Freda Bedi Cont'd (#3)

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Re: Freda Bedi Cont'd (#3)

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John Woodroffe [Arthur Avalon]
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 3/22/21



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Sir John Woodroffe
In 1928. Portrait by Lafayette
Born: 15 December 1865, Calcutta, British India[1][2]
Died: 16 January 1936 (aged 70), Beausoleil, Alpes-Maritimes, France[3]
Nationality: British
Other names: Arthur Avalon
Citizenship: United Kingdom
Alma mater: University College, Oxford
Occupation: Lawyer; Orientalist
Known for: The Serpent Power
Parent(s): James Tisdall Woodroffe, Florence Woodroffe

Sir John George Woodroffe (15 December 1865 – 16 January 1936), also known by his pseudonym Arthur Avalon, was a British Orientalist whose extensive and complex published works on the Tantras, and other Hindu traditions, stimulated a wide-ranging interest in Hindu philosophy and yoga.[3]

Life

Woodroffe was the eldest son of James Tisdall Woodroffe and his wife Florence, daughter of James Hume. James Woodroffe was Advocate-General of Bengal and Legal Member of the Government of India, a Justice of the Peace, and a Knight of St. Gregory [one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See]. John was educated at Woburn Park School and the University College, Oxford, where he took second classes in jurisprudence and the Bachelor of Civil Law examinations. He was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1889, and in the following year was enrolled as an advocate of the Calcutta High Court. He was soon made a Fellow of the Calcutta University and appointed Tagore Law Professor. He collaborated with Ameer Ali in a widely used textbook, Civil Procedure in British India. He was appointed Standing Counsel to the Government of India in 1902, and in 1904 was raised to the High Court Bench. He served there for eighteen years, becoming Chief Justice in 1915. After retiring to England he served as Reader in Indian Law to the University of Oxford. He died on 18 January 1936 in France.[3]

Sanskrit Studies

Alongside his judicial duties he studied Sanskrit and Hindu philosophy and was especially interested in Hindu Tantra. He translated some twenty original Sanskrit texts and, under his pseudonym Arthur Avalon, published and lectured prolifically on Indian philosophy and a wide range of Yoga and Tantra topics. T.M.P. Mahadevan wrote: "By editing the original Sanskrit texts, as also by publishing essays on the different aspects of Shaktism, he showed that the religion and worship had a profound philosophy behind it, and that there was nothing irrational or obscurantist about the technique of worship it recommends."[4]

The Serpent Power and The Garland of Letters

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Symbolic depiction of the Ajna chakra, from Woodroffe's The Serpent Power, 1918

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Woodroffe's The Serpent Power – The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga, is a source for many modern Western adaptations of Kundalini yoga practice. It is a philosophically sophisticated commentary on, and translation of, the Satcakra-nirupana ("Description of and Investigation into the Six Bodily Centres") of Purnananda (dated c.AD 1550) and the Paduka-Pancaka ("Five-fold Footstool of the Guru"). The term "Serpent Power" refers to the kundalini, an energy said to be released within an individual by meditation techniques.[5]

Woodroffe's Garland of Letters expounds the "non-dual" (advaita) philosophy of Shaktism from a different starting point, the evolution of the universe from the supreme consciousness. It is a distillation of Woodroffe's understanding of the ancient Tantric texts and the philosophy. He writes: "Creation commences by an initial movement or vibration (spandana) in the Cosmic Stuff, as some Western writers call it, and which in Indian parlance is Saspanda Prakriti-Sakti. Just as the nature of Cit or the Siva aspect of Brahman [Supreme Consciousness] is rest, quiescence, so that of Prakrti [matter] is movement. Prior however to manifestation, that is during dissolution (Pralaya) of the Universe Prakrti exists in a state of equilibrated energy.... It then moves... [t]his is the first cosmic vibration (Spandana) in which the equilibrated energy is released. The approximate sound of this movement is the mantra Om."[6]

Mahānirvāṇatantraṃ

Woodroffe translated the Mahānirvāṇatantraṃ from the original Sanskrit into English under his nom-de-plume of Arthur Avalon: a play on the magical realm of Avalon and the young later-to-be, King Arthur, within the story-cycle of tales known generally as King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table; specifically according to Taylor (2001: p. 148), Woodroffe chose the name from the noted incomplete magnum opus, the painting 'Arthur's Sleep in Avalon' by Burne-Jones.[7]

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The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon, by Edward Burne-Jones

Moreover, Taylor (2001: p. 148) conveys the salience of this magical literary identity and contextualises by making reference to western esotericism, Holy grail, quest, occult secrets, initiations and the Theosophists:

"This is quite important to know, for here we have a writer on an Indian esoteric system taking a name imbued with western esotericism. The name at any rate seems to hint at initiations and the possession of occult secrets. The Arthurian legends are bound up with the story of the Holy Grail and its quest. This was a symbol of esoteric wisdom, especially to Theosophists who appropriated the legend. Anyone who named himself after King Arthur or the mystic isle of Avalon would be thought to be identifying himself with occultism, in Theosophists' eyes."[7]


The Mahānirvāṇatantraṃ is an example of a nondual tantra and the translation of this work had a profound impact on the Indologists of the early to mid 20th century. The work is notable for many reasons and importantly mentions four kinds of Avadhuta.[8]
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Journal of the National Indian Association in Aid of Social Progress and Female Education in India, by Sir Monier Monier-Williams
NOTE 6.—The Pâtra, or alms-pot, was the most valued legacy of Buddha. It had served the three previous Buddhas of this world-period, and was destined to serve the future one, Maitreya. The Great Asoka sent it to Ceylon. Thence it was carried off by a Tamul chief in the 1st century, A.D., but brought back we know not how, and is still shown in the Malagawa Vihara at Kandy. As usual in such cases, there were rival reliques, for Fa-hian found the alms-pot preserved at Pesháwar. Hiuen Tsang says in his time it was no longer there, but in Persia. And indeed the Pâtra from Pesháwar, according to a remarkable note by Sir Henry Rawlinson, is still preserved at Kandahár, under the name of Kashkul (or the Begging-pot), and retains among the Mussulman Dervishes the sanctity and miraculous repute which it bore among the Buddhist Bhikshus. Sir Henry conjectures that the deportation of this vessel, the palladium of the true Gandhára (Pesháwar), was accompanied by a popular emigration, and thus accounts for the transfer of that name also to the chief city of Arachosia. (Koeppen, I. 526; Fah-hian, p. 36; H. Tsang, II. 106; J.R.A.S. XI. 127.)

Sir E. Tennent, through Mr. Wylie (to whom this book owes so much), obtained the following curious Chinese extract referring to Ceylon (written 1350): "In front of the image of Buddha there is a sacred bowl, which is neither made of jade nor copper, nor iron; it is of a purple colour, and glossy, and when struck it sounds like glass. At the commencement of the Yuen Dynasty (i.e. under Kúblái) three separate envoys were sent to obtain it." Sanang Setzen also corroborates Marco's statement: "Thus did the Khaghan (Kúblái) cause the sun of religion to rise over the dark land of the Mongols; he also procured from India images and reliques of Buddha; among others the Pâtra of Buddha, which was presented to him by the four kings (of the cardinal points), and also the chandana chu" (a miraculous sandal-wood image). (Tennent, I. 622; Schmidt, p. 119.)…

NOTE 7.—Fa-hian writes of the alms-pot at Pesháwar, that poor people could fill it with a few flowers, whilst a rich man should not be able to do so with 100, nay, with 1000 or 10,000 bushels of rice; a parable doubtless originally carrying a lesson, like Our Lord's remark on the widow's mite, but which hardened eventually into some foolish story like that in the text.

The modern Mussulman story at Kandahar is that the alms-pot will contain any quantity of liquor without overflowing.

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This Pâtra is the Holy Grail of Buddhism. Mystical powers of nourishment are ascribed also to the Grail in the European legends. German scholars have traced in the romances of the Grail remarkable indications of Oriental origin. It is not impossible that the alms-pot of Buddha was the prime source of them. Read the prophetic history of the Pâtra as Fa-hian heard it in India (p. 161); its mysterious wanderings over Asia till it is taken up into the heaven Tushita where Maitreya the Future Buddha dwells. When it has disappeared from earth the Law gradually perishes, and violence and wickedness more and more prevail:


—"What is it?
The phantom of a cup that comes and goes?
* * * * * If a man
Could touch or see it, he was heal'd at once,
By faith, of all his ills. But then the times
Grew to such evil that the holy cup
Was caught away to Heaven, and disappear'd."
—Tennyson's Holy Grail
...
-- The Travels of Marco Polo, by Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition

-- The Indian Institute: Monier-Williams and Empire, by Gillian Evison, Indian Institute Librarian

Bibliography

His writings (published under his own name, as well as Arthur Avalon) include:

• Introduction to the Tantra Śāstra, ISBN 81-85988-11-0 (1913).
• Tantra of the Great Liberation (Mahānirvāna Tantra), ISBN 0-89744-023-4 (1913).
• Hymns to the Goddess (1913).
• Shakti and Shâkta, ISBN 81-85988-03-X (1918).
• The Serpent Power, ISBN 81-85988-05-6 (1919).
• Hymn to Kali: Karpuradi-Stotra. Luzac & Co., London. 1922.
• The World as Power, ISBN 1-4067-7706-4 (1922).
• The Garland of Letters. ISBN 81-85988-12-9 (1922).
• Principles of Tantra (2 vols) ISBN 81-85988-14-5.
• Kularnava Tantra (Introduction by John Woodroffe). ISBN 81-208-0972-6 (1965).
• Kamakalavilasa by Puṇyānanda.
• Bharati Shakti: Essays and Addresses on Indian Culture.
• India: Culture and Society.
• Is India Civilized? Essays on Indian Culture.

See also

• Kali
• Mantra
• Yantra

References

1. India, Select Births and Baptisms, 1786-1947
2. 1881 England Census
3. "Obituary: Sir John Woodroffe". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 18 January 1936. p. 14.
4. T.M.P. Mahadevan, foreword to; Arthur Avalon, Garland of Letters, Ganesh and Company Madras, 6th ed. 1974 p iii.
5. Sir John Woodroffe. The Serets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga. Dover Publications NY 1974. p 313
6. Sir John Woodroffe. The Garland of Letters. Studies in the Mantra-Sastra Ganesh and Company 6th ed Madras 1974 pp12-13.
7. Taylor, Kathleen (2001). Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra and Bengal: 'an Indian soul in a European body?'. SOAS London studies on south Asia. Illustrated edition. Routledge. ISBN 0-7007-1345-X, 9780700713455. Source: [1] (accessed: Monday 3 May 2010), p.148
8. Woodroffe, Sir John (2007). Mahanirvana Tantra. NuVision Publications. ISBN 1-59547-911-2, ISBN 978-1-59547-911-2. Source: [2] (accessed: Monday 3 May 2010), p.175

Further reading

• Shakti and Shakta, by John Woodroffe, Published by Forgotten Books, 1910. ISBN 1-60620-145-X.
• Hymn to Kali:Karpuradi Stotra, by Sir John Woodroffe. Published by Forgotten Books. 1922. ISBN 1-60620-147-6.
• Hymns to the Goddess, Translated by John George Woodroffe, Ellen Elizabeth (Grimson) Woodroffe, Published by Forgotten Books, 1952 (org 1913). ISBN 1-60620-146-8.
• Mahanirvana Tantra, By Arthur Avalon, 1913,ISBN 1606201441.
• Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra And Bengal- An Indian Soul In A European Body?, by Kathleen Taylor. Routledge, 2001, ISBN 0-7007-1345-X.

External links

• Sir John Woodroffe's representations of Hindu Tantra Colorado University
• Woodroffe
• Works of sir John Woodroffe Sacred texts
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Re: Freda Bedi Cont'd (#3)

Postby admin » Tue Mar 23, 2021 4:35 am

Part 1 of 3

A Juridical Fabrication of Early British India: The Mahanirvana-Tantra
by J. Duncan M. Derrett
D C L. (Oxon.), LL.D., Ph.D. (Lond.). of Gray’s Inn, Barrister; Professor of Oriental Laws in the University of London
Essays in Classical and Modern Hindu Law
Volume 2: Consequences of the Intellectual Exchange With the Foreign Powers
1977

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A Juridical Fabrication of Early British India: The Mahanirvana-Tantra  

This is a story of a well-intentioned fraud which may interest students of the interaction of cultures. The Mahanirvana-tantra (referred to below as MNT) is very well known as a religious treatise, especially revered in Bengal. It is described as “one of the original and most revered tantras"1), and readers will be astonished to learn that, if it is a fabrication of any kind, it is a juridical fabrication. Naturally it is much more than this. It is a work on a vast scale in which an old religious tendency is refurbished and re-presented comprehensively, with reformist motives. The large number of editions, both in the original Sanskrit and in Bengali and English translations, which has appeared is an additional proof of its popularity. It would be impossible to contend that the purchasers of these books had any interest in the legal as opposed to the religious elements. But the whole is made up of its parts, and it would be incorrect to appraise the MNT without scrutinising its highly deceptive legal portions.

In an important article Lallanji Gopal [The Śukraniti: a Nineteenth-Century Text, by Lallanji Gopal] showed that there was every likelihood that the Sukraniti, which was until then supposed to be an ancient Hindu treatise on statecraft, was in fact a fabrication of the first half of the nineteenth century2). It is unlikely, if not impossible, that his contention will be refuted: the only important refinement we can look for is a more precise location of the work in place and time. In an earlier article3) [Sanskrit Legal Treatises Compiled at the Instance of the British, by J. Duncan M. Derrett, 1961] the present writer discussed a number of works which were certainly, and others which were possibly, written in response to British suggestion or request. The light which this throws upon the cultural interactions of the two civilisations is somewhat novel. The picture could not be completed without a discussion of the MNT, and the writer regrets that he did not suspect its correct historical location at that time. To his chagrin he finds that he discussed the MNT in connection with the topic of pre-emption, realising that the work stood apart from the dharmasastra tradition represented in earlier treatises of an orthodox description, but failing to grasp why this was so4).

This discussion must go further than the previous article in two respects. The MNT [Mahanirvana-Tantra] belongs to the border-land between the pre-British and the settled British system of judicial administration, and therefore throws a lot of light on the hopes and fears of the native population at that time and the capacity of the indigenous civilisation to react to them. In a further respect the MNT exemplifies a traditional quality of the Hindu mind, which must be probed. A psychological point of general interest arises. Credulity and make-believe have a special place in Indian intellectual, or para-intellectual life. It is by no means certain that an alteration in the content of fairy-tales told to Hindu children will remove the tendency towards these manifestations for the future. However that may be, it will be found that we cannot discuss our present ‘fabrication’ without approaching this Indian phenomenon more than once. History often repeats itself, and a similar folly in the recent past may throw light on a certain intellectual inadequacy in an unexpected quarter, a century before.

The Mahanirvana-tantra text

The work exists in very few manuscripts. Every one of them is on paper in modern Bengali script5). Manuscripts with the bare text of the verses are the majority (if the word majority has any meaning where the total is so small) and it is not clear whether the text with the commentary of Hariharananda Bharati (or Hariharananda Tirthasvami) is preserved in more than two manuscripts. This speaks at once for the work’s being modern, or rather, very modern. No trace of it is found in any work dealing with tantric religion prior to the eighteenth century6). Students of tantras either ignore this work7), or declare that its peculiarities do not quite fit it for the Bengali climate of thought8), in which it must obviously be placed historically and geographically.

It has been printed with and without commentary and in Bengali translation many times9): and several rumoured editions have not been traced. The popularity of the work is shared by its two English translations. That by Manmatha Nath Datta10) has been stigmatised as insufficient by the author (or supposed author)11) of the second, Arthur Avalon12). Avalon's edition of the text with the commentary has been printed at least twice, and his translation has gone into so many editions that Ganesh & Co. (Madras) who publish Avalon's many works on tantrism, evidently have a stable market. The popularity  may in some measure be accounted for by the subtle appeal that the work has to the twin strands of modern Hindu thought, the mystic and antiquarian on the one hand and the yearning for cosmopolitan values on the other.

The tantra is regarded as a religious work, and purports to have been composed by the god Siva. It is in terms addressed to the goddess Parvati. There is no trace of the author’s identity (naturally), for that would have interfered with the illusion: so that the work is anonymous. At one time it was believed13) that the MNT was written by Raja Rammohun Roy or by Hariharananda Bharati himself.
The first is highly improbable, as we shall see, and the second is unlikely, since in one place at least he seems not to have understood his text14). But, as we shall also see, it is very probable that the author’s work’s emergence was owed to Hariharananda.

Our special task is to examine the tantra with especial reference to the legal portions, for without these we cannot determine the mental climate in which the author wrote, and so we cannot establish its approximate date or conjecture how it came to be written. Having drawn conclusions from this material we can determine inferentially the relations towards this book on the part of Hariharananda, of Rammohun Roy, of the Brahma Samaj (which accorded the MNT considerable importance), and lastly of Arthur Avalon. This also is necessary, as it is not sufficient to establish how and where and when the book came to be written, but we must understand how it came to light, why it came into the prominence it did, and why, in the legal sphere, it did not come into greater prominence.

The Mahanirvana-tantra and Caste

It is generally known that Hinduism traditionally concerned itself with varna and asrama, that is to say with the hierarchical classification (or, commonly, ‘caste’) in which the individual was born, and the 'stage of life’ which he occupied at different periods of his life. In regard to both he was taught traditionally the merit or otherwise of observances, occupations, actions and abstentions, both those of a strictly religious nature and those with an ethical or moral significance. Contact with persons of other castes, the relationships which are allowed with them, the relations between the castes themselves in religious and purely secular contexts: all these were within the purview of the dharma-sastra (hereinafter called the Sastra), the traditional Hindu ‘science of righteousness'. This last is evidenced in an abundance of native literature, not to speak of discussions by non-Indians. It is generally possible to tell what the Sastra teaches on almost every problem that can arise in life.

