sutra

American  

[soo-truh] / ˈsu trə /

noun

1. Hinduism.  a collection of aphorisms relating to some aspect of the conduct of life.

2. Pali sutta.  Buddhism.  any of the sermons of Buddha.

3. one of the approximately 4000 rules or aphorisms that constitute Panini's grammar of Sanskrit.

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sutra British  

/ ˈsuːtrə /

noun

1. Hinduism Sanskrit sayings or collections of sayings on Vedic doctrine dating from about 200 _ad onwards

2. (modifier) Hinduism

   1. of or relating to the last of the Vedic literary periods, from about 500 to 100 _bc

      the sutra period

   2. of or relating to the sutras or compilations of sutras of about 200 _ad onwards

3. Buddhism collections of dialogues and discourses of classic Mahayana Buddhism dating from the 2nd to the 6th centuries _a.d

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Etymology

Origin of sutra

First recorded in 1795–1805, sutra is from the Sanskrit word sūtra

Example Sentences

Buddha steps in, imprisoning Monkey under a mountain and forcing him to study sutras for 500 years.

From Los Angeles Times

The sutras themselves were thought to have supernatural powers and were sometimes deployed as protective talismans.

From Washington Post

You can read injunctions against usury in the Vedic texts of ancient India, in the sutras of Buddhism and in the Torah.

From New York Times

Also: she has tattooed into one arm, three times, a yoga sutra in Sanskrit that she translated as “submit your will to the will of God.”

From New York Times

Kojima lit incense and rang a bell at different intervals as he chanted ancient sutras, bowing repeatedly.

From Seattle Times