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Śāstra(s)

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | 520 words | Copyright

Śāstra(s) (Skt., ‘command, rule’).
1. Hindu treatise or treatises on particular topics, amounting to law books or codes. The sūtra manuals of the priests are extended and better organized. The best known examples are the Dharmaśāstras (e.g. Manusmṛti, Yajñavalkyasmṛti), Arthaśāstra, and Kāmaśāstras (e.g. of Vātsyāyana).

2. In Buddhism, Mahāyāna commentaries on philosophical issues in the sūtras.

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