The widest variety of opinions and psychological needs, felt over two millennia at the least, has provided in the sastra itself at various levels so wide a latitude for personal behaviour, always within the framework of caste, that until European influence began to be felt widely the weight of sastric sanction was not felt to be more of a hindrance than a privilege. The rise of European power produced reactions. It is a fact that Indians have a special, and perhaps unique faculty for adjusting themselves to foreign ways without themselves ceasing to be characteristically Indian. Acculturations are known the world over, but the ease with which Indians — for all their distinctive and pervasive civilization — from at least as early as the time of Alexander the Great, picked up foreign languages and became masters of foreign ideas about which they were curious, whilst still remaining nothing other than Indians, is not rivalled anywhere. The choice between assimilation or fossilization (as elsewhere) has not apparently presented itself. The characteristic Indian response to a new idea is not that it is wrong, but that Indian teachers must have said the same, or virtually the same, already. Outrageously novel notions are received in this constructively tolerant spirit, provided they arrive from a prestige-bearing quarter. The assumption is that Hindu learning and experience is exhaustive, and a new idea is merely one which was fallen temporarily out of view. It will then be re-expressed in Indian terms, perhaps distorted in the process, but none the less effectively absorbed. The acceptance of the Common Law with so many of its technicalities into India is only a single, though a very striking, example of this process. One might have expected that in order to be an expert practitioner in this very foreign and esoteric science one must forsake and repudiate traditional Hindu learning: but on the contrary many of the most successful practitioners at the Indian Bars have been brought up in the traditional way and have been great Sanskrit scholars in their own right. The late K. V. Venkatasubramania Iyer was not only the best Hindu law scholar of his day but taught the Madras High Court constitutional law, the newest and most foreign of legal manifestations India has known. And he was merely on outstanding recent example of an intellectual type. These general reflections have an intimate bearing on the MNT, which, whilst being extremely popular and highly revered, contains ideas unique in Hinduism.

Caste seems to be the pivot of this paradox. Hindus have long been aware of the absence of varna [social classes] outside India, and must have sought to justify caste to themselves. Many of the elaborate native expositions of the varna-theory may well owe their existence to this self-consciousness. When first Muslims and then Europeans ruled Bengal and gave promotion and lucrative appointments to Hindus of whom they approved, it could not be for long doubtful whether Hindu social and political theory would come under critical examination from Hindus aiming at desirable employment. Both Islam and Christianity being proselytising religions, many Hindus were brought to face the alleged merits of monotheism and a caste-less (or apparently caste-less) society: even if they had not been invited to do so by missionaries, their natural curiosity would have inspired them to investigate the reasons, if any, for the non-Hindu dharmas. The natural reaction would be to make a choice; either a non-Hindu dharma must be rejected because the alleged justification did not in fact support the practice, or because it could not be accommodated with prevailing Hindu concepts which already occupied the field; or, on the other hand, the justification being non-repugnant to Hinduism, the foreign dharma could be added to the spectrum of Hindu behaviours. A great help in this process was the natural, innate, ambivalence towards caste, especially in some areas of India where caste seems never to have had a firm hold, where Buddhism lingered long, and where in some senses and for some purposes people were anxious to pretend that it did not exist. An exaggerated respect for Brahmins (sometimes addressed as devata, ‘deity’, not always in fun?), and a desire to creep out from under the caste system, might well reside in the same head. Likewise tantric religion, which consists fundamentally of magical practices undertaken under the impression that worship of, for example, the goddess Kali, in esoteric ways would bring supernatural benefits to the worshipper, sought to supply to Brahmins and non-Brahmins alike a religious experience in which horror and awe might be combined, and in which the appetite for the marvellous and the secret, hitherto confined to Brahmins trained in the laborious methods known only to the orthodox, could be spread amongst persons whose only link was a common ritual. A boost was given to tantric performances and literature by the dominance of the Muslims, who possessed common rituals as, apart from tantrism, Hinduism did not; and the coming of Christianity to Bengal will have had an even greater effect. The common rituals of the sects of Christianity were much more elaborate and had, especially in the case of Roman Catholics, a strongly mystical and awesome element.

On this we may dwell for a moment. The drinking of spirits and wines was until the arrival of Europeans the privilege of the very lowest classes of Hindus, with the special exception of the numerically insignificant princely caste. In Bengal the unorthodox ways of the Punjab and Sind will have had no effect. The Brahmin ethic which still remained the dominant ethic of Bengali Hindu society, eschewed liquor. Islam purported to reject wine. Christians believed that drinking wine and eating flesh in the shape of bread, properly consecrated, was a great communion with the Divine. Persons of all sorts, once admitted to the church, could and should partake of this communion. From a Hindu point of view the horrid aspects of this act might be its chief virtues, provided one saw them in a tantric light. The things hated by orthodox Hinduism turned up in 'left-handed' worship by sects meeting in secret: eating meat, drinking liquor, committing incest. Tantrism had made these psychological aberrations almost respectable14a).

To the three otherwise reprobated acts commencing with the syllable ma known to older tantrism the MNT added two more, and we have the panca-makara, the five (otherwise questionable) entities commencing with ma, in which the tantric adept was entitled and expected to indulge during the ritual15). Some of the curiosities of the MNT are most easily explained if one assumes an attempt by the author to admit into relatively old tantric usages, such as are found in the Kularnava-tantra, notions derived from a comparative study of Christian, especially Roman Catholic, doctrine. The priest, the consecration of elements, the partaking of elements after initiation16), and in particular the notion of a wedding which is a religious communion as well as or indeed rather than a carnal copulation17), all appear in this tantra. The effect is, like so much Hindu teaching of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, not excluding the Hindu contribution (at times heavy) to the Theosophical Society's work, to draw what appears to be the foundation out from under the feet of the rival religion, leaving it with no exclusive merits which might claim converts from Hinduism. The present writer is impressed by the indebtedness of the MNT to Catholic Christianity, especially when we read that a kula-sannyasi or avadhuta (the kaula or tantric priest: avadhuta means literally ‘one who has shaken off, repudiated’, ‘a philosopher') can make Yavanas (i.e. even Muslims) pure (XIV. 177): in other words the merits of what corresponds to baptism belong to tantric Hinduism in no less an amplitude than to Christianity — for if a Muslim can be initiated a fortiori a Christian can be; that a kaula teacher must initiate a Candala (out-caste) or a Yavana who approaches him with a prayer for admission to the sect (XIV. 187); and that men of all the different dharmas in the world (thus explicitly including Christians) can be kaulas (ibid., 189); and when we note the mystic communion which all these people of different races and castes can enjoy together in common eating (III. 76—82) — a thing otherwise abhorrent to orthodox Hinduism. The great merits of Islam and Christianity, viz the absence of caste and the presence of communion, are no longer their peculiar gifts: Hinduism possesses them in full measure within the rather doubtful sphere of tantrism.


Nor is the matter left there. Caste and sect are often similar notions and sometimes popularly synonymous. The identity of the caste is often detected from the deity or deities worshipped in common. If one intends to abolish caste, whether out of desire to imitate or excel non-Hindus or from political motives, one automatically emphasises a monotheistic approach: the deities are in reality all one. The MNT does exactly this. The worship to be undertaken by the kaula, the member of this sect which is to be open to people of all religions, is that of Brahma, a deity who seldom plays in traditional Hinduism the role of a devata for the purposes of puja. It is quite justifiable to assert that the tantra is devoted to the worship of the Supreme Being and that the polytheistic traces, which remain numerous throughout the work, as well as the heaps of ‘mumbo-jumbo' which one expects to find in any tantric work, are superfluities which can be ignored if one wishes. The work is evidence that one very learned Sanskrit scholar believed that monotheism and a casteless society belonged to Hinduism and that the god Siva could be believed to have taught the details to the goddess Parvati17a). These details imitate the range of the dharma-sastra, with initiation, worship, class occupations, and installation of deities, the special rituals of the kaulas' chakra (or congregation under the direction of the avadhuta), and, last but not least, law.

The legal element in the tantra is very curious. First of all it is ample and more extensive in scope than genuine sastric works allow; next it is spread throughout the work in a manner hostile to any suggestion that the legal provisions are interpolations18. Further, the author expected the religious sanction attributed to the work as a whole to operate in a sastric fashion upon the conscience of the king. The occupations of the varnas are by no means missing from this treatise, because the social value of caste is not forfeited while the religious merit of castelessness is being introduced. As a result the king is expected to do his duty of protecting the people exactly as under the orthodox scheme. The author thus depicts the god Siva instructing kings to administer law according to his directions: and it is the religious sanction which is operative. The ‘king' whom the author has in mind cannot for long remain in doubt [King William the Third?]. The author must have been a Bengali — there is no evidence suggesting that he was a non-Bengali: the work did not exist while Hindus exercised royal powers over more than relatively small fragments of Bengal. The author must have wanted, therefore, to provide guidance for Muslim or European administrators. Which? This we must try to establish.

The Mahanirvana-tantra’s legal provisions

The legal portions of the tantra can be classified into three categories: (1) those more or less compatible with the sastra, though couched in language which an adept in the sastra might not have chosen (these it is neither convenient nor necessary to discuss); (2) those that are foreign to the sastra; finally (3) those which are not merely foreign but also evidently compatible with English law or legal ideas, whether in tone, origin, or even language.

It will be convenient to deal first with those which are foreign to the Sastra. This is easily detected, since the rules of the sastra may be found out in MM.
Dr. P. V. Kane’s History of DharmaSastra, which, though in English, is copiously supplied with references to the original Sanskrit. Another useful work is MM. Dr. Sir Ganganatha Jha’s Hindu Law in its Sources. Foreignness to the sastra may take various forms. First, the rule as expressed may have no counterpart in any sastric text; next, though some counterpart may be found, the approach and language reveal an independent outlook, a different origin for the idea expressed. The last, and perhaps most important distinction is where the rule appears to be sastric in style and approach, but has a significant variation, as if to operate as an amendment of the sastra. It will not be convenient to subdivide the material exactly in accordance with these differences, partly because the categories overlap, and partly because those who wish to compare the original sources would find it advantageous to check the miscellaneous examples in the order in which they occur in the work.  

A. Rules foreign to the sastra

The two great spheres of differences between the MNT and the sastra are marriage and inheritance. It will be noticed at once that these are the two main spheres of Anglo-Hindu law as first defined by the celebrated regulation of 1772 19). That regulation indicated that the law of the sastra should be applied to Hindus, but it did not indicate precisely what texts were to be consulted — nor indeed could such a provision have been made with any hope of success, even if many of the East India Company's officials time had comprehended what was meant. The MNT’s attention to these two topics could be read as an attempt to make up for the diffuseness and lack of clarity in the genuine sastric material.
IV. SOURCES OF LAW

In 1772 Hastings (acting on a proposition put up by the Committee of Circuit at Cossimbazar, 15 Aug. 1772)46 secured that indigenous systems should be applied, and that the judges of law should be specialists in those systems. The responsibility for the judgment should be shared between the official and the native jurist, both signing the final document. At this stage the first misconception obtrudes itself. The relationship between custom and the dharmasastra was taken for granted. Instead of using the native referees as sources of customary law, as Hastings might have done, and in a special case was later done,47 he directed that reference should be made only as to what the dharmasastra provided. The words of the provision, which later acquired the force of legislation, are not obscure: "In all suits regarding inheritance, marriage, caste and other religious usages or institutions, the laws of the Koran with respect to Mohamedans and those of the Shaster with respect to the Gentoos shall invariably be adhered to." The passage became law in the strict sense as s. 27 of the Regulation of 11 April 1780 and the word "succession" appeared in 1781, when, acting upon the advice of Sir Elija Impey, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Calcutta, the Governor-General in Council enacted the Administration of Justice Regulation, of which it is s. 93.48 Impey's scheme introduced a further element which must have been suggested by the scope of the original "plan". Following the practice of early Charters of the East India Company, and acknowledging the need to supply a fundamental law which would guide judges where regulations and personal laws failed, secs. 60 and 93 of the Regulation of 5th July 1781 referred the judges to Justice, Equity and Good Conscience, about which more will be said below.49

It is evident, however, that Hastings' original selection of topics, not materially affected by Impey's supplementation, cannot possibly have been intended to exclude from the Company's courts the two indigenous systems of law so far as they concerned evidence, for example, or commercial topics, contract in general, or civil wrongs. The evidence against this from the views and activities of students of Hindu law of the period circa 1795-1830 is overwhelming. Taking a pragmatic view of the matter lawyers in the last century have inclined to suppose that that was in fact the intention as well as the effect of the legislation.50 It has even been assumed that India possessed no law on these topics -- strange ignorance has perpetuated baffling misconceptions. What Hastings really intended appears to have been this: -- in the listed matters51 the dharma-sastra must be the standard, and the sastris, or as they were honorifically called, "Pandits", must be consulted. In those spheres, he had been told (it seems), "unseen" considerations were paramount and the sastra was a universal criterion. In the non-listed matters the sastra need not be consulted, and the award of an arbitrator or the customary rule might be enforced without explicit reliance upon the classical jurisprudence. Proof of custom, where not agreed between the parties, would be taken according to the prevailing law of evidence, which must have been the Hindu law, for the judges knew nothing of the English law on the subject. This is the basis for Impey's larger addition: the practice, as English judges became more confident, was for them to assess the equitableness of the rules applied outside the listed subjects, and where they were satisfied that the customary rule was inappropriate or insufficient, the matter was not referred to the sastri (who was relieved of responsibility in such cases), but dealt with out of hand.52

When the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court came to be reviewed, regard was had to the actual practice of Hindus resident within the territory in question. Concerned not so much with the source of the laws to be administered as with the topics upon which it would be administered, the Regulating Act of 1781 provided that "inheritance and succession to land rent and goods and all matters of contract and dealing between party and party" should be determined in the case of Hindus by their own laws and where only one party was a Hindu "by the laws and usages of the defendant".53 Marriage, caste and other religious institutions had not in fact been commonly dealt with in the Supreme Court, but contract, inheritance, especially testamentary succession, had been normally within the business of the Mayor's Court and later the Supreme Court,54 and succession to land was thought to be exclusively within the competence of the local court.

Both in the mufassil courts, and their chief appellate court, the Sadr Diwani 'Adalat at Calcutta, and in the Supreme Court the Hindu law occupied a large place. The law was to be found out from the Pandits, and not by reference, for example, to a jury or any equivalent.

Meanwhile the ruler's responsibilities with regard to caste matters were by no means abandoned. The Company retained the right to superintend the administration of temples,55 and the management of places of pilgrimage.55 But in course of time a definite disinclination to interfere in matters of Hindu religion emerged, and even a distaste for cases involving claims to dignities and honours of a religious character and claims relating to ceremonies in idol worship "for the benefit merely of the few who profit by them".57 There was a definite withdrawal from responsibility. Castes were left to manage their own affairs; their decisions were, if otherwise unobjectionable, treated as valid, but they were not supported by state power. The rulers dissociated themselves from any mechanism tending either to maintain or to modify the existing caste structure.58 Jurisdiction to supervise castes was very early forbidden in Bombay Presidency; elsewhere the "law" laid down in caste tribunals was never enquired into unless some civil and proprietary right was alleged to have been violated. Any caste decision which was within the caste rules and arrived at without violating any rule of natural justice was immune from review.59 Belief that the caste was some sort of private association within the state upon an analogy with an English club was responsible for this considerable deviation from the pre-British position.60

-- The Administration of Hindu Law by the British, by J. Duncan M. Derrett, University of London; former Tagore Professor of Law, University of Calcutta


We may commence with VIII. 150-1 (numbered 151-2 in the translation of A. Avalon.

sarve varnah sva-sva-varnair brahmodvaham tatha 'sanam
kurviran bhairavi-cakrat tattva-cakrad rte sive.
ubhayatra mahesani saivodvaha prakirttitah
tatha 'dane ca pane ca varna-bhedo na vidyate.


This Avalon translates as follows: “Except when in the Bhairavichakra or Tattva-chakra 19a), persons of all castes should marry in their caste according to the Brahma form, and should eat with their own caste people. O Great Queen!, in these two circles, however, marriage in the Shaiva form is ordained, and as regards eating and drinking no caste distinction exists.” It is important to recognise at the outset that the MNT, admitting that sexual intercourse is a feature of tantric ritual, speaks of udvaha, “marriage”, and gives us to understand that a woman (presumably an unmarried woman or a widow) with whom intercourse is had, subsequent to the ceremony to be described, is wife to the man who enjoys her, whether or not he already has or had a caste wife. The Saiva marriage, which was an abortive attempt to reform the Hindu law of marriage from within, in partial imitation of Muslim and Christian freedom to contract marriages outside the religion, is thus seen as a development of the existing tantric ritual or orgy in which intercourse without any question of marriage played some role. The next relevant text is too long to set out here at length, seeing that it occupies IX. 267 to 284 in Avalon’s text, that is to say IX. 266-283 of Jivananda’s text. Avalon’s translation is to be found at his pp. 302-304. The verses follow a description of a Brahma marriage which has an orthodox or sastric air about it, and form the climax of book IX. But they are in some kind of contrast to the Brahma marriage, and since the rules follow the former and are at the climax the reader is left with the impression that this innovation (totally unknown to the sastra) is more important to the author than the material which introduces it. The content of the passage may be summarised thus: having said that another Brahma marriage should not be undertaken without the permission of the first Brahma wife (266), the author adds rather abruptly, “if the children of the Brahma wife or any of her family (vamsa) be living the children of the Saiva wife shall not inherit” (267). They are however entitled to food and clothing and the heir is bound to maintain the Saiva wife. There are two Saiva marriages: one is terminated with the chakra (the relationship ends — one hopes — when the congregation disperses), while the other is lifelong (this was the principal innovation, evidently) (269). The marriage is arrived at by mutual consent (parasparecchaya) and is performed by the male (called here viva). But he must first obtain the consent of the assembled congregation (anumanyatam) (271). He then asks the woman to accept him as husband (pati-bhavena vrnu) (273). The presiding priest utters a mantra invoking the protection of the tantric deities (276) and the congregation say Amen (svasti). The priest sprinkles the couple with wine or sacred water. They bow to him and then “carefully carry out whatever they have promised” (278). The author says that in Saiva marriage there are no restrictions of caste or age, but the woman must have no husband and not be within the prohibited degrees (this is evidently intended to lay a foundation for a respectable marriage) (279). But if this Saiva wife has a menstrual period thereafter, the husband, if he desired a son, may abandon her (tyajet). The offspring of a Saiva marriage is of the same caste as the mother should she be of the lower caste, but if the order of castes is reversed he has the status of samanya ('equal', 'commoner '). Such sons would have no status in the funeral rites under the sastra; but since the kaulas, or tantric adepts, have allowed the marriage, naturally from their point of view the issue are legitimate: therefore at a time when a legitimate son would according to the sastra perform orthodox rituals, the Saiva son must feast the kaulas only (and not Brahmins, qua Brahmins) (282).

