Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A body of teaching composed in Sanskrit and addressing a particular aspect of religious or cultural practice.
  • noun A canonical text forming a part of such a body of teaching.
  • noun Buddhism A commentary on the sutras, generally composed in Sanskrit.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Sanskrit śāstram, from śāsti, he commands, governs, instructs; akin to Albanian thom, I say.]

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Examples

  • I can't complain too much, though, since "shastra" is evidently a variation of "sastra" or

    Pharyngula 2009

  • To determine the prevalence of Ayurvedic medicines available via the Internet containing detectable lead, mercury, or arsenic and to compare the prevalence of toxic metals in US- vs Indian-manufactured medicines and between rasa shastra and non-rasa shastra medicines...

    RELIGION Blog | dallasnews.com 2009

  • Some traditional Ayurvedic medicines intentionally combine herbs with metals and minerals, a practice called rasa shastra.

    RELIGION Blog | dallasnews.com 2009

  • The great epic, the Mahabharata, which is often called a dharma-shastra, constantly contests dharma.

    Pursuit of justice can be much enhanced by open and well-aimed public discussion Tusar N Mohapatra 2009

  • From the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association comes this warning that rasa shastra may not be so healthy:

    RELIGION Blog | dallasnews.com 2009

  • The great epic, the Mahabharata, which is often called a dharma-shastra, constantly contests dharma.

    Archive 2009-07-01 Tusar N Mohapatra 2009

  • The boon was due to his long penance, after which he had demanded that he not be killed “during day or night; inside the home or outside; not on earth or on sky; neither by a man nor an animal; neither by astra nor by shastra”.

    The Holi Hindu Festival | ultraorange.net 2008

  • The entire process of conservation goes in tandem with the rituals mentioned in tantra shastra, astrology and vastu shastra.

    Archive 2008-01-01 Jan 2008

  • The boon was due to his long penance, after which he had demanded that he not be killed “during day or night; inside the home or outside; not on earth or on sky; neither by a man nor an animal; neither by astra nor by shastra”.

    2008 March | ultraorange.net 2008

  • Moreover, he has prescribed a process of psychological transformation based on bakti (devotion to a divine person), tapas (personal yogic effort), and shastra (study of sacred texts).

    A discourse expands through fragmented realities being forced to share a world Tusar N Mohapatra 2007

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