we have learned earlier are s’ikSa, vyAkaraNa, Chandas, nirukta and jyOtiSa.
The manu smRti, yAgnyavalkya smRti etc are in s’lOka format and though they are based on vEdAs, they are not required to understand vEdAs.
Author : Satya Sarada Kandula : All Rights Reserved
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