The general tone of the MNT on sexual matters is puritanical. The author evidently hopes to elevate his Saiva marriage into a respectable institution, a means of liberalising Hindu society, providing tantrism itself becomes more respectable as well as more widely patronised, and this latter could certainly be hastened if tantrism were to be cleansed of merely libidinous elements. It is important to note that at 283-4 the author attaches religious sanction both to the desire for intercourse and to the saiva-dharma, an expression which means both the laws promulgated (here) by the god Siva, and the system of Saiva (i.e. Siva’s) marriage just set out. The tendency is confirmed by a verse in the section dealing with sexual misbehaviour (XI. 46):


parinitas tu ya naryo brahmair va saiva-vartmabhih
ta eva dara vijneya anyyah sarvah para-striyah.


Avalon translates (p. 346): "A man should consider as wife only that woman who has been married to him according to the Brahma or Shaiva form. All other women are the wives of others.” It is a sin to look lustfully on the wife of another (47).

A further statement that the children of a Saiva marriage are not to inherit in the presence of either issue of a Brahma marriage or close relatives (sapindas) of the deceased’s father or mother is followed by the rule that the Saiva wife and children are entitled to maintenance. To confirm the married status of this woman he continues with a rule (XII. 60) that she cannot look to her father or other relations for her maintenance: her Saiva husband must support her, provided she behaves herself. “Therefore, the father who marries his well-born daughter according to Shaiva rites by reason of anger or covetousness will be despised of men (61)” (Avalon p, 368). But the issue of the Saiva marriage inherit before all remote relations and strangers (62). Thus the novel institution is settled into the law not merely of marriage but, quite practically, those of maintenance and inheritance as well. The warning not to give away a daughter in the Saiva form without due reason (for the Brahma form will entitle the girl to ornaments and other prestige-bearing expenditure, whereas the Saiva form avoids all the conspicuous consumption dear to the Hindu) is supported by a further rule (at XII. 125) that an only daughter should not be given away in this form, and it is possible to read the verse in such a way as to include a prohibition of a man who has one wife giving away that wife in a Saiva marriage ceremony (Avalon, p. 376).


The inheritance provisions of the MNT have two characteristics that mark them out from all sastric works. First the detail is very elaborate. It is far more explicit than would be required in a native law book. The explicit provisions of the Vivadarnava-setu [Anglo-Hindu law] (1773 to 1775) are a rough parallel, and this is very significant20). Secondly, the language is markedly un-sastric. Words occur which are unknown to the sastra, and which are evidently translations into Sanskrit of technical English expressions. The passages in question are XII. 19, 21, 25, 26-28, 30-40, 42-63. A summary will serve our purpose. A son's son is entitled to the property rather than a wife or a father (this would be correct in Sastric law) ‘by reason of his being a descendant’ (adhastaj janma-gauravat, literally, because of the importance of downward, or lower, birth). This extraordinary expression (Avalon, p. 364) betrays not so much the hand of the novice as that of one who intends to communicate Hindu ideas in a foreign diction (though the medium is Sanskrit). Avalon’s note to this verse (XII. 19) shows no sign of his having grasped how strange the expression is in view of the fact that Hindu law is well equipped with discussions of inheritance and never contemplates this way of putting it. He says “property primarily descends", unaware that the metaphor of descent, so well embedded in English legal language, is by no means universal. There is a privilege for males (21) and that is why a grandson will exclude daughters, though they are very near. There is a definition of stridhanam (woman’s peculiar property)21), and we are told that all of this passes to the svami (svami need not mean husband here) and “then” (presumably in his absence) the nearest will take her estate adha urdhva-kramad, “according to the order of down and up”, or rather, “by reason of the going down or up”, i.e., literally, “according to descent and ascent”(!). This is a very comical attempt to translate an English portmanteau phrase. If an English student of Sanskrit had been trying to turn an English legal idea into that language he might have produced a similar result. The inheritance of the widow depends on her good behaviour (27) in the care of her husband’s family. Even suspicion of misbehaviour will prevent her inheriting (28): this is emphatically contrary to Sastric law and naturally to Anglo-Hindu jurisprudence22). There is a very extraordinary expression at verse 30. It is an endeavour to explain what in subsequent periods of Anglo-Hindu law was worked out in detail, but was naturally obscure on the footing of the texts of the Bengal school (usually called the Dayabhaga school) of Hindu law Avalon translates (p. 365): ‘'If the woman who inherits her husband’s property dies leaving daughters, then the property is taken to have gone back to the husband and from him to the daughter.” Correctly he should have written “a daughter” for “daughters”, but the slip is trivial. The property goes to the daughter, says the text literally, punah svami-padam gatva, i.e. “having reverted to the husband (owner)”. Is it assumed that the husband is already dead, but the property was originally his? If the widow took it subject to what is now called the “limited estate”23), one of the incidents thereof was that on the widow’s death (or surrender) the next heir of the last male holder (svami) took it as if he had died when the widow died. Verse 31 explains further: “So, property which has gone to the widow of a son during the lifetime of a maiden (daughter), on her (the widow’s) death it must revert to the ‘owner’ (here svami means the last male holder’s father) and from (her) father-in-law it will go to his daughter.” This is incorrect Dayabhaga law put in very unconventional language. Nowadays we should express the thing by saying that if P died leaving a son S and a son’s wife SW and a daughter D, and then S died leaving SW and D, and then SW died, the estate which had formerly belonged to P would not pass to the personal heirs of SW but would pass to the nearest heir of S as if S had died when SW died and the nearest heir of S must be sought through P, his father: but we should not choose D as the reversionary heir, because D is not the nearest heir of S, as the sister is never an heir at Dayabhaga law24). Thus the author of the MNT, seeking to combine the native notion of the limited estate with a foreign notion of nearness of blood and the search for the descendant of the previous owner (see below), puts what is in fact an innovation into language at least comprehensible to a foreigner. In verse 32 we read “Likewise, property which has passed to a mother in the lifetime of the father’s father (namely the mother’s father-in-law) must, on her death, go to her father-in-law by reason of her son, by reason of her husband. In other words the last male holder's (her dead son’s) line’s nearest representative, namely her husband s father, must take the property. This would be correct at Dayabhaga law. The rules which follow bear out both points, namely the effect of the limited estate and the claim of the reversioner, and the concept of “descent”, etc. At v. 35 we are told “In the absence of descendants (adhastananam virahat), when the estate cannot descend (literally, go down’), then it must ascend (literally, go up’) only by means of him through whom a descendant was readied”. Avalon’s translation seems incorrect. The property, it seems, goes by the way it came, and the illustrations bear this out. Many intricate questions of inheritance are now handled, and there is a general conformity with the Dayabhaga law. The way in which the rules are set out has nothing in common with conventional Dayabhaga exposition25). But striking divergences from that law are found. Half-brothers and full brothers inherit together: v. 39.26) Daughter's sons cannot inherit in the lifetime of daughters (which is correct), but daughters inherit after sons (40-41). Stridhanam (cf. v. 25) inherited from others than the husband reverts to the source from whence it came (42): this seems new26a). There is an odd phrase at 43: preta-labdha-dhana, “property obtained from a dead man (i.e. deceased’)”. Verse 46 has much interest:

pitrvyat sannikarse ’tra tulyau bhratr-pitamahau
dhanam pitr-padam gatva prayatur bhrataram bhajet.


It is perfectly true that, as he says, “in point of propinquity both brother and father’s father are to be preferred to the fathers’s brother”. From the western standpoint the number of degrees is the same in the case of the brother and the grandfather, whereas in the case of the uncle three steps have to be taken. He continues, “the property, having reverted to the father should resort to the deceased’s brother”. The word for ‘deceased’ is a neologism [a newly coined word or expression], prayatr, a literal translation surely of ‘predecessor’, much better than the preta noticed above. This conception of property passing through relations (whether living or dead) fits English concepts of descent of real property27), but is quite foreign to Hindu law as generally understood.

More foreign still is verse 52, according to which the well-behaved son's daughter whose parents are dead and who has no brother may share her father’s father's property along with her father’s brothers, i.e. females have a right of representation. This is unknown to Hindu law, but follows the English, or at any rate a western, pattern28). To our author the son’s daughter seems a more worthy heir than even the deceased’s own daughter (v. 53): this is most irregular from a traditional Hindu standpoint.
On the whole the scheme of inheritance is a peculiar one, being neither what the Dayabhaga law required nor what English law suggested, but a curious amalgam of the two expressed constantly in terms of ascent and descent, such as would occur only to one who had viewed Hindu customs through western eyes. To him two principles stand out throughout the scheme: that males should have priority over females, that property should descend rather than ascend, and that where descent is not possible the property ascends and descends through senior relations (cf. 57). This has an undeniable and peculiar affinity with the old English law of descent of real property, and seems comical in a Hindu setting.


Passing from the important topics of marriage and inheritance we may continue with rules foreign to the sastra. It may be convenient to proceed in the order of the book. At VIII. 125 we are given a rule about the distribution of prize amongst soldiers. Shares are to be given according to merit. Included in prize may be items conceded under the peace-treaty. This has no counterpart in the sastra29). At VIII. 141 we are told that the interest on barley, wheat or paddy is 25 per cent per annum, whereas in the case of metals the interest is 12-1/2 per cent. The last is novel. There is no means of knowing whether any actual usage in Bengal corresponded to it30). A rule rather like the allegation of 'superior orders’ appears at XL 80: “The man who kills another in obedience to an imperative order is not guilty of killing, for it is the master’s killing. This is the command of Siva.” This appears at Avalon’s translation, p. 350, but I have very slightly amended his version. There is nothing in the sastra to correspond to this, nor, it would seem, to XI. 91: After punishing them severely the king should banish (niryapayet, an unexpected word) from his country those mortals who give false evidence or who, as arbitrators, are partial (paksapatinah)". On the number of witnesses, a strange rule also appears, at v. 92: six, four or three are enough, but so is the evidence of two witnesses of well-known righteousness31). The means whereby evidence may be taken from blind and deaf-and-dumb witnesses, at v. 94, is supplementary to the sastra. The punishment of forgers (double that of false witnesses) is also new: v. 96 32). A completely un-sastric rule about eating appears at XI. 132: there is nothing wrong in eating on the bade of an elephant, on a large block of stone, on a very heavy piece of wood etc. A further foreign passage is that dealing with maintenance at XI. 58-63. Very comprehensive rules are given about guardianship of a child without parents or paternal grandfather. At 62-3 the rules about maintaining relatives are wrongly translated by both Avalon (p. 348) and Datta. The correct translation appears to be, “O Ambika! The king, considering the wealth of a man, should force him to give clothing and food to his father, mother, father’s father, father’s mother, likewise a woman (i.e. concubine), to an illegitimate son and to a sonless maternal grandfather and to a maternal grandmother, if they are poor.” The list is of great interest, as it differs from the sastric provisions33), but the expression for illegitimate son (ayo-gya-sunu) is highly curious: the notion “illegitimate” can be translated “what is not proper according to law”, and this might well be rendered ayogya. Needless to say, the concept “illegitimate” as such (in contrast to ‘bastard’)34) is unknown to the native Hindu law.

The list can be brought to a rapid close with a series of striking rules, all unknown to the sastra as they stand. XII. 83—5, 87 deals with the man who disappears, XII. 94 deals acutely with the administration of charities35), and XII. 97-101 has a treatment of the thorny problem of earnings, exempt from partition. The disqualifications from inheritance at XII. 102-4 go, in part, beyond what the sastra provides36). So does XII. 105-6 which deals with title to property which has been found. The king takes a tenth of unowned property and the finder takes nine tenths37). The curious word prapta, which would translate the English word ‘finder’, should be noticed in passing. There is a new rule on cultivation (XII. 113), on the building and use of tanks (115-117). XII. 118-123 contain miscellaneous rules. The pledge of an undivided interest is forbidden. When animals are pledged and the pledgee works them with the owner’s consent, the pledgee (dharta, literally ‘supporter’ or ‘undertaker’) must feed the animals. The present writer has a suspicion that dhartr is used in the sense of ‘person liable’. ‘Liable’ (verpflichtet), a term so well known in English law, is difficult to explain, let alone translate. The context is purely Hindu38), but the word is unexpected. XII. 121 is foreign in that it requires definiteness in all loans, whether in point of duration  or rate of interest: a definiteness that must often have been wanting in such contracts between Hindus. Verse 123 is highly curious:

krama-vyatyaya-mulyena dravyanam vikraye sati
nrpas tad anyatha kartum ksamo bhavati Parvati.


“O Parvati! The king is entitled to set aside (render of no effect) a transaction when there has been a sale of objects, the price being contrary to (or in breach of) the order laid down.” This suggests (pace Avalon, whose guess is recorded in his footnote to p. 376) that a scale of prices must have been fixed for certain commodities, and krama must here mean ‘scale’. The notion of setting aside a sale, not the notion of fixed prices, is novel to Hindu law of the pre-British period. The curious phrase ksamo bhavati, ‘is able to’ is quaint in view of the normal sastric diction, which commands or authorises the king to do innumerable acts in the potential mood of the main verb. But if ksamo bhavati translates ‘has jurisdiction to’, it is quite comprehensible. Finally, at XII 126-7 we have some very general particulars about agents (who do not figure prominently in sastric law), including a Sanskrit word for “principal”, niyantr, which we have never seen before in this sense. It is in fact quite apt for the purpose.
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Re: Freda Bedi Cont'd (#3)

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Part 2 of 3

B. Rules of Possibly English Provenance

So far we have seen instances of Hindu rules differing from the traditional Hindu law in content, style and language. We have come across words which seem like attempts to translate English terms. This might be a question of style or mannerism. But further evidence reveals that the juxtaposition of Hindu and entirely foreign rules was more complex than a mere contamination of the one by the other. The author wanted to add and to change, as we have seen, and we shall now see whether his source is not English law in some shape or form.

But first we must mention specially the peculiar case of pre-emption. Pre-emption is an ancient customary rule whereby certain classes of persons connected with the owner of property have the right to buy it from him if he shows conclusive signs of selling it to someone in an inferior class from this point of view, or to a total stranger. In a careful study of the provisions of the MNT relative to pre-emption, at a time when this writer was unaware of the probable age of the work39), it became obvious that the Hindu writer was not influenced by the much older Hindu works which do deal with preemption. It also became obvious that his inspiration was customary law. It was suggested that the law which he was intent on fixing in written form was very close, in some respects, to the Islamic law. This is quite understandable as at the time, which we now surmise to be late eighteenth century, the Islamic law of pre-emption (shufa) was the only written law on the subject available. It is therefore far from unlikely that in this case the true source was not English law (which did not have any rules on the subject) but the law of the pre-British sovereigns, the Muslims.

The first example of apparently English-inspired rules comes from the Eighth Book. At VIII. 135, 137-140 we have a set of rules to deal with the sale of goods. Where goods are sold by description the sale is voidable if they fail to answer to the description40). There is a one-year period within which latent defects may appear and upset the transaction41). Especially foreign and notably English is the rule in VIII. 140:


dharmartha-kama-moksanam bhajanam manavam vapuh
atah kulesi tat-krayo na siddhen mama sasanat.


To paraphrase this, the god Siva forbids the sale of the human body which is the vessel of the four aims of man according to the scriptures. The enlightened author of the MNT was clearly opposed to slavery, or at least to traffic in slaves, and was determined to offer what means lay in his power to cut the knot which prevented the suppression of such traffic42). That English philanthropists and even others with more mundane interests to pursue were against slavery and hesitated to suppress it out of fear of running counter to the native laws, must have been well known in Bengal in the last decades of the eighteenth century. The rule which appears in the same passage, to the effect that sale is completed when buyer and seller are agreed on the object and the price, is purely English43). Our text relating to slavery comes at the end of the section on sale.

At XI. 68 we are given an interesting rule regarding the presumption of legitimacy. No such rule appears in the sastra. A child is not legitimate (yogya) if born within the twelfth fortnight after marriage or later than one year following the husband’s death44). A careful distinction is made between intentional and unintentional homicide  (XI. 71-2) 45). Punishment is provided for the attempted suicide (XI. 73) 46). There is no guilt in killing in a duel or in self-defence (XI. 74) 47). The death penalty is prescribed for those who commit treason, subverting the government or comforting the king’s enemies, creating disaffection amongst the troops, waging war against the king, and also for armed highwaymen (pantha-pidaka is an excellent translation of 'highwayman') — XI. 78-9: —

rastra-viplavino rajyam jihirsun nrpa-vairinam
raho hitaisino bhrtyan bhedakan nrpa-sainyayoh.
yoddhum icchuh praja rajna sastrinah pantha-pidakan
hatva narapatis tv etan naiva kilbisa-bhag bhavet.


The language shows an attempt to translate from English, and the law, of course, agrees with English law of the period48). The law of defamation, that is to say as a criminal offence, appears at XI. 85-6, but it is specifically added that the defamer should be made to pay damages to the injured party49). The expression for 'injured party’ is anista-bhagi jana, which is rather clumsy Sanskrit, revealing an attempt at literal translation.

At XI. 97 we are told that an admission of a party (to litigation) is worth more than the evidence of witnesses. This clearly refers to English judicial procedure 50 ). The word for ‘admission’, then known as ‘confession’ (ahgikaranam) is correct Sanskrit, but evidently used in a technical and here purely English sense. Avalon foolishly renders the word ‘oath’, though Datta’s translation is correct. XI. 100-1 deals with oaths, both oaths to be taken by witnesses and oaths taken to secure actions. Our author is very hostile to misuse of liquor. Naturally, since liquor plays a part in tantric ritual and he is keen to make tantrism respectable. Hence the English law relating to the power of the magistrate to chastise those incapable through drink51) is called upon at XI. 113, 115, 118, 119. The provision that first offenders should be punished lightly (XI. 24) is consistent with English usage and with sastric principles. The subject of treason, which we have already encountered, appeared for the first time actually at XI. 27-30. It is important to notice that the English crime of petty treason52) appears at 29-30, and the duty of the subject to maintain loyalty to the king is stated at 28. Alone of Hindu writers the author of the MNT gives details of incest. The English law being part of the canon law of the Church was well armed on this subject53): the Hindu law much less so 53a). At XI. 31 the death penalty for incest appears. Perhaps this was severe by any standard. Then in vv. 32-4, 35 the relations are listed with whom intercourse amounts to incest. But a lesser (and Hindu) penalty is provided for those who have intercourse with women not within the strictest limits of incest. Here an amalgam of Hindu and English ideas is to be found. Nullity of marriage is provided in clear terms (a notion wanting in the smrti literature)54) when the marriage is between close relations (XI. 36), and on account of impotence (XI. 66) 55). Sodomy56) and rape57) are stated as crimes bearing the death penalty, at XI. 44 and 45 respectively. There is some doubt as to whence the rule comes which is stated at XI. 53. This is the husband’s virtual privilege of putting to death an adulterer caught in the act57a). Indecent exposure as a crime57b) appears at v. 50, but curiously no punishment, only an expiation is prescribed.

