Apastamba

(4th c. B.C.E.?) Sage, writer, and
commentator. Apastamba is known for
his influential work with the Kalpa
Sutra form, a type of text that consists
of three essential elements: instructions for Vedic rituals (Shrauta
Sutras), for domestic rites (Grhya
Sutras), and for suitable human
behavior (Dharma Sutras).
He is one of three authors, along
with Baudhayana and Hiranyakeshin,
who wrote complete Kalpa Sutras with
all three parts. All three of these
men belonged to the same school,
the Taittiriya school of the Black
Yajur Veda.
Apastamba’s Dharma Sutra is
extremely significant, for it is considered one of the major sources for the
law code attributed to Manu. This
code was an important legal document even in the early twentieth century, since India’s British rulers
considered it a source of “traditional”
Hindu law.