any of the Hindu religious manuals detailing the domestic (gṛhya) religious ceremonies performed by the householder over his own fire. They make up, together with the Śrauta-sūtras (which deal with the grand Vedic sacrifices) and the Dharma-sūtras (which deal with rules of conduct), the Kalpa-sūtras—collections of brief aphoristic texts that emerged within the different schools of the Veda (the earliest sacred literature of India). The Gṛhya-sūtras describe the ceremonies (samskaras) that mark each stage of a man's life, from the moment of his conception to his final death rites; the five daily sacrifices (mahāyajña); seasonal ceremonies; and those observed on special occasions, such as house-building or cattle-breeding.