At XII. 12, 15-17 a jurisdiction is given to the king to compel partitions and to decree partitions in disputes between co-partners in family property. This was one of the innovations introduced into Hindu law by the British judicial administration. Previously, of course, sharers had the right to divide and to compel one another to make the property available: but the jurisdiction in Equity to compel disclosure of assets and to attach and appoint receivers, to order payment out to creditors and to make such other consequential orders as are clearly referred to in this passage was something relatively recent in Hindu experience; from which we may judge that our author saw the Hindu law adapting itself under the new administration.

C. Conclusion as to the legal rules

Our author was not ignorant of sastra, and many of his rules have a sastric flavour. He refers to custom, such as the custom of primogeniture (XII. 10), in a manner that no sastric writer does. He was evidently writing for those who wanted a practical guide for legal as well as spiritual life, and we have seen that both in the context of marriage and that of inheritance he introduced elements which were previously recognized neither in custom nor in the sastra. His language is deliberately alien to that of the sastra. His verses are so simple and pellucid that the commentators commentary is no more than a literal and undistinguished paraphrase. He aims to be understood by anyone knowing Sanskrit. His Sanskrit translations of what must have been English terms are in some places awkward: but would his newly part-anglicized litigant public object to this?

What was his motive? Did he hope to effect a revolution in Hindu law? Was he aiming to satisfy English judges and ease their difficulties in administering Hindu law? It is very difficult to be sure. The amount of sheer labour involved in preparing such a large work, and the scale of the enterprise, certify that it must have taken not less than two years to write, and it could not have been undertaken without high hopes of its being treated seriously. The legal portions are part and parcel of the whole, and had they been unsatisfactory the whole would have suffered. It may be safer to assume that his motives were mixed, and we can return to the possibilities when we have ascertained the probable date of the work.

The date can be fixed by reference to certain reasonably definite chronological points. English law became of importance to the population of Bengal as a whole only after 1765, but no one knew for certain that English law would be administered to Bengalis generally until the grant of the Diwani from the Mughal Emperor in that year had been followed by the decision on the part of the East India Company to stand forth as Diwan and perform the judicial functions of that officer in their own persons. By 1772, when Warren Hasting’s Regulation preserved marriage and inheritance and the laws of caste as topics to be determined solely by reference to the sastra58) it became evident that English law would be called upon slowly and indirectly in the non-listed subjects, though not necessarily, nor conclusively. Knowledge of how this would work must have dawned very slowly, even in the quick minds of Bengalis. To make the Hindu law capable of being understood and applied the Gov.-General caused the Vivadarnava-setu to be compiled, the material to be set out in an order and with reference to topics settled by or for himself. While this was progressing — a scheme in which the minimum of interference in the Hindu law was to be made by English lawyers, as the result shows — the English Parliament, dissatisfied with the behaviour of the East India Company’s servants in Bengal, set up a new system, and enabled the Supreme Court to be created. The unhappy history of this court need not detain us here58a). What matters is that within a very few months of its being established in 1774 the general public of Bengal came to believe that English rules would be enforced throughout the Presidency and with reference to any kind of topic. The relatively clear distinctions between the listed and the non-listed topics of the Regulation of 1772, were for a while obscured. The whole question of law and jurisdiction was in the air. No one knew what would happen. Would the rulers apply native rules at all and if so in which spheres? The Supreme Court and the East India Company’s servants were at loggerheads. The appellate jurisdiction of the Company’s chief court at Calcutta was suspended59). The year 1775-6 was the year of peak anxiety. Several different theories were propounded at Calcutta. The supremacy of the Supreme Court in matters of law led to a belief that English rules would be resorted to, or should be resorted to, in any litigation60). The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sir Elijah Impey60a), was not always of the same mind in this respect. At times he inclined to the view that English law should be relied upon to supplement, and at times amend, as it were by judicial legislation, the native laws61). Ultimately the fundamental hypotheses of Warren Hastings triumphed and the East India Company’s courts were reestablished by the Company’s own government on a footing agreeable to English lawyers. The listed topics were not enlarged. Thus, in the Company’s own courts, the Hindu religious sources could still, and indeed must still be resorted to in those areas. And they might still be resorted to for guidance in others. The criminal law was still basically Islamic, as pandits regretted. It did not cease to have this character until Lord Cornwallis’s time, nearly twenty years later, and even then it was only modified, not abrogated 62). But the Supreme Court was administering English law, including English criminal law, and the case of Nandakumar, in 1775 assured everyone that English ideas could be applied to Hindus who had never envisaged such a misfortune63). Uncertainty as to the scope of reference to native laws, and certainty that far more English law would be applied to the people than they had wished, prevailed beyond 1780. All this time the Company’s judges who wished to apply Hindu law in the listed topics experienced every kind of difficulty in ascertaining what the law was. The litigants put in certificates of the law signed by numerous pandits, and the 'new sastra‘63a) as well as the ‘old’ was relied on. The pandits who were actually employed to expound the law did so in ways which at times excited suspicion. Forgeries of texts were not unknown64 [The suspicions about the Dattaka Chandrika are the most celebrated example]). But the theory was generally accepted that the Hindus were entitled to have administered to them the laws of their religion. And at least two schools of law, apart from custom, were known in Bengal.

By 1782 the situation had changed. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court was curbed. The Company’s courts, especially in revenue contexts, were less open to interference. The Hindu law itself would be administered in the Supreme Court, according to a list differing from that of Warren Hastings, in fact a little wider, but much more definite. The Hindu law of contract, for example, was part of the law of that court. There was no question that the East India Company (who represented the Hindu 'king’) would administer the English criminal law. But under ‘justice, equity and good conscience’ there was every possibility that their country judges would consult Hindu books of a suitable character for aid in non-listed matters.

It is difficult to be precise. The writing of the MNT took time. It could not have commenced until English legal ideas and English legal terms came to the knowledge of the author. How soon could that have been? By 1773 this was already possible. Did an English attorney consult with the pandit? Or did some attorney’s clerk supply what was needed, who had familiarised himself with whatever library was then available? The present writer thinks this much more likely. The years of maximum anxiety and maximum need for information would be the years in which curiosity about English law would be at its height. On the whole 1775 is the best year in which to conjecture that a start was made on the MNT. If it was finished by 1777 the whole project would be over long before the Regulating Act of 1781 set limits to the scope of English law in the Supreme Court, and allowed the Company’s courts to proceed in their own way, and to develop their own balance between the native and the imported laws. But it is difficult to be so exact. The date of the Mahanirvana-tantra may thus be put conjecturally at 1773-1780.

Our provisional conclusion is that the author wanted to purify the tantric religion, and thereby to make it more popular, and to enable tantric Hinduism, which was more real to many Hindus than Vedic Hinduism
, to resist the inevitable confrontation with Christianity. Here he may have been gifted with foresight, because the impact of missionary endeavour had still to be felt: the presence of Christian clergy did not amount to a mission prior to 1793 65). The tantric religion, thus advanced, could be called upon as a law for a religious community which would embrace more than the caste Hindus. Under the Juridical schemes of 1772 and 1781 the members (whom he calls kaulas) could claim that their laws of marriage, inheritance,  etc., were regulated by a sacred book composed by the god Siva. The English administrators would welcome a book which could easily be read and the tone and much of the contents of which would be familiar to them. And the new community would have the advantage of an up-to-date atmosphere so far at least as its legal awareness was concerned.

The Mahanirvana-tantra and Rammohun Roy

The Rajah Rammohun Roy possessed a copy of the MNT, which he may or may not have copied for himself. He used the book and had a high opinion of it. His followers likewise used it. What was his relation to it? The chronology of his life must first be recapitulated68). He was born 22 May 1772. He was educated principally in an Islamic atmosphere, and was later self-educated in Hinduism. He was married twice in the orthodox style and since his third wife, who died in 1858, was treated in every respect as a regular Hindu widow from the Rajah’s death in 1833, we may presume that she also was married in the orthodox style, i.e. she was not a Saiva wife. His two sons, Radha Prasad Roy and Rama Prasad Roy were both unquestionably legitimate sons, and neither can have been a Saiva son. The statement of Avalon (who ought to have known better) that Rammohun Roy had a Saiva wife and child67) turns out to be without foundation. The boy taken with him to England (Raja Ram) was a foster child, as was well known in Calcutta68), and not a Saiva son of the Rajah’s. Rammohun’s complicated and unusual education completed, he entered the East India Company’s service, from which he retired a wealthy man. Indeed the sources of his wealth are known to have been various and we cannot accuse him of any particular degree of corruption in office, notwithstanding the habits of the time. The most significant period from our point of view was between 1809 and 1814, when he was serving at Rangpur. There he studied “modern Tantric works” with the aid of Hariharananda, “a Bengali Tantric mendicant whose acquaintance he made there ...”69). Within two years of leaving Rangpur he had published a work on the Vedanta-sutra and founded the Atmiya Sabha, the first of his societies with a religious object, upon an analogy with a Christian church. The year 1816 sees him making his first reference to the MNT 69a). By this time he cites tantras along with Upanishads and other traditional Hindu scriptures as if there were no great difference between them. In his first work tantras are defended as sastric works 70). The MNT is quoted or paraphrased by him in 1817 71) 1820 71a), 1821 72), 1822 72a), 1827 73), 1828 73a), 1829 74). He shows himself well aware of false tantras and the possibility of forgery75). He says himself, "... those Poorans and Tuntrus only which have been commented upon or quoted by respectable authors are to be regarded.” Rammohun was greatly interested in the Kularnava-tantra, which he frequently quotes and is supposed to have edited76). The date of this is doubtful. But how he can have reconciled his general caution with the use of the MNT which had only the commentary of his own teacher, and that too a poor apology for a commentary, it is difficult to see.

Rammohun certainly taught that the Saiva marriage, which he could support only from the MNT (which he cites), was as good as a Vaidic marriage. His radical reformist propositions in the realm of marriage were based on the MNT77). In his attack on sati78 ) he was supported also by the MNT, which was against the practice79). In a short form of worship published in Bengali by Rammohun the hymn beginning Namaste Sate (III. 59) was set out, but it seems the form was not actually used in the services of the Brahma Samaj founded by the Raja80). Texts from the MNT do however appear in the Brahma Dharma Grantha compiled by Debendra Nath Tagore, Rammohun’s successor in the Brahma Samaj.

There cannot be the slightest doubt but that Rammohun regarded the MNT as a genuine, i.e. old work. He knew a great deal of dharma-sastra, as is shown in his legal works81), so that he must have detected the curious Anglo-Indian tone of the MNT’s legal portions: but this did not deter him from relying on the work even for the extremely controversial Saiva marriage project. Were others imposed  upon as well as Rammohun? In fact it was cited to no less a critic than W. H. Macnaghten in about 1820 by a pandit, to whom he applied for information in a pre-emption matter (a non-listed topic). So that in the interval between Rammohun’s contact with Hariharananda (1809-1814) and this occasion the book was believed by others than Rammohun himself to be a genuine Hindu scriptural work82). Lately, of course, the authority of the MNT for this purpose has been denied82a), but the suspicions of the Indian Supreme Court do not take us any further forward, as their information is no better than ours.

Rammohun Roy was the most gifted Indian of his time, perhaps the most talented and accomplished of all time. With the exception of Swami Vivekananda, whose educational opportunities may have been slightly better, no one has equalled him. His main interest was religion, and he was far ahead of his time in projecting a monotheistic version of Hinduism, based on original sources, whilst at the same time admitting the virtue of aspects of Islam and Christianity. For fear of losing his property, and out of a lack of sympathy with the narrow views of missionaries in Calcutta, he never actually became a Christian, though while in Britain he allowed himself to be supposed a Unitarian 82b). He is the supreme example of the shrewd, yet idealistic, practical yet visionary, supple and diplomatic yet personally inflexible, adaptable and curious yet resolutely patriotic and faithful son of India: characteristics often repeated, yet never so dramatically and effectively as in the first great example. He was ever in the midst of controversy, especially from his own countrymen. And he was never at a loss for arguments, with which he sustained his character and reputation all through a life spent in walking an intellectual tight-rope. Such a man was imposed upon by the Maha-nirvana-tantra, which may well have been written by Hariharananda’s guru (who can conceivably have died by 1809), or some other brilliant mind which can easily have approached the great Rammohun through Hariharananda.

Why was he imposed on by it? Because of its brilliance, obviously, because it said what he wanted to read, and also, we must add, because of the credulity of the hard-headed practical man where spiritual matters are concerned. The man who learnt enough Greek and Hebrew to quote extensively from the Holy Scriptures, and anticipated many a critical line of attack upon apostolic Christianity (whether accurately or not is another matter) was himself the dupe of a brilliant almost contemporary fabricator on his own doorstep. How can this happen, and what is the nature and power of this credulity?

Credulity and the Mahanirvana-tantra

The MNT told Rammohun Roy what he wanted to believe and wanted to pass on to his countrymen. No one challenged him when he relied upon it exclusively, though this has happened since82c). That he was not challenged may to some extent be explained by the lack of an agreed check-list of tantras. There was no means of determining which of the vast number of them were genuine, no agreed criteria. If an anonymous tantric work by an unknown author were found who could determine its pedigree? The British judicial world was all too aware of the dangers of opening the flood-gates, and swamping the public with any and every text calling itself a religious treatise83). But the native public had no means to secure itself against fabrications, and the sastris, the orthodox professors, as distinguished from tantric teachers, confined themselves to the treatises in dharma-sastra, themselves susceptible to additions as time went on.

Rammohun was a man of means, and subsequently a man of considerable wealth. He was a patron of letters, patron of scholarship, patron of religion; the difference between him and many counterparts throughout India was simply that he did much more himself and published much more in his own name than most such patrons did. He was in government service and it required little skill to guess that he would be influential. He actually advised the British government on how to administer the Presidency, judicially and otherwise84). So the instinct of the fabricator or {if he were already dead) his medium (probably Hariharananda) was sound, though the plan did not mature as soon as they had expected. The pattern to which Rammohun belonged already existed, and has been repeated frequently.

The individual is occupied with purely business affairs, in the course of which many decisions of questionable morality are taken. In his leisure he cultivates spiritual interests, partly to off-set this. He wishes to retire and devote himself to spiritual exercises and activities, partly as an atonement for his previous occupations. He is a natural prey for pandits and sanyasis, spiritual guides whom the victim imagines he has himself chosen and patronised, though they in fact manipulate him. Naturally there is an exchange. They have his money, and the prestige of advising the great; and he has the satisfaction of being ultimately true to his native culture. The process of duping such a person is not confined to Indians! Numerous western readers and travellers have fallen into similar situations. It is sufficient if we take one example from the western and one from the Indian world. Our westerner shall be no other than Arthur Avalon himself.

Sir John George Woodroffe was the eldest son of J. T. Woodroffe, formerly Advocate-General of Bengal and sometime Legal Member of the Government of India. Woodroffe was therefore acquainted with India in his childhood and especially with Bengal. He was born in 1865 and was educated in England, taking a second class in the Honour Scool of Jurisprudence and the B. C. L. at Oxford. He was called to the Bar in 1889, and in 1890 was enrolled as an advocate of the Calcutta High Court. He was made a Fellow of Calcutta University and appointed Tagore Professor of Law there. He collaborated with Mr. Ameer Ali, later a member of the Privy Council in London, in a widely used text-book, Law of Evidence, besides a work on Receivers. In 1904 he became a Judge of the High Court at Calcutta. He served on that Bench until 1922, and in 1915 he officiated as Chief Justice. He retired to Britain to become Reader in Indian Law in the University of Oxford, then a responsible as well as a distinguished post, from 1923 to 1930. He died in 1936.

His hobby was Hindu philosophy with especial reference to tantras. Under the name of Arthur Avalon he published numerous texts and translations, a complete list of which will be found in any of the recently published reprints. No one who approaches his work can come away without two strong impressions: (1) that he was driven by an emotionally-based obsession to contribute to the scope and prestige of Indian studies; and (2) that this obsession operated upon him in a manner inconsistent with his judicial and indeed practical  avocations. This was a clear case of schizophrenia. Slips in his law can easily be accounted for on this basis 85 ). The absurdities and mystifications of tantrism should have repelled a man of disciplined mind. But Avalon-Woodroffe did more to publicise them than anyone. It is noticeable that as a judge he made few or no contributions to Hindu law. True he had as a colleague the utterly formidable Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee. But if his interest in Sanskrit were compatible with his judicial work surely he would have specialised in Hindu law cases, at that time requiring attention to Sanskrit texts as well as case-law. No use of the MNT is made by Woodroffe from the Bench, whereas his contemporaries, Chief Justice Jenkins and Sir Ashutosh do actually cite it once85a). The present writer’s view is that an infantile  connection with Bengal gave birth, despite an English University education, to an emotional attachment to the characteristically Bengali religious enthusiasm, tantrism. And in the course of the help he must have received from tantric guides and scholars he must have been practised upon by native enthusiasts. And there was a publisher, in Madras, who knew the market for such trash. Not that ‘Avalon’ knew any more of the panca-makara than Woodroffe did, or than Rammohun could have done. The emotional attachment to these treatises, however, is evidenced by his desperate attempts to show that the MNT was an ancient, or at any rate mediaeval work. As a judge he must have realised that this could not be so. As a judge he could not have uttered or printed such puerile impostures. But as ‘Arthur Avalon’ he could wish to believe that what he was handling was ancient and genuine, and he could put forward whatever he chose without shame or fear of being refuted86).

