Connected with the Maitrayani Samhita is the Manava Çrauta Sutra. It belongs to the Manavas, who were a subdivision of the Maitrayaniyas, and to whom the law-book of Manu probably traces its origin. It seems to be one of the oldest. It has a descriptive character, resembling the Brahmana parts of the Yajurveda, and differing from them only in simply describing the course of the sacrifice, to the exclusion of legends, speculations, or discussions of any kind. There is also a Vaikhanasa Çrauta Sutra attached to the Black Yajurveda, but it is known only in a few MSS.
The Çrauta Sutra of the Atharva-veda is the Vaitana Sutra. It is neither old nor original, but was undoubtedly compiled in order to supply the Atharva, like the other Vedas, with a Sutra of its own. It probably received its name from the word with which it begins, since the term vaitana ("relating to the three sacrificial fires") is equally applicable to all Çrauta Sutras. It agrees to a considerable extent with the Gopatha Brahmana, though it distinctly follows the Sutra of Katyayana to the White Yajurveda. One indication of its lateness is the fact that whereas in other cases a Grihya regularly presupposes the Çrauta Sutra, the Vaitana is dependent on the domestic sutra of the Atharva-veda.
Though the Çrauta Sutras are indispensable for the right understanding of the sacrificial ritual, they are, from any other point of view, a most unattractive form of literature. It will, therefore, suffice to mention in briefest outline the ceremonies with which they deal. It is important to remember, in the first place, that these rites are never congregational, but are always performed on behalf of a single individual, the so-called Yajamana or sacrificer, who takes but little part in them. The officiators are Brahman priests, whose number varies from one to sixteen, according to the nature of the ceremony. In all these rites an important part is played by the three sacred fires which surround the vedi, a slightly excavated spot covered with a litter of grass for the reception of offerings to the gods. The first ceremony of all is the setting up of the sacred fires (agni-adheya), which are kindled by the sacrificer and his wife with the firesticks, and are thereafter to be regularly maintained.