________________
Vārāha Srautasūtra A Further Textual Study
C. G. Kashikar
The first critical edition of the Vārāha Śrautasūtra (VārŚs)—a junior Sūtratext belonging to the Maitrāyaṇī recension of the Krsna Yajurveda-was published by W. Caland and Raghu Vīra (Lahore 1933). In spite of the efforts made by the learned editors to present a critically edited correct text, the edition left much to be desired by reason of the very defective and scanty manuscript-material. I could procure two manuscripts of the text, not used by the editors-one (B) from the Maharaja Sayajirao University Oriental Institute, Baroda and another (N) from a private collection from Nandurbar, Dist. Dhulia (Maharashtra). Even though both the manuscripts are much currupt and belong to one and the same group, I could improve the text considerably in my edition (Pune, 1987). In the absence of a sufficient number of reliable manuscripts, I had very often to resort to major and minor conjectures.
... Incidentally, I came across an old manuscript of Maitrāyanīya Sūtratexts. [I thank my friend Radhe Shyam Shastri for bringing this manuscript to my notice.] The manuscript (Acc. no. - 2800) is in possession of Vaidika Samsodham Mandala, Pune. It was procured from Bhadgaon, Dist. Jalgaon (Maharashtra), a centre of Mānava-Maitrāyanīya activities. The manuscript is written in Devanāgarī script on country paper, is worn out, and has withered borders. It is written in prsthamıātrā style. The hand-writing is uniform throughout. Folios (except two) are numbered, but the opening and closing folios are missing. The opening folio is numbered 115 and the last one is 237; inbetween, too, several folios are missing. The available portions deal with parts of the Vārāha Srautasūtra, several Vārāha Parisistas, and the Pravargya forming part of the Mānava Srautasūtra. In all 15 folios present