Our second example of a practical man displaying credulity in the context of a bogus spiritual work with legal content is an Indian who performed the feat of adjustment to western standards more faithfully than Rammohun Roy himself. In Madras Presidency, during the second half of the nineteenth century, progress such as could be claimed for Bengal itself was made towards the unattainable goal of assimilating western techniques and standards whilst not ceasing to be rooted in the ancient tradition. Against some opposition and much indifference three Indian lawyers of various backgrounds and not highly privileged adolescence, without the aid of foreign training or patronage, reached the High Court Bench. This test of endurance, character, personality and learning is at all times severe, but was particularly so when the demands of the law were greater than they are now {the sources being much more open to debate), and when European lawyers and judges had no partiality for recruiting their numbers with the aid of local talent. One of the great successes in this exceptionally hard trial of strength was S. Subramania Iyer87). He came from Madura to Madras in 1885, and became a formidable rival to the great V. Bhashyam Iyengar. He was the first Indian to be made a Government Pleader. He was renowned for integrity and charm of manner: a scrupulous man. Here we may need to emphasise his ability to pierce complicated conundrums such as constantly arise in Indian litigation, and his intuitive sense of the correct answer to problems raised by evidence88). His interest in the scholarly aspects of law is proved by his house being used for the ‘Saturday Club’ at Mylapore (Madras) where cases were critically discussed. These meetings were held from 1889 until 1890 or 1891, when Subramania Iyer was made an acting Judge of the High Court. He was then the seniormost leader of the High Court Vakil Bar89). He succeeded the first Indian to shine on the Madras High Court Bench, Sir Muthuswamy Iyer, because he was three years senior to Bhashyam Iyengar, who eventually joined him. He remained on the Bench until 1907, when he resigned due to fears about a decline in his health, particularly some nervous disorder, not apparently severe in other people’s estimation90). He held at other times very responsible positions. He was a member of the Malabar Land Tenure Committee (1885), a difficult task. He was also trustee of at least one important public temple91). The post of Acting Chief Justice was occupied by him in 1899, 1903, and 1906. He was Vice-Chancellor of Madras University in 1904. Lord Ampthill said of him, It seemed to me that in his life and conduct he effected an ideal compromise between adherence to the Indian ways and the requirements of European  methods. Neither too conservative nor too progressive he remains the perfect model of an Indian gentleman..." A seated statue of him is to be seen in a prominent place near Madras University, and a fine portrait is to be seen in the High Court and at Adyar, where also a marble replica of the statue is to be seen, and where also an avenue (of no great importance, however) is named after him.

During his tenure as Judge it was known that his real interests lay in spiritual matters. Immediately after his retirement, which we have seen was premature, he joined the Theosophical Society as Vice-President. He was by that time an LL.D., and had been gazetted K.C.I.E. Sir S. Subramania Iyer was one of the first figures in Madras and it was an honour for the Theosophical Society to have him so highly placed between 1907 and 1911. Dr. Annie Besant thought so highly of him that she continued to publish matter of his writing even when it ceased fully to agree with her own notions. His contributions to The Theosophist occurred already in 1915. He disapproved of the Government of India’s behaviour and communicated with America in a manner disapproved of in turn by that Government. He resigned his knighthood in protest. Integrity marked his public life throughout. His interest in the Buddha Dharma Mandala, or Pure Religion Society’, which he founded, brought some rift between him and the Theosophical Society, for, as we shall see, he aimed to provide a rival world leader to the theosophists’ J. Krishnamurthy. But it is rumoured that when he died in December 1924 he was reconciled to the senior organization of which he had once been a prominent member.

Between 1915 and 1918 he published a series of nine articles91a) which were subsequently republished under the title An Esoteric Organization  in India (Madras, ?1919). The commencement of this work goes curiously as follows, “Never since the day when the Headquarters of the Theosophical Society were transferred from America to Bombay, in 1879, have the founders of that Society escaped the charge of fraud with reference to their assertion of the existence of Mahatmas, of Initiates, and of the possession by them of occult powers and the like.” But at the time Sir Subramania was learning from Mrs. Besant spurious archaeology, fraudulent presentation of scripture, and practical organization. In 1917 he published the Sanatana Dharma Dipika, which is of interest to us, since it takes us to a point where credulity, being a willing dupe, interest us in our search for the origins, purpose and early history of the MNT.

The prime movers of the Suddha Dharma Mandala (which survived until as late as 1952) were principally Sir Subramania, now well over 70 years of age, and a Pandit K. T. Sreenivasachariar of Madras. It is evident that the former lent his name and did most of the English writing (which often has a legal flavour) for the Mandala's series of publications. In more than one publication a photograph of Sir Subramania appears, dressed as a sanyasi, with his name and titles added, in order to give prestige to this bogus organization. The Sanatana Dharma Dipika purports to be a purana. It is full of mock puranic material. In Part I, .chapter 1, sec. 181 we are told that the deity said “I will re-establish the organization named Suddha dharma-mandala: it is as old as time, excellent and makes its appearance with each kalpa (era)." At sec. 289 we are told that all people will have one faith, one caste, in the Kali-yuga (the present age); at secc. 292-4 that all dharmas will be unified. At ch. 2, secc. 76-8 we are told that women will choose their own husbands. Social reform is evidently within the scope of the spurious literature which is now put forth.

In 1918 the Yoga Dipika of Bhagavan Narayana was published in the same series, purporting to be a work of the deity, with a commentary by Hamsa Yogi. In 1922 the Bhagavad Gita was published also with the commentary of Hamsa Yogi, but we are told at p. 7 that Hamsa Yogi is not anyone’s name, but the title of an office. Evidently ‘Hamsa Yogi’ was the Madras pandit himself. By this time the public is invited to supply money to subsidize the publication of commentaries on the entire Vedas in the sense of the S. D. Mandala, and so the enterprise which had started as an intellectual aberration takes on the form of a criminal conspiracy. The works published were bogus, but presented as if they were genuine. The author is also non-existent. Religious and social regeneration is the aim, and no doubt the conspirators were pioneers in some respects, hiding however under the garb of restorers of a lost literature. In 1923 appeared the Avatara of Bhagavan Mitra Deva (Madras, 1923). The sanity of Sir Subramania is here placed in grave doubt. The ‘Bhagavan Mitra Deva’ was supposed to be aged six, and to have had a miraculous birth and to have delivered many sermons. He was the world leader to be: at the moment in close retirement in the Himalayas. That this folly remained alive well into the 1950’s shows that the organizers were not without some success, but whether any money was made for the pandit is not clear. Sir S. Subramania Iyer died in 1924 before the elaborate affair (which strikes the reader, misleadingly, as a hoax) could progress further, and nothing more of the kind was published after him.

Why was it necessary to suppose that ancient works were brought to light, while at the same time circumstances made it evident that the compositions were recent, indeed contemporary? What mental process allows this self-deception to occur? Firstly as the Sanatoria Dharma Dipika shows, and evidence of the conditions of thought in the 1770’s confirms, Hindu scholarship is wedded to the notion that all authoritative scripture is part legislation and part prophecy and is located, actually or ideally, in the first years of the Kali-yuga92), except for works of even greater prestige which must be located earlier than all yugas. The conception that living persons can lay down law, even in committees of public gatherings, is foreign to Hindu thought. If a thing is right, it must be enshrined in Hindu scriptures. The notion that Hindu conceptions of right can vary from generation to generation within the Kali-yuga is not accepted. The converse is obviously correct also. No one who proposes to persuade others can hope for success unless he shows that what he teaches is not his own but the common heritage of the race. In an amusing but characteristic passage the Manu-smrti puts the point admirably (XII. 95—6): traditional texts other than the Vedas are not authoritative; “those others (i.e. other smrtis ) that spring up and fade away are all without fruit and false, because they are of recent date Rammohun Roy’s own scepticism of recent tantras is of the same origin. They may or may not have useful matter in them. But as for the MNT, the great truths about monotheism, about caste, about sati, about marriage, etc., which suited the age so well, cannot, almost by definition, have presented themselves in a recent work. And as there was no means whereby the author could be traced, granted that Hariharananda (if he was not himself in the dark) had his pupil within his grasp, the famous Hindu scholar and public man was deceived.

The deception practised on Arthur Avalon was largely of his own seeking. The deception practised on Sir S. Subramania Iyer was partly of his own seeking and partly of his own making. In all three cases the public man and the pandit cooperate to perpetrate a fraud. In Rammohan Roy’s case the fraud did no harm, and it is a curiosity of Indian legal history. In Avalon’s case the fraud was more serious in that people bought, for genuine, works which are (and perhaps always were) intellectually worthless. Avalon was himself duped in order that others might be duped. His obituary in The Times (and obituaries are kind) shows a man who lived in a world of his own. His writings show his disappointment at the lack of sympathy which his effusions evoked in his intellectual contemporaries. Sir Subramania Iyer’s yearnings for spirituality and for the spiritual regeneration of his country rendered themselves real through the otherwise unemployed skills of a compatriot pandit, who evidently knew his man.

As for the Mahanirvana-tantra, its author is not likely to be traced. We know the names of many of the court pandits of the time, but it is most doubtful whether it is the work of any of them. Could any of them have written in this barbaric style? His notions never materialised as he wished. The kaulas never became a sect known to law. Their scriptures were never taken seriously. The judges began to insist upon the production of authentic ancient works to certify any legal proposition. For fear of fraud they (wisely) stretched behind the present and forced the Bengalis of the nineteenth century to be governed by the writings of the eleventh, the fifteenth and the seventeenth. In order to make sure that authentic sastric learning would be available in modem garb, Sir William Jones planned and H. T. Colebrooke saw to completion (1795) the great Digest written by Jagannatha Tarkapanchanana93). This was made during Rammohun Roy’s lifetime and completely ignored the MNT. Jagannatha in fact responded to many English legal ideas in his own way: but that is another story.
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Part 3 of 3

ADDITIONAL ANNOTATIONS

p. [197], n 1 Shyama Charan Sarkar Vidyabhusana vigorously defended the authenticity and holiness of the MNT in his Vyavastha-chandrika II (Calcutta 1880), 551. Similarly at his Vyavastha Darpana, 3rd edn. (Calcutta 1883) 643-649. The MNT is said to be equal to the Vedas (!) (p. 647) and superior to all law-books of the Dayabhaga school. The MNT is appreciatively mentioned by Justice S.C. Mitra at his ‘Origin and development of the Bengal school of Hindu law’, (1905) 21 L.Q.R. 380-392 at 391-2, continued at (1906) 22 L.Q.R. 50-63 (extracts are printed at pp. 61-2). S.S. Sellur replied at (1907) 23 L.Q.R. 202-219 (MNT referred to at 211-13).

p. [198], n, 3. Now at Derrett, R.L.S.I., ch. 8.

p. [198], n. 4. S. next n., inf.

p. [199], 1, 8. It is significant that in the Durga-mahattva (Colebrooke, Essays II, 165 n, I) the principal tantras are enumerated and a ‘Nirvana-tantra’ appears but not our MNT. The MNT does not figure amongst the tantras read in Bengal according to W. Ward, Account of the Writings, Religion , and Manners of the Hindoos II (Serampore, 1811), 2-3.

p. [200], n. 9. The text, ed. Grey Street, Calcutta, 6th edn., 1902; by Upendra Nath Mukhopadhyaya, 12th edn., Vasumatir Sahitya Mandir, Calcutta. 1948. Beng trans. Kaliprasanna Vidyaratna, 4th edn., Calcutta, B.S. 1304.

p. [208], n. 19. Now s. Derrett, R.L.S.I., ch. 9.

p. [210], n. 20. Now s. ibid., ch, 8.

p. [212], 1. 13. S. inf,, pp, 347-52 for a Madras view on this.

p. [216], n. 32. Now s. inf.

p. [220], n. 42. It is important to see this case in perspective and not to overrate its importance for overseas territories. W. M. Wiecek, 'Somerset: Lord Mansfield and the legitimacy of slavery...', Univ. Chicago L.R. , XLII/1 (1974), 86-146.

p. [227], I. 17. The notion that sects could have their own laws is fully borne out by Sonaluxmi v. Vishnuprasad (1903) 28 Bom. 597. The idea is of great antiquity since the Sanatkumara-samhita (see sup., vol. I, 119 n. to p. 116, col. ii) of the Pancaratra-s took advantage of it.

p. [231]. n. 82, 1. I. The same passage is solemnly cited as authoritative by S.C. Sarkar Vidyabhusana (sup.) at Vy.Ch. II, 626-7. On the preemption problem s. inf., p. 393, n. 5, pp. 395-6, 399.

n. 82, 11. 6-7. However it was cited and used in S.D.A. Cal. Mar. 19, 1827 and relied on there on Oct. 28 1830 (Sarkar Vidyabhusana, Vy.Ch. 11, 547-9; S.D.A. Rep,, vol. 5, pp. 85-6: Sarkar, Vy.Dar., 648-9).

p [234], 1 17. His foreword to B. Guru Rajah Rao's Ancient Hindu Judicature (Madras, Ganesh, 1920) was an opportunity to show off his learning, but it is nugatory.

p. [234). 1. 28. Sir John was assisted by a notable lawyer and Vedantist called Byomkesh Chakravarti (1861- 1929): Law Quarterly (Cal.). VI/4 (1969), 269-70.

p. [236], 1. 26. P.R. Gunapathi Iyer dedicated to him his Law Relating to Hindu and Muhomedan Endowments (Madras, 1905). Not long after he left the Bench he is seen writing an introduction and appreciation in more than 56 pages to India's Claim for Home Rule. Fifty Speeches by Indian Leaders (Madras. 1917). See ‘Unveiling the portrait of Dr. S. Subramania Iyer'. [1964] 1 M.L.J., J., 11.

p. [236], n. 88. Now Trans, of the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, Oct 1970, II (Madras. 1970). 159.

p. [238]. I. 27, F. O. Schrader, who knew Madras, was obviously deceived by the imposture: at J. v. Negelein, ed., Festgahe Garhe (Erlangen 1927) 173 n. 1.

_______________

Notes:

1) Hrishikesa Sastri and S. C. Gui, Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Library of the Calcutta Sanskrit College, vol. 5 (Calcutta, 1903), 54. M. N. Dutt, Mahanirvana Tantram (Eng. trans.) (Calcutta, 1900), Preface, i, ii. Agehananda Bharati (Leopold Fischer) calls it "one of the oldest Sakta works”; The Tantric Tradition (London, 1965), p. 171.
 
2) “The Sukraniti — A Nineteenth-century text”, B. S. O. A. S„ vol 25, pt. 3 (1962), 524—556. There is no attempt in this text to incorporate law with religion, nor to expound the laws of a religious sect, as with our MNT.
 
3) “Sanskrit legal treatises compiled at the instance of the British", Z. V. R., vol. 63 (1961), 72-117.
 
4) “The Hindu law relating to preemption,” Adyar Library Bulletin, vol. 25 (1962), 13-27. The argument that the MNT belongs to the period circa 1780 was put forward in Delhi in January, 1964, by the present writer: “The Mahanirvanatantra and Modem Indian Law,” Summaries' of Papers [Presented to the XXVIth International Congress of Orientalists, New Delhi, 1964], ed. R. N. Dandekar, New Delhi, 1964, paper no. 47, pp. 92—4. P. V. Kane, History of Dharmasdstra, vol. 5, pt. 2 (1962) (see Index, p. 115), refers frequently to the MNT, which he allots to the eighteenth century (p. 1090).
 
5) The manuscript once located in Oudh (Th. Aufredit, Catalogus Catalogorum, I. 298)) is no longer available. As for the rest see Rajendralal Mitra, Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (Calcutta, 1871), p. 159, no. 289: in the possession then of Jatindra Mohan Tagore of Calcutta (son of P. C. Tagore, a young friend of Raja Rammohun Roy); without commentary. Sastri and Gul (above), pp. 53—57: no commentary. Haraprasada Shastri, Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Mss. in the Collection of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, ed. Chintaharan Chakravarti, vol. 8, pt. 1 (Calcutta, 1939), p. 229, no. 6039. A, Avalon says (Introduction to his edition of the Text of the MNT), over the dating “Oxford, 21st September, 1928”, that the manuscript which was with him contained text and commentary, and was throughout in Rammohun Roy's handwriting (p. viii.). How are we to account for small discrepancies between his text and the text of which Rammohun printed fragments? And where is that copy now? N. C. Salisbury, Keeper of Oriental Books, Bodleian Library, Oxford, informed the present writer on 11th May, 1966 that there was no trace of any Sanskrit manuscript having been given or bequeathed by Sir John Woodroffe (see pp. 174-175 below) to the Bodleian. An appeal to Prof. V. Raghavan of Madras for information on further copies of the MNT produced no further evidence. The India Office Library possesses no material relevant to this enquiry, but the Librarian told the present writer that P. N. Mukhopadhyaya, one of Woodroffe’s collaborators, was alive as recently as 1963 — but he has not been traced.
 
6) For the opinion of Kane, see previous note. The modernity of the work is recognised by Chintaharan Chakravarti, Tantras ... (Calcutta, 1963), 24, and previously by M. Wintemitz, History of Indian Literature, vol. 1 (Calcutta, 1927), 592—598. It is said to be mentioned in the Mahasiddhisdra, an “old” copy of which belonged to Radhakant Deb (1783 1867), the bibliophile contemporary of Rammohun who opposed him in matters of religion. It is said also to be quoted in the Pranatosanilata, a modem tantric nibandha. The origin of the former work is unknown. The MNT is barely mentioned by M. Monier-Williams, Indian Wisdom4 (London, 1893), p 525.
 
7) No reference is made to it by Krisnananda, a fellow student of Chaitanya. P. C. Bagchi, Studies in the Tantras , pt. 1 (Calcutta, 1939) ignores it (therefore it was not available in 1929 in Nepal?). Likewise . Bhattacharyya (son of Haraprasada Sastri) in "Materials for a chrono ogica study of the Tantras”, Bulletin of the Rama Varma Research Institute, vol. 10, pt. 2 (1942), 77-91; also K. C. Pandey, Abhinava Gupta, 2nd edn. (Banaras, 1963). ch. 7. A. Bharati (n. 1 above) attributes the MNT to the 7th cent, at p. 194, but says it is “usually ascribed to the 11th cent. A. D.” at p. 66 (1).
 
8) Haridas Mitra, “Sadasiva worship in early Bengal ...", J. A. S. B. NS. XXIX, 1933, at p. 189.
 
