sastra (śāstra (s) or śastra)
(Language: Sanskrit)
Alternate Spellings: shastra, shastras
Short Description: As (1) śāstra (s): Traditional authority, canonical text; a science; a rule, order or commandment or a treatise containing commandments; as (2) śastra: A weapon like a knife, sword, arrow.
Long Description: As (1) śāstra (s): Legal textbooks which codify the laws governing Hindu civil society (Mānava-Dharma-Shāstra) and canonize the rules for the sacred arts of dance, music, drama, and sculpture (Bharata-Natya-Śastra); also used more broadly to encompass the Vedas and all scriptures in accord with them; as (2) śastra: A weapon like a knife, sword, arrow.
