Sutra is a word for scriptures of
Buddhism or other Indian religions. (The
Prakrit/Pali
? form is "sutta".) It derives from the
Sanskrit word for 'string'. In Buddhism originally it was used for the written oral teaching of Buddha
Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. These teachings are mainly assembled in the second part of the
Tripitaka which is called 'suttapitaka
?'. Nowadays very often 'sutra' is taken in Buddhism in Japan and China for all kinds of Buddhist scriptures.
In Hinduism the 'sutra' are concise descriptions of the Brahmanas, the holy scriptures.