9) First published with commentary by Adi Brahma Samaj in 1876 by Anandadiandra Vidyavagisa who used three Mss., those at the library of the Samaj, of Duradasa Chaudhuri, and of the library of Rammohun Roy. The text with Hindi translation: Jwala P. Misra (Bombay, 1896). The text with a commentary attributed to Sarikaracharya (!) was printed by the Danda Sabha of Manikamaka Ghat, Banaras, in 1886. The text with the commentary of Krisna Gopala Bhakta appeared in (?) 1886, 1888. The text with a Bengali translation: by Jaganmohan Tarkalarikara (1886, 3rd edn. 1914); by Shri Prasanna Kumara Sastri in 1888, also 1896; by Gopaladasa Mukhopadhyaya in 1901, 1927 and 1928. Pt. Jivananda Vidyasagara’s edition of text and commentary (of Hariharananda) without translation was published at Calcutta in 1884 (the writer saw a presentation copy at Adyar). The text and commentary were edited by A. Avalon (Tantrik Texts Ser., vol. 13) from Madras in 1929, reissued with translation in 1953. See P. N. Natha and J. B. Chaudhuri, ed. C. J. Napier, Catalogue of the India Office Library, vol. 2, pt 1. Sanskrit Books, sec. 3, pp. 1521-3.
 
10) Otherwise Dutt See n. 1 above. The first edition appeared in 1892.
 
11) Avalon referred to his “informants” and "Indian Pandits under my general editorship”. Occasional indianisms of language which eluded his editorial eye still attest their part in the undertaking.
 
12) The Great Liberation (Madras, 1st edn. 1913, 2nd. edn. 1927, 3rd edn., reprint, 1953), at p. v: “an inaccurate version rendered in imperfect English".  
 
13) M. N. Datta (Dutt), translation (above), p. xi. Avalon, Introd. to his Text (above), p. vii. That Rammohun published under pseudonyms is certain.  But this work seems to be not merely beyond even his considerable powers as a Sanskritist: it contains masses of tantric follies which he frequently ridiculed, and for which he could not possibly have found adequate patience, even as a pseudonymous writer. For other reasons negativing the possibility of his authorship see below.
 
14) XI. 132 is an adequate example.
 
14a) The remarks of P. V. Kane on the hypocrisy and evil influence of eighteenth-century tantric doctrines are just, and the information at his History of Dharmasastra, vol. 5, p. 1087 and n, 1761 relevant.
 
15) v. 21—24; cf. VIII. 171—174. Kane, op. cit., vol. 5, pp. 1051—1077, considers the makaras against the background of Indian thought with an evaluation which reflects a modern outlook.
 
16) VIII. 169-170, 175-177. While eating food that has been consecrated to Brahma no caste-rules  (against “inter-dining ) may be observed: III, 82, 91-3. On consecration see XIV. 146.
 
17) VIII. 178. It is to be understood that the chakras or congregations may last for several (days and) nights.
 
17a) The MNT itself professes to be the means of knowledge of Brahma: XIV. 123-5, 203, 211.
 
18) This suggestion was made by Prof. Dr. N. N. Choudhari, Head of Department of Sanskrit, Delhi University, in Jan. 1964 on the occasion referred to above, p. 139 n. 4.
 
19) Communicated in a letter to the Court of Directors, 3rd Nov. 1772 (London, ?1773). See Derrett, "The administration of Hindu law by the British,” C.S.S.H., vol. 4, no. I (1961), at pp. 24-5.
 
19a) The chakra is a congregation in which the five elements are present (see n. 15 above).
 
20) See ch. 2, esp. pp. 23-64 of the 1777 edn. For the circumstances  of the composition of this work see Z.V.R., vol. 63 (cited above), 85-8.
 
21) The classical definition, of Katyayana, lists what is given before the nuptial fire (adhyagni), at the time of the procession to the bridegroom’s house (adhyavahanika), given by the father- or mother-in-law, and when showing reverence to elders (priti-datta), sulka, and post-nuptial gifts from the family of the husband or her own kinsmen (anvadheya). Kane, op. cit., vol. 3, 774. Jha, II. 529 ff. The MNT mentions only gifts from the father or father-in-law, etc., and whatever is earned by her personal efforts — which Katyayana and the other smritis actually exclude from the definition of stridhanam. Kane, ubi cit., 776-7; Jha, II. 544.
 
22) All the authorities on disqualification for unchastity are discussed in Moniram Kolita v. Keri Kolitani (1873) 13 Bengal L. R. 1, FB, and subsequently in (1880) I. L. R. 5 Cal. 776 — L. R. 7 Ind. App. 115. It is of interest that F. W. Ellis, who was not a Bengal civil servant, believed that a female lost property already vested in her by reason of her unchastity, whereas H. T. Colebrooke, who was a Bengal civil servant and, equally with Ellis, a contemporary of the period in which the MNT claimed attention, was against such divesting. The author evidently made his choice between two possible indigenous view-points.
 
23) Kane, op. cit., Ill, 708-711. B. D. Sirvya, Hindu Woman’s Estate (Calcutta, 1913).
 
24) Kane, op. cit.. Ill, 748. The sister’s son is an heir at that law. The sister was a remote heir in Bombay and Madras (ibid., 748), but this can have had no bearing on the MNT.
 
25) For which see Kane, op. cit.. III, 736-742. The leading exposition is at R. Sarvadhikari, Principles of the Hindu Lew of Inheritance, 2nd. edn. (Madras, 1922), lecture XIV.
 
26) This is flatly contrary to the Dayabhaga, see there XI, v, 9. It will he remembered that Raghunandana and other jurists of the Bengal school did not depart from the Dayabhaga propositions in such radical respects. Kane, op. cit., III, 739.
 
26a) A very vague analogy could somehow be sought with Katyayana's last verse on the subject, also Yajnavalkya II. 145, but commentators do not take the texts in this sense in view of the majority of texts: Jha, II, 572, 576.
 
27) The MNT emphatically explains a conception of inheritance totally foreign to Hindu law, yet congruent with English notions of descent of land. These were peculiar even in Europe. The basic doctrine was haereditas nunquam ascendit. The propositus might die leaving a feudum maternum and/or a feudum paternum, Thus if the propositus died without issue of his own it must pass through the intervening ancestor to the issue of that ancestor who was last seised (legally possessed) of that feudum. Thus an elder brother can succeed to a nephew, though the nephew’s father could next take, by succession to his own brother. The principles are set out very briefly in W. Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, II, 208 ff. (the pagination agrees in the numerous editions of this standard work which was certainly known in Bengal at all relevant times), Blackstone will be cited constantly below because he was known in Bengal: but for the purposes of the present reference, the reader may compare the language of the MNT with the careful and clear exposition of the English law of descent of land at F. Pollock and F. W. Maitland, History of English Law, 2nd. edn. (Cambridge, 1952), II, 260-307. Incidentally we note a characteristic of the MNT. The English law totally excluded half-blood from succession to land. We have seen that the MNT classed half-blood and full-blood together. His great fondness for the scheme of seeking the heir through the ancestor, as if the propositus’ heir were the ancestor’s heir, which is the essence of the English system as at that time, did not commit him to accept all the consequences of this. So elsewhere an English rule appears, but not with all its technicalities, refinements or concomitants; the rules appear rather eclectically and sporadically.
 
28) Blackstone, op. cit., II, 216 f (as to land the representative of the male took all by primogeniture); as to chattels, ibid., 515-517 (a rule like that of the MNT).  

29) Kane, op. cit, III, 212, refers to Gautama’s and Manu's rules on distribution of booty. Distribution of booty brought by robbers is dealt with by Brihaspati and Katyayana (foll. by the Sukraniti) discused by R. C. Hazra at Our Merit, vol. 11, pt. 2 (1963), pp. 96-8.
 
30) The basic difference between this and the sastra is not the figures as such, but the statement in terms of an annual interest. For information see R. S. Sharma, “Usury in early mediaeval India (A. D. 400-1200)," C.S.S.H., vol. 8, no. 1 (1965), 56-77. Derrett, at Z.V.R., vol. 65, pt. 2 (1963), at p. 181, shows that Jagannatha Tarkapanchanana testified to 30 per cent as the usual interest on grain, and states that 25 per cent has been evidenced in mediaeval and modem times. The MNT is a piece of such evidence.
 
31) The sastric provisions on the number of witnesses required are summarised at Kane, op. cit., III, 330-332, The texts require three witnesses. Brihaspati says that there may be nine, seven, five, four or three, or even two if these are learned Brahmins. But Visnu and Brihaspati are in conflict with Yajnavalkya, Visnu (elsewhere), Narada, and Manu (VIII. 77) on the question of a single witness. Vyasa allows a single witness, and the majority are in favour of a single witness if he is especially or generally qualified. Thus the MNT is against the current in requiring two witnesses. But the English ecclesiastical courts required two witnesses for full proof.
 
32) The statute of 2 Geo. II., c. 25 was believed to be applicable in Calcutta (by the Supreme Court), wrongly. Nandakumar was hanged for forgery within that statute. A summary of the position is given at Derrett, “Nandakumar's Forgery,” English Historical Review, April, 1960, at pp. 23011. The death-penalty for forgery was entirely un-Indian, and the MNT certainly does not adopt it. Nandakumar’s trial took place in 1775, and reaction against the law set in soon afterwards. The Act itself was doubted applicable in R. v. Collipersaud (1786) Morton 357, 1 I. D. (O. S.), 1110.
 
33) The Sastric law on maintenance is summarised at Kane, op. cit.. Ill, 803-804. It bears little resemblance to this list. The personal legal obligation extended to the minor son, the wife, and the aged parents. The concubine certainly had no legal right to sue for maintenance; nor either pair of grandparents. The illegitimate son’s right depended on his being a dasi-putra, which is a restricted category of illegitimate son. Kane, ibid., 808.
 
34) The words kunda and golaka refer to special classes of illegitimate children. The word for ‘bastard’ is jaraja, literally “born of an adulterer."
 
35) mulam va tad-upasvatvam yatha-sankalpam Ambike
svayam va tat pratinidhir dharmartham viniyojayet.
 
The verse does not sound sastric. The principle was that the corpus or property deriving from it (upasvatva [literally “inferior property"] is a strange word possibly meaning here “profit”, instead of the correct word aya), should be employed (viniyojayet seems to translate literally “employ”, or perhaps rather “apply”) by the man himself (the dedicator) or his deputy (pratinidhi means “substitute”, “deputy”, instead of the technical term for “trustee”, which was the [less general] Bengali shebayat ) according to the intention (sankalpa is correct for “intention , but rather in the sense of the law of charities, intention of the founder, than in its true sense of proposition by dedicator prior to religious dedication) for the purposes of dharma (righteousness). This sounds like an Anglo-Indian jurists notion of what the Hindu law of charities should be.
 
36) The sastric material is thoroughly set out at Jha, II, 84-108 Kane, op. cit., III, 610 ff. The persons normally excluded were impotent men, outcastes, those born blind or deaf, the insane, idiots, the dumb or those deficient in an organ or sense. It is curious that the killer is not explicitly excluded by any Hindu law text, though he is inferentially excluded, a point which Anglo-Indian judges have missed. Anglo-Hindu law naturally excluded the killer. He appears expressly at MNT XII. 103. At verse 102 the author would exclude even those who "lift the hand" against any senior. Mother, father, guru (which can mean teacher or senior), paternal and maternal grandparents are mentioned.
 
37) According to the sastra the finder is entitled to a quarter and the king to three-quarters, where the true owner does not claim the property. Kane, op. cit., III, 176. In treasure the king normally took five-sixths, the finder one-sixth. J. W. Spellman, "Ownership of treasure trove in ancient Indian polity.” J. Num. S. Ind. 23 (1901), 133-136.
 
38) See Jha, I, 159-163. The rule about feeding pledged animals is  nowhere found, however. It is common sense.
 
39) See p. 139 n. 4 above.
 
40) A contemporary authority for this is difficult to trace, since the old law has been codified in the Sale of Goods Act, 1893 ( Halsbury's Laws of England, 3rd edn., vol. 34, §§ 74, 77). But this common-sense rule must have existed in the 18th century. The period of one year stated in the MNT looks like the author’s invention. ,
 
41) Neither here nor in the previous rule can a counterpart be found in the Hindu law of sale, which is expounded conveniently in Jagannatha's Digest (Colebrooke, Digest of Hindu Law vol. I). because the general principles of sale are not set out in the smriti-texts. The topic "sale without ownership”, as its title suggests, does not deal with breaches of any warranty other than that of title. Periods of rescission were certainly allowed, precisely to cope with latent defects: Kane, op. cit ., III, 490-491. But the general period is ten days, not one year!
 
42) Somersett’s case. Loft’s Reports 1 (see Blackstone, op. cit., I, 425) was decided by Lord Mansfield in 1772: England did not know the status of slavery and an American’s slave was automatically freed by being brought to England. The efforts on the part of English officials and others in Bengal to persuade the indigenous jurists to eliminate slavery from their own laws are discussed and illustrated in Dr. A. K. Chattopadhyay’s doctoral thesis on Slavery in Bengal (London, 1963).
 
43) Blackstone, op. cit, II, 447. No such rules appear in the sastra.
 
44) Islamic law sets much longer periods. The English rule is that a child is a bastard if born before marriage or so long after the death of the husband that by the usual course of gestation, he could not have been begotten by him. The law is not exact as to the days. The ancient English land law knew a period of 40 weeks for the purpose of allowing a female to give birth to a legitimate heir who would divest the heir presumptive: Blackstone, I, 456. R. Burn, Justice of the Peace, tit. Bastards.
 
45) Cf. Blackstone, IV, 182, 191. This distinction is not on the surface of the sastric rules: Kane, op. cit.. III, 513 ff. General rules would imply it.
 
46) Suicide was not necessarily a crime at Hindu law: on the contrary many sorts of suicide were meritorious. See the concept of committing a felony against oneself at Blackstone, IV, 189-190; M. Hale, History of the Pleas of the Crown, I, 412.
 
47) The sastra limits the discussion to the problem of the atatayin (desperado, assailant): Kane, III, 517. It was not settled upon the mere footing of self-defence. In English law duelling was murder, if the blood had had time to cool: but in practice the law winked at it. Blackstone, IV, 199. Burn, J. P., tit. Homicide, §. 5. Self-defence is a defence to a charge of murder: Blackstone, ibid., 183-4.
 
48) For High Treason, etc., see Blackstone IV, 81-2. Highwaymen are dealt with at ibid., 242 ff. The statute especially concerning them is that of 4 W. III, c. 8. Burn, J. F., tit. Robbery, §. 7. Disaffection amongst troops: the crime of incitement was given statutory shape in the statute 37 Geo. 3, c. 70 (1797), but the items listed in the MNT can be traced back to the statute of 25 E. 3, st. 5, c. 2 (de proditionibus) (1352) which is traced forward through Tudor, Stuart, and later legislation by M. Hale (above), I, chh. 14, 15, and pp. 339-341. Mann IX. 232, 275 may be compared.
 
49) Burn, J. P., tit Libel; Blackstone, III, 125 ff.
 
50) Blackstone, III, 303, 310. G. Crompton, Practice Common-placed... (London, 1780) I, 303-308 (judgement by confession). G. Gilbert, Law of Evidence, 4th edn. (London, 1777), 137 (“The voluntary confession of the party is the best evidence.")
 
51) Burn, J.P,, tit. Alehouses, § 11, 12. Blackstone, IV, 64.
 
52) Blackstone, IV, 75, 203.
 
53) The prohibited degrees are set out in the Book of Common Prayer which had Parliamentary authority (13 & 14 Ch. II, c. 4). Definition was therefore no problem. On the court's powers see R. Bum, Ecclesiastical Law, 3rd edn. (London 1775), II, 362, 439. Blackstone, I, 434-5, IV. 65. The death penalty for incest was a short-lived innovation of the Commonwealth period.
 
53a) Compare Manu XI. 171-2 (an illustrative list).
 
54) The texts and their want of clarity on this subject (the bride within the prohibited degrees for marriage being kept as a quasi-servant in the house) are discussed at length by Dr. S. K. Tewari in his doctoral thesis (London, Ph. D., 1965). The subject of sapindaship is handled by Kane, op. cit., II, 452 ff. At pp. 497-499 the consequences of a void marriage are dealt with. The concept of nullity in the modem sense was missing. The penis was to be cut off for intercourse with close relations and others: Narada cited by Kane, II, 533.
 
55) For the English law on prohibited degrees and impotence reference should be made to Burn, Eccl. L. (cited above). The position in western canon law is sufficiently well known. At Hindu law in very ancient times a woman might leave an impotent husband and take another husband, but it is doubtful whether the second husband was husband in the dharma- sastra sense, he may have been merely a de facto husband. But if the wife were still a kanya (maiden) she could theoretically undergo the religious marriage ceremony again: Kane, II, 609 ff.
 
56) Blackstone, IV, 215-216. According to Manu (XI. 174-5) sodomy, whether with a male or a female, was a ground only for penance. The Vivadarnava-setu recommended the death penalty for bestiality if the offender were a Sudra. A sexual offence without violence is normally treated
by the sastra as matter for penance, but cf. Ramay., Kishk. XVIII. 20 f.
 
57) Blackstone, IV, 210 ff. Rape was certainly a crime according to sastra, but the death penalty would be reserved for offenders of low caste. Kane III, 532.
 
57a) He is to be gently burnt in the hand: Blackstone, IV. 191-2. The sastra only allowed such killings when the ends of justice could not be met by more regular means.
 
57b) See the case I Sid. 168 cited at Blackstone, IV, 65, n. 12.
 
58) See p. 148 n. 19 above.
 
58a) See J. F. Stephen, The Story of Nuncomar and the Impeachment of Sir Elijah Impey, 2 vols. (London, 1885). B. N. Pandey, Sir Elijah Impey in India ... (London, 1967).
 
59) Proceedings of the Governor-General-in-Council, Revenue Dept., Fort William, 9th Aug. 1776. Cited by Phanindra Nath Banerjee, Thesis (unpubl.), D. Phil., Calcutta, 1965.
 
60) Ibid., 1st Nov. 1775 (same thesis, p. 78).
 
60a) See p. 165 n. 58a above.
 
61) The abortive Plan of January-March 1776, on which the bibliography is supplied at C.S.S.H., vol. 4, 1961, p. 52.
 
62) T. K. Banerjee, Background to Indian Criminal Law (Calcutta, Orient Longmans, 1963).
 
63) Derrett, "Nandakumar’s Forgery," cited p. 157 n. 32 above.
 
63a) T. C. Morton’s Decisions of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal... 1774-1841, 2nd. edn. by W. A. Montriou (Calcutta, 1851), at 1. Ind. Dec. (reprint) (O. S.), 390 ff., 396.
 
