clearer proof that he laid no claim to the title Rishi, or inspired seer of Vedic texts. For (Dharma-sûtra I, 2, 5, 4–5) he says distinctly that on account of the prevalent transgression of the rules of studentship no Rishis are born among the Avaras, the men of later ages or of modern times, but that some, by virtue of a residue of the merit which they acquired in former lives, become similar to Rishis by their knowledge of the Veda. A man who speaks in this manner, shows that he considers the holy ages during which the great saints saw with their mind's eye the uncreated and eternal texts of the Veda to be past, and that all he claims is a thorough acquaintance with the scriptures which had been handed down to him. The same spirit which dictated this passage is also observable in other portions of the Dharma-sûtra. For Âpastamba repeatedly contrasts the weakness and sinfulness of the Avaras, the men of his own times, with the holiness of the ancient sages, who, owing to the greatness of their 'lustre,' were able to commit various forbidden acts without diminishing their spiritual merit[1]. These utterances prove that Âpastamba considered himself a child of the Kali Yuga, the age of sin, during which, according to Hindu notions, no Rishis can be born. If, therefore, in spite of this explicit disclaimer, the Samhitâ and the Brâhmana of the Black Yagur-veda are sometimes called Âpastamba or Âpastambîya, i. e. belonging to Âpastamba, the meaning of this expression can only be, that they were and are studied and handed down by the school of Âpastamba, not that its founder was their author, or, as the Hindus would say, saw them.
The fact that Âpastamba confined his activity to the composition of Sûtras is highly important for the determination of the period to which he belonged. It clearly shows that in his time the tertiary or Sûtra period of the Yagur-veda had begun. Whether we assume, with Professor Max Müller, that the Sütra period was one and the same for all the four Vedas, and fix its limits with him
- ↑ Dharma-sûtra II, 6, 13, 1–10; II, 10, 27, 4.