64) The suspicions about the Dattaka Chandrika are the most celebrated example: Golap Chandra Sarkar Sastri, Treatise on Hindu Law, 3rd. edn. (1907), 30. W. H. Macnaghten speaks of the "venality of pandits at his Principles and Precedents of Hindu Law ..., vol. I (Calcutta. 1829). iv-v. His confidence may be due to a specific incident: see Nundram v. Kashee Pandee (1822) 3 Sel. Rep., 232 referred to at (1869) 3 Beng. L. R., 41.
 
65) J. W. Kaye, Christianity in India (London, 1859); J. C. Marshman, The Life and Times of Carey ... (London, 1859). Missionary endeavour after the turn of the century was chiefly protestant and narrowly protestant at that. The author of the MNT had information deriving ultimately if not directly from a Roman Catholic source (another reason why Rammohun Roy, who was affected towards Socinianism, could not have been the author).
 
66) The best work is S. D. Collet, Life and Letters of Raja Rammohun Roy (London. 1900), 3rd. ed., D. K. Biswas and P. C. Ganguli (Calcutta, 1982). Equally valuable is M. Carpenter, The Last Days in England of the Rajah Rammohun Roy (London/Calcutta, 1866). A work entitled Raja Ram Mohun Roy, his Life, Writings and Speeches was published by Natesan & Co., Madras (?1925). D. N. Ganguli, Memoir of Rajah Ram Mohun Roy (Calcutta, 1884); M. C. Parekh, Rajarshi Ram Mohan Roy (Rajkot, 1927) and R. N. Samaddar, Raja Ram Mohun Roy (Calcutta, 1911) are minor works. S. N. Hay, Dialogue between a Theist and an Idolater ( Calcutta, 1964), introduction, is minor in size but important for our purposes. R. Chanda and J. K. Majumdar, Selections from Official Letters and Documents Relating to the Life of Raja Rammohun Roy, I (1791-1830) (Calcutta, 1938) have contributions which will be cited below under F. M. I. A short appreciation appeared in A Ram Mohun Roy Symposium (Reprinted from “The Queen") (Calcutta, 1896). U. Ball, Rammohan Roy: a study ... (Calcutta, 1933).
 
67) Introduction to the Text, p. vii. The rumour is traced in Collet, op. cit., p. 115. Collet’s work appeared not too late to have warned Avalon against believing the malicious story. The present writer, supposing that Avalon, as a Calcutta judge, must have verified his facts, incautiously believed him at the paper cited above, p. 139 n. 4.
 
68) M. Carpenter, 254. Raja Ram, p. 57. pt. 2, 65.
 
69) Pt. Sivanatha Sastri, in F.M.I., p. 11.  
 
69a) Translation of the Ishopanishad, in J. C. Ghose’ edition of the English Works, I, 73 ff. This corresponds to Vrajendranatha Vandyopadhyaya and Sajanikanta Dasa, edd., Rama-mohangranthabali (Sanskrit and Bengali text) (Calcutta, 1943—1952), pt 1, p. 196. This collection is referred to below as “Bengali Works”. The translation given in the English version is different from the translation of the same verse cited at Brahmunical Magazine ... (Calcutta, 1821), no. 2, p. 186, corresponding to Bengali Works , pt. 5, p. 14. The citation has not been identified. In 1816-17 he cited XIV. 202 at p. 38 of Bengali Works, pt. 2, the original work being entitled Utsavananda Vidyavayiser sahit Vichar.
 
70) Ishopanishad, p, 73.
 
71) A Second Defence of the Monotheistical System of the Veds, J. C. Ghose ed., p. 130. The passages cited are in order XIV 113, 119.
 
71a) Dialogue between a Theist ... (ed. Hay), pp. 150/1. The passage cited is XIV. 118.
 
72) The Brahmunical Magazine . .., no. 2, J. C. Ghose, ed., 186, 190. In the 1906 edition this appears at pp. 161-2. The citation is untraced (above, n. 69 a).
 
72a) Answers to Four Questions, Chari Prasna Uttar; Bengali Works, pt 6, pp. 19-20. Saiva marriage passage.
 
73) A Translation into English of a Sunsknt Tract inculcating the Divine Worship ..., J. C. Ghose ed.. pp. 99-100. This is the passage in the original entitled Gayatrya Brahropasanavidhanam, Bengal, Works, pt. 4 p. 40. In English the source is called Muha Nirvan Tuntru, in Skt. Mahanirvana-prade tantre. The eleven verses cited do not appear in the MNT as we have it. Were they interpolated in R.M.R.'s copy?
 
73a) Brahmopasana, also in the Bengali Works pt 4, pp. 52-3. The passage III. 59-63 is called Tantroktastava. 63 is altered and other portions are slightly varied.
 
74) The Universal Religion. Religious Instructions founded on Sacred Authorities, J. C. Ghose, ed., p. 162. In the Bengali version (Bengali Works, pt 4, p. 71) the work is called Anusthan. The citations are in order III. 9 and II. 45. Slight but signification changes are made in the text of each, compared with Avalon’s and Jivananda's text.
 
75) J.C. Ghose (1901), II. 190 f. n. The same caution is apparent in Dialogue (ed. Hay), pp. 115-117. The test should have ruled out the MNT, but did not.
 
76) Reported in D. N. Ganguli, Memoir (1884).
 
77) No. 8 of the Sambad Kaumudi, ed, Harihar Datta, as it would appear from Ramananda Chatterjee in F.M.I., pt, 2, 71 ff., at 75. The Answers to Four Questions, (Q. 4) undoubtedly has the point.
 
78) English Works (1901), 11, 113-192. There were three works, Translation of an Conference ... (1818), Second Conference ... (1820), Abstract of the Arguments ... (1830).
 
79) X. 79, 80, cited by U. Thakur, The History of Suicide in India (Delhi, 1963), 140. It is curious that the Raja does not rely specifically on this. The explanation seems to be that as in the same context he abuses those who rely on spurious tantras, and warns readers against texts which have no solid traditional foundation, he found it more discreet not to drag in a work which he might securely rely upon in other contexts. But this caution did not operate in the Dialogue, where as we have seen he speaks of false scriptures and cites the MNT.
 
80) Pt- Sitanath Tattvabhushan, F.M.I., pt. 2, 377. For the Brahma Samaj see G. S. Leonard, History of the Brahmo Samaj (Calcutta, 1879), Sivanatha Sastri, History of the Brahmo Samaj (Calcutta, 1911).
 
81) His Sanskrit was very good. All the works on Sati emphasise his grasp of law, likewise his Brief Remarks regarding ...the Ancient Right of Females according to the Hindoo Law of Inheritance (1822); Essay on the Rights of Hindoos over Ancestral Property ... (1830).
 
82) The undated story is told by Macnaghten at his Principles and Precedents of Moohummudan Law... (Calcutta, 1825), xvii—xiv (see Z.V.R. vol. 63, p. 76, n. 9). Macnaghten comments on the '‘interminable and troubled ocean of Hindoo jurisprudence”, and advises compulsory restriction of citation to "works of notorious authority". This was in effect done. The MNT is not cited by the pandits in the opinions published in Dharmasastriya- vyavastha-samgraha (Allahabad, 1957) and belonging to the years 1824 to 1836.
 
82a) Shri Audh Behari Singh v. Gajadhar Jaipuria [1955] Supreme Ct. Rep. 70, 74, per B. K. Mukherjea, J.
 
82b) For a concise summary of the three views of Rammohun's religion see Muhammad Mohar Ali, The Bengali Reaction to Christian Missionary Activities 1833-1857 (Mehrub, Chittagong, 1965), 9, n. 3. A helpful appreciation is S. N. Hay, "Western and indigenous elements in modem Indian thought: the case of Rammohun Roy”, in M. B. Jansen, ed„ Changing Japanese Attitudes toward Modernization (Princeton, 1965), pp. 311-328.
 
82c) Nareschandra Sen-Gupta, at F.M.I., 319-28, esp. 325-6. The author had no information of actual existence of Shaiva marriages, which we may conclude may have been a speculative invention of the author of the MNT.
 
83) Macnaghten, cited above, p. 172 n. 82.
 
84) “Questions and Answers on the Judicial System of India in Exposition of the Practical Operation of the Judicial and Revenue Systems of India (1832).
 
85) His translation of XI. 97. XII. 95-6 is also inaccurate. XII. 78 is  too strong. XII. 120 may be inaccurate. At 126 he gives "employer”, when  “principal” would have been correct.
 
85a) Bhupati Nath Smrititirtha v. Ram Lai Maitra (1909) I.L.R. 37 Cal. 128, at pp. 137, 157. At the first place the translation is made direct from the Sanskrit; at the second Mookerjee, J. appears to have confused the reference. The text was almost certainly cited by that authority on Hindu Law, Babu Golapchandra Sarkar Sastri, who appeared for the respondents.
 
86) The comments on Avalon's work in M. Winternitz's "Die Tantras und die Religion der Saktas", Ostas. Z. 1916, no. 3 (see Woodroffe, Shakti and Shakta, 3rd edn., 1929, 4th edn., 1951, ch5) is appreciative, but the present writer prefers the approach of J. N. Farquhar, Modern Religious Movements in India (N.Y. 1919), 305. Kane was not taken in by Avalon. Avalon's pretence that he had seen a copy of the complete MNT, containing the second part, about 500 years old in the possession of a Nepalese pandit (see his translation introd., p. viii, also at Shakti and Shakta, p. 124) is an insult to the reader's intelligence. There was nothing to prevent his making a copy of all the text for his own use; that he did not do so suggests that the whole story is a fabrication of an unbalanced mind. A. Bharati (n. 1 above) is polite to Avalon, whose "work can hardly stand scholarly scrutiny", at p. 9.
 
87. V. C. Gopalratnam, A Century Completed (A History of the Madras High Court) 1862-1962 (Madras, 1962), 149-153; Madras High Court 1862-1962 Centenary Volume (1962), I, 36, 44-5, 47, 75, II, 79, 88. A portrait appears opp. p. xxviii of the Madras Law Journal Golden Jubilee No., 1941.
 
88) References in the High Court, Madras, 8th Dec. 1924, Hindu Law Journal, vol. 7, pt. 6 (Dec. 1924), pp. 71-78. He is mentioned significantly by C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar (who knew him) at [1962] 2 Mad. L. J., Journal, p. 4.
 
89) P. S. Sivaswami Aiyar, “The Madras Law Journal: its early years," Madras Law Journal Golden Jubilee Number, 1941, p. 4.
 
90) (1907) 17 Mad. L. J., Journal, 441-4. So Gopalratnam (above); so Kumaraswami Sastriar, J., at H.L.J., vol. 7 (cited above).
 
91) See T. Sitharama Chetty v. Sir S. Suhramama Iyer (1915) I.L.R. 39 Mad 700. His knowledge of Hindu law and custom in relation to religious endowments is well, and copiously, illustrated at Nallayappa v. Ambalavana (1903) 27 Mad. 465 F. D., 473-4.
 
91a) “An esoteric organization in India (in four parts), The Theosophist,  vol. 36, pt. 2, pp. 407, 499, 614; vol. 37, pt. 1, pp. 196-206 (the  material was advertised for sale c/o one Ramalinga Mudali, Beach House,  Mylapore). He wrote on the (imaginary) “Trimurtis and the Seven Rays",  ibid., vol. 38, pt. 2, pp. 314-322; and “Some parallel thoughts from Theosophy  and Shuddha Dharma Mandala”, ibid., vol. 38 (1917), pt. 2, pp.  625-634; vol. 39 (1917), pp. 52-60 (the Mandala already had "a large  body of literature in its custody” and 200 members (?)) For this bibliographical  information and reminiscences of Dr. Besant's relations with Sir  Subramania thanks are owed to Mr. P. M. Advani (Adyar).  
 
92) See MNT I, 37, 60, 69. Halhed found his Bengali contemporaries  pretending that the sastra was compiled about the beginning of the Kali  Yuga (Gentoo Code, p. XXXVIII). The Malayalam Vyavaharamala was  alleged to have been composed at the same period, though its contents  plainly belong to recent centuries. Enquiries about it were made in the  first decade of last century.
 
93) Article cited at n. 3 above, at pp. 90 ff.
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Dharmaśāstra
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Dharmaśāstra (Sanskrit: धर्मशास्त्र) is a genre of Sanskrit theological texts, and refers to the treatises (śāstras) of Hinduism on dharma. There are many Dharmashastras, variously estimated to be 18 to about 100, with different and conflicting points of view.[1][note 1] Each of these texts exist in many different versions, and each is rooted in Dharmasutra texts dated to 1st millennium BCE that emerged from Kalpa (Vedanga) studies in the Vedic era.[???!!!][3][4]

The textual corpus of Dharmaśāstra were composed in poetic verses,[5] are part of the Hindu Smritis,[6] constituting divergent commentaries and treatises on duties, responsibilities and ethics to oneself, to family and as a member of society.[7][8] The texts include discussion of ashrama (stages of life), varna (social classes), purushartha (proper goals of life), personal virtues and duties such as ahimsa (non-violence) against all living beings, rules of just war, and other topics.[9][10][11]

Dharmaśāstra became influential in modern colonial India history, when they were formulated by early British colonial administrators to be the law of the land[???] for all non-Muslims (Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs) in South Asia, after Sharia i.e. Mughal Empire's Fatawa-e-Alamgiri[12][13] set by Emperor Muhammad Aurangzeb, was already accepted as the law for Muslims in colonial India.[/b][14][15][16]

The only means of penetrating into Indian antiquity, especially as far as history is concerned, is to have a great taste for this science, to acquire a perfect knowledge of samskret, and to incur expenses to which it is impossible. Only a great prince can provide; until these three things are found united in the same subject, with the health necessary to support the study in India, nothing, or almost nothing, will be known of the ancient history of this vast Kingdom.

Let us enter the sanctuary of the Bracmanes, a sanctuary impenetrable to the eyes of the vulgar. What, after the nobility of their caste, raises them infinitely above the vulgar, is the science of religion, mathematics, and philosophy. The Bracmanes have their religion apart; they are, however, the ministers of that of the people. The four vedan or bed, are, according to them, of divine authority: they are in Arabic in the King's library; thus the Bracmanes are divided into four sects, each of which has its own law. Roukou Vedan, or, according to the Hindustani pronunciation, Recbed and the Yajourvedam, are more followed in the peninsula between the two seas. Samavedam and Latharvana or Brahmavedam in the north. The vedam contain the theology of the Bracmanes; and the ancient puranam or poems, popular theology. The Vedams, as far as I can judge from what little I have seen of them, are but a collection of various superstitious, and often diabolical, practices of the ancient Richi (penitents), or Muni (anchorites). Everything is subjugated, and the very gods are subjugated to the Intrinsic force of the sacrifices, and the Mantrams, these are sacred formulas which they use to consecrate, offer, invoke, etc. I was surprised to find this one there; om, Santih, Santih, Santih, harih. You no doubt know that the letter or syllable, ôm contains the Trinity in Unity; the rest is the literal translation of Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus, Harih is a name of God which means Captor.

The Vedams, in addition to the practices of the ancient Risî and Muni, contain their sentiments on the nature of God, of the soul, of the sensible world, etc. From the two theologies, the bracmanic and the popular, we have composed the holy science or of the virtue of Harmachâstram [Dharmacastras???], which contains the practice of the different religions, of the sacred or superstitious, civil or profane rites, with the laws for the administration of Justice.[???!!!] The treatises of Harmachàstram, by different authors, have multiplied ad infinitum. I will not dwell any longer on a matter which would require a large separate work, and the knowledge of which will apparently never be more than superficial.

-- Letter From Father Pons, Missionary of the Company of Jesus, to Father Du Halde, of the same Company. At Careical, on the coast of Tanjaour; in the East Indies, November 23, 1740. From "Lettres Edifiantes Et Curieuses, Ecrites Des Missions Etrangeres", by Charles Le Gobien


History

Image
Copy of a royal land grant, recorded on copper plate, made by Chalukya King Tribhuvana Malla Deva in 1083

The Dharmashastras are based on ancient Dharmasūtra texts, which themselves emerged from the literary tradition of the Vedas (Rig, Yajur, Sāma, and Atharva) composed in 2nd millennium BCE to the early centuries of the 1st millennium BCE. These Vedic branches split into various other schools (shakhas) possibly for a variety of reasons such as geography, specialization and disputes.[17] Each Veda is further divided into two categories namely the Saṃhitā which is a collection of mantra verses and the Brahmanas which are prose texts that explain the meaning of the Samhita verses.[18] The Brāhmaṇa layer expanded and some of the newer esoteric speculative layers of text were called Aranyakas while the mystical and philosophical sections came to be called the Upanishads.[18][19] The Vedic basis of Dharma literature is found in the Brahmana layer of the Vedas.[18]

Towards the end of the vedic period, after the middle of the 1st millennium BCE, the language of the Vedic texts composed centuries earlier grew too archaic to the people of that time. This led to the formation of Vedic Supplements called the Vedangas which literally means ‘limbs of the Veda’.[18] The Vedangas were ancillary sciences that focused on understanding and interpreting the Vedas composed many centuries earlier, and included Shiksha (phonetics, syllable), Chandas (poetic metre), Vyakarana (grammar, linguistics), Nirukta (etymology, glossary), Jyotisha (timekeeping, astronomy), and Kalpa (ritual or proper procedures). The Kalpa Vedanga studies gave rise to the Dharma-sutras, which later expanded into Dharma-shastras.[18][20][21]

The Dharmasutras

The Dharmasutras were numerous, but only four texts have survived into the modern era.[22] The most important of these texts are the sutras of Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhayana, and Vasistha.[23] These extant texts cite writers and refer opinions of seventeen authorities, implying that a rich Dharmasutras tradition existed prior to when these texts were composed.[24][25]

The extant Dharmasutras are written in concise sutra format,[26] with a very terse incomplete sentence structure which are difficult to understand and leave much to the reader to interpret.[22] The Dharmasastras are derivative works on the Dharmasutras, using a shloka (four 8-syllable verse style chandas poetry, Anushtubh meter), which are relatively clearer.[22][5]

The Dharmasutras can be called the guidebooks of dharma as they contain guidelines for individual and social behavior, ethical norms, as well as personal, civil and criminal law.[22] They discuss the duties and rights of people at different stages of life like studenthood, householdership, retirement and renunciation. These stages are also called ashramas. They also discuss the rites and duties of kings, judicial matters, and personal law such as matters relating to marriage and inheritance.[23] However, Dharmasutras typically did not deal with rituals and ceremonies, a topic that was covered in the Shrautasutras and Grihyasutras texts of the Kalpa (Vedanga).[22]

Style of composition

The hymns of Ṛgveda are one of the earliest texts composed in verse. The Brāhmaṇa which belongs to the middle vedic period followed by the vedāṇga are composed in prose. The basic texts are composed in an aphoristic style known as the sutra which literally means thread on which each aphorism is strung like a pearl.[27]

The Dharmasūtras are composed in sutra style and were part of a larger compilation of texts, called the Kalpasūtras which give an aphoristic description of the rituals, ceremonies and proper procedures. The Kalpasutras contain three sections, namely the Śrautasūtras which deal with vedic ceremonies, Gṛhyasūtras which deal with rites of passage rituals and domestic matters, and Dharmasūtras which deal with proper procedures in one's life.[28] The Dharmasūtras of Āpastamba and Baudhāyana form a part of larger Kalpasutra texts, all of which has survived into the modern era.[28]

The sūtra tradition ended around the beginning of the common era and was followed by the poetic octosyllable verse style called the śloka.[29] The verse style was used to compose the Dharmaśāstras such as the Manusmriti, the Hindu epics, and the Puranas.[29]

The age of Smṛtis that ended around the second half of the first millennium CE was followed by that of commentaries around the 9th century called nibandha. This legal tradition consisted of commentaries on earlier Dharmasūtras and Smritis.[29]

Authorship and dates

About 20 Dharmasutras are known, some surviving into the modern era just as fragments of their original.[30] Four Dharmasūtras have been translated into English, and most remain in manuscripts.[30] All carry the names of their authors, but it is still difficult to determine who these real authors were.[29]

The extant Dharmasūtra texts are listed below:

1. Apastamba (450–350 BCE) this Dharmasūtra forms a part of the larger Kalpasūtra of Apastamba. It contains 1,364 sutras.[31]
2. Gautama (600–200 BCE) although this Dharmasūtra comes down as an independent treatise it may have once formed a part of the Kalpasūtra, linked to the Samaveda.[32] It is likely the oldest extant Dharma text, and originated in what is modern Maharashtra-Gujarat.[33] It contains 973 sutras.[34]
3. Baudhāyana (500–200 BCE) this Dharmasūtra like that of Apastamba also forms a part of the larger Kalpasūtra. It contains 1,236 sutras.[31]
4. Vāsiṣṭha (300–100 BCE) this Dharmasūtra forms an independent treatise and other parts of the Kalpasūtra, that is Shrauta- and Grihya-sutras are missing.[30] It contains 1,038 sutras.[31]

The Dharmasūtra of Āpastamba and Baudhayana form a part of the Kalpasūtra but it is not easy to establish whether they were historical authors of these texts or whether these texts were composed within certain institutions attributed to their names.[29] Moreover, Gautama and Vasiṣṭha are ancient sages related to specific vedic schools and therefore it is hard to say whether they were historical authors of these texts.[35] The issue of authorship is further complicated by the fact that apart from Āpastamba the other Dharmasūtras have various alterations made at later times.[35]

Excellence

Practise righteousness (dharma), not unrighteousness.
Speak the truth, not an untruth.
Look at what is distant, not what's near at hand.
Look at the highest, not at what's less than highest.

— Vasishtha Dharmasutra 30.1 [36]


There is uncertainty regarding the dates of these documents due to lack of evidence concerning these documents. Kane has posited the following dates for the texts, for example, though other scholars disagree: Gautama 600 BCE to 400 BCE, Āpastamba 450 BCE to 350 BCE, Baudhāyana 500 BCE to 200 BCE, and Vasiṣṭha 300 BCE to 100 BCE.[37] Patrick Olivelle suggests that Apastamba Dharmasutra is the oldest of the extant texts in Dharmasutra genre and one by Gautama second oldest, while Robert Lingat suggests that Gautama Dharmasutra is the oldest.[38][33]

There is confusion regarding the geographical provenance of these documents. According to Bühler and Kane, Āpastamba came from South India probably from a region corresponding to modern Andhra Pradesh.[39] Baudhāyana also came from south although evidence regarding this is weaker than that of Āpastamba.[39] Gautama likely came from western region, nearer to the northwestern region to which Pāṇini belonged, and one which corresponds to where Maratha people in modern India are found.[32] Nothing can be said about Vasiṣṭha due to lack of any evidence.[40]

Scholars have varied opinions about the chronology of these documents. Regarding the age of Āpastamba and Gautama there are opposite conclusions. According to Bühler and Lingat Āpastamba is younger than Baudhāyana. Vasiṣṭha is surely a later text.[40]

Literary structure

The structure of these Dharmasūtras primarily addresses the Brahmins both in subject matter and the audience.[41] The Brahmins are the creators and primary consumers of these texts.[41] The subject matter of Dharmasūtras is dharma. The central focus of these texts is how a Brahmin male should conduct himself during his lifetime.[41] The text of Āpastamba which is best preserved has a total of 1,364 sūtras out of which 1,206 (88 per cent) are devoted to the Brahmin, whereas only 158 (12 per cent) deals with topics of general nature.[42] The structure of the Dharmasūtras begin with the vedic initiation of a young boy followed by entry into adulthood, marriage and responsibilities of adult life that includes adoption, inheritance, death rituals and ancestral offerings.[42] According to Olivelle, the reason Dharmasutras introduced vedic initiation was to make the individual subject to Dharma precepts at school, by making him a ‘twice born’ man, because children were considered exempt from Dharma precepts in the vedic tradition.[42]

The structure of Dharmasūtra of Āpastamba begins with the duties of the student, then describes householder duties and rights such as inheritance, and ends with administration of the king.[43] This forms the early structure of the Dharma texts. However, in the Dharmasūtras of Gautama, Baudhāyana and Vasiṣṭha some sections such as inheritance and penance are reorganized, and moved from householder section to king-related section.[43] Ollivelle suggests that these changes may be because of chronological reasons where civil law increasingly became part of the king's administrative responsibilities.[43]

The meaning of Dharma

Dharma is a concept which is central not only in Hinduism but also in Jainism and Buddhism.[44] The term means a lot of things and has a wide scope of interpretation.[44] The fundamental meaning of Dharma in Dharmasūtras, states Olivelle is diverse, and includes accepted norms of behavior, procedures within a ritual, moral actions, righteousness and ethical attitudes, civil and criminal law, legal procedures and penance or punishment, and guidelines for proper and productive living.[45]

The term Dharma also includes social institutions such as marriage, inheritance, adoption, work contracts, judicial process in case of disputes, as well personal choices such as meat as food and sexual conduct.[46]

The source of Dharma: scriptures or empiricism

The source of dharma was a question that loomed in the minds of Dharma text writers, and they tried to seek "where guidelines for Dharma can be found?"[47] They sought to define and examine vedic injunctions as the source of Dharma, asserting that like the Vedas, Dharma is not of human origin.[47] This worked for rituals-related rules, but in all other matters this created numerous interpretations and different derivations.[47] This led to documents with various working definitions, such as dharma of different regions (deshadharma), of social groups (jatidharma), of different families (kuladharma).[47] The authors of Dharmasutras and Dharmashastra admit that these dharmas are not found in the Vedic texts, nor can the behavioral rules included therein be found in any of the Vedas.[47] This led to the incongruity between the search for legal codes and dharma rules in the theological versus the reality of epistemic origins of dharma rules and guidelines.[47]

The Hindu scholar Āpastamba, in a Dharmasutra named after him (~400 BCE), made an attempt to resolve this issue of incongruity. He placed the importance of the Veda scriptures second and that of samayacarika or mutually agreed and accepted customs of practice first.[48] Āpastamba thus proposed that scriptures alone cannot be source of Law (dharma), and dharma has an empirical nature.[48] Āpastamba asserted that it is difficult to find absolute sources of law, in ancient books or current people, states Patrick Olivelle with, "The Righteous (dharma) and the Unrighteous (adharma) do not go around saying, 'here we are!'; Nor do gods, Gandharvas or ancestors declare, 'This is righteous and that is unrighteous'."[48] Most laws are based on agreement between the Aryas, stated Āpastamba, on what is right and what is wrong.[48] Laws must also change with ages, stated Āpastamba, a theory that became known as Yuga dharma in Hindu traditions.[49] Āpastamba also asserted in verses 2.29.11–15, states Olivelle, that "aspects of dharma not taught in Dharmasastras can be learned from women and people of all classes".[50]

Āpastamba used a hermeneutic strategy that asserted that the Vedas once contained all knowledge including that of ideal Dharma, but parts of Vedas have been lost.[49] Human customs developed from the original complete Vedas, but given the lost text, one must use customs between good people as a source to infer what the original Vedas might have stated the Dharma to be.[49] This theory, called the ‘lost Veda’ theory, made the study of customs of good people as a source of dharma and guide to proper living, states Olivelle.[49]

Testimony during a trial

The witness must take an oath before deposing.
Single witness normally does not suffice.
As many as three witnesses are required.
False evidence must face sanctions.

— Gautama Dharmasutras 13.2–13.6 [51][52]


The sources of dharma according to Gautama Dharmasutra are three: the Vedas, the Smriti (tradition), acāra (the practice) of those who know the Veda. These three sources are also found in later Dharmashastra literature.[49] Baudhāyana Dharmasutra lists the same three, but calls the third as śiṣṭa (शिष्ट, literally polite cultured people)[note 2] or the practice of cultured people as the third source of dharma.[49] Both Baudhāyana Dharmasutra and Vāsiṣṭha Dharmasutra make the practices of śiṣṭa as a source of dharma, but both state that the geographical location of such polite cultured people does not limit the usefulness of universal precepts contained in their practices.[49] In case of conflict between different sources of dharma, Gautama Dharmasutra states that the Vedas prevail over other sources, and if two Vedic texts are in conflict then the individual has a choice to follow either.[54]

The nature of Dharmasūtras is normative, they tell what people ought to do, but they do not tell what people actually did.[55] Some scholars state that these sources are unreliable and worthless for historical purposes instead to use archaeology, epigraphy and other historical evidence to establish the actual legal codes in Indian history. Olivelle states that the dismissal of normative texts is unwise, as is believing that the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras texts present a uniform code of conduct and there were no divergent or dissenting views.[55]

The Dharmaśāstras

Written after the Dharmasūtras, these texts use a metered verse and are much more elaborate in their scope than Dharmasutras.[56] The word Dharmaśāstras never appears in the Vedic texts, and the word śāstra itself appears for the first time in Yaska's Nirukta text.[57] Katyayana's commentary on Panini's work (~3rd century BCE), has the oldest known single mention of the word Dharmaśāstras.[57]

The extant Dharmaśāstras texts are listed below:

1. The Manusmriti (~ 2nd to 3rd century CE)[58][59] is the most studied and earliest metrical work of the Dharmaśāstra textual tradition of Hinduism.[60] The medieval era Buddhistic law of Myanmar and Thailand are also ascribed to Manu,[61][62] and the text influenced past Hindu kingdoms in Cambodia and Indonesia.[63]
2. The Yājñavalkya Smṛti (~ 4th to 5th-century CE)[58] has been called the "best composed" and "most homogeneous"[64] text of the Dharmaśāstra tradition, with its superior vocabulary and level of sophistication. It may have been more influential than Manusmriti as a legal theory text.[65][66]
3. The Nāradasmṛti (~ 5th to 6th-century CE)[58] has been called the "juridical text par excellence" and represents the only Dharmaśāstra text which deals solely with juridical matters and ignoring those of righteous conduct and penance.[67]
4. The Viṣṇusmṛti (~ 7th-century CE)[58] is one of the latest books of the Dharmaśāstra tradition in Hinduism and also the only one which does not deal directly with the means of knowing dharma, focusing instead on the bhakti tradition.[68]

In addition, numerous other Dharmaśāstras are known,[69][note 3] partially or indirectly, with very different ideas, customs and conflicting versions.[72] For example, the manuscripts of Bṛhaspatismṛti and the Kātyāyanasmṛti have not been found, but their verses have been cited in other texts, and scholars have made an effort to extract these cited verses, thus creating a modern reconstruction of these texts.[73] Scholars such as Jolly and Aiyangar have gathered some 2,400 verses of the lost Bṛhaspatismṛti text in this manner.[73] Brihaspati-smriti was likely a larger and more comprehensive text than Manusmriti,[73] yet both Brihaspati-smriti and Katyayana-smriti seem to have been predominantly devoted to judicial process and jurisprudence.[74] The writers of Dharmasastras acknowledged their mutual differences, and developed a "doctrine of consensus" reflecting regional customs and preferences.[75]

Of the four extant Dharmasastras, Manusmriti, Yajnavalkyasmriti and Naradasmriti are the most important surviving texts.[76] But, states Robert Lingat, numerous other Dharmasastras whose manuscripts are now missing, have enjoyed equal authority.[76] Between the three, the Manusmriti became famous during the colonial British India era, yet modern scholarship states that other Dharmasastras such as the Yajnavalkyasmriti appear to have played a greater role in guiding the actual Dharma.[77] Further, the Dharmasastras were open texts, and they underwent alterations and rewriting through their history.[78]

Contents of Dharmasutras and Dharmaśāstra

Image
A facsimile of an inscription in Oriya script on a copper plate recording a land grant made by Rāja Purushottam Deb, king of Odisha, in the fifth year of his reign (1483). Land grants made by royal decree were protected by law, with deeds often being recorded on metal plates

All Dharma, in Hindu traditions, has its foundation in the Vedas.[19] The Dharmashastra texts enumerate four sources of Dharma – the precepts in the Vedas, the tradition, the virtuous conduct of those who know the Vedas, and approval of one's conscience (Atmasantushti, self-satisfaction).[79]

The Dharmashastra texts include conflicting claims on the sources of dharma. The theological claim therein asserts, without any elaboration, that Dharma just like the Vedas are eternal and timeless, the former is directly or indirectly related to the Vedas.[80] Yet these texts also acknowledge the role of Smriti, customs of polite learned people, and one's conscience as source of dharma.[79][80] The historical reality, states Patrick Olivelle, is very different than the theological reference to the Vedas, and the dharma taught in the Dharmaśāstra has little to do with the Vedas.[80] These were customs, norms or pronouncements of the writers of these texts that were likely derived from evolving regional ethical, ideological, cultural and legal practices.[81]

The Dharmasutra and Dharmaśāstra texts, as they have survived into the modern era, were not authored by a single author. They were viewed by the ancient and medieval era commentators, states Olivelle, to be the works of many authors.[82] Robert Lingat adds that these texts suggest that "a rich literature on dharma already existed" before these were first composed.[83] These texts were revised and interpolated through their history because the various text manuscripts discovered in India are inconsistent with each other, and within themselves, raising concerns of their authenticity.[84][85][86]

The Dharmaśāstra texts present their ideas under various categories such as Acara, Vyavahara, Prayascitta and others, but they do so inconsistently.[87] Some discuss Acara but do not discuss Vyavahara, as is the case with Parasara-Smriti for instance,[88] while some solely discuss Vyavahara.[74]

Āchara

Main article: Āchara

Āchara (आचार) literally means "good behavior, custom".[89][90] It refers to the normative behavior and practices of a community, conventions and behaviors that enable a society and various individuals therein to function.[91][92]

Vyavahāra

Main article: Vyavahāra

Vyavahāra (व्यवहार) literally means "judicial procedure, process, practice, conduct and behaviour".[93][94] The due process, honesty in testimony, considering various sides, was justified by Dharmaśāstra authors as a form of Vedic sacrifice, failure of the due process was declared to be a sin.[95][96]

The Vyavahara sections of Dharma texts included chapters on duties of a king, court system, judges and witnesses, judicial process, crimes and penance or punishment.[94] However, the discussions and procedures in different Dharmasutra and Dharmaśāstra texts diverge significantly.[94]

Some Dharmaśāstra texts such as that attributed to Brihaspati, are almost entirely Vyavahāra-related texts. These were probably composed in the common era, around or after 5th-century of 1st millennium.[74]

Prāyaśchitta

Main article: Prāyaśchitta

Prāyaśchitta (प्रायश्चित्त) literally means "atonement, expiation, penance".[97][98] Prāyaśchittas are asserted by the Dharmasutra and Dharmashastra texts as an alternative to incarceration and punishment,[98] and a means of expiating bad conduct or sin such as adultery by a married person.[99] Thus, in the Apastambha text, a willing sexual act between a male and female is subject to penance, while rape is covered by harsher judicial punishments, with a few texts such as Manusmriti suggesting public punishments in extreme cases.[98]

Those texts that discuss Prāyaśchitta, states Robert Lingat, debate the intent and thought behind the improper act, and consider penance appropriate when the "effect" had to be balanced, but "cause" was unclear.[100] The roots of this theory are found in the Brahmana layer of text in the Samaveda.[101]

Secondary works

The Dharmasutras and Dharmasastras attracted secondary works called commentaries (Bhashya) would typically interpret and explain the text of interest, accept or reject the ideas along with reasons why.[102]

Commentaries (bhasya) on Dharmasastras

Dharmasastra / Author of Commentary


Manusmriti / Bhāruci (600–1050 CE),[103] Medhātithi (820–1050 CE),[104] Govindarāja (11th-century),[105] Kullūka (1200–1500 CE),[105] Narayana (14th-century),[105] Nandana,[105] Raghavananda,[105] Ramacandra[105]

Yajnavalkya Smriti / Visvarupa (750–1000 CE), Vijanesvara (11th or 12th century, most studied), Apararka (12th-century), Sulapani (14th or 15th century), Mitramisra (17th-century)[106][107]

Narada-smriti / Kalyāṇbhaṭṭa (based on Asahaya's work)[106][107]

Visnu-smriti / Nandapaṇḍita[106]


Another category of secondary literature derived from the Dharmasutras and Dharmasastras were the digests (nibandhas, sometimes spelled nibhandas). These arose primarily because of the conflict and disagreements on a particular subject across the various Dharma texts.[108] These digests attempted to reconcile, bridge or suggest a compromise guideline to the numerous disagreements in the primary texts, however the digests in themselves disagreed with each other even on basic principles.[109] Geographically, the medieval era digest writers came from many different parts of India, such as Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.[110] The oldest surviving digest on Dharma texts is Krityakalpataru, from early 12th-century, by Lakshmidhara of Kannauj in north India, belonging to the Varanasi school.[111]

The digests were generally arranged by topic, referred to many different Dharmasastras for their contents. They would identify an idea or rule, add their comments, then cite contents of different Dharma texts to support or explain their view.

Digests (nibhandas) on Dharmasastras

Subject / Author of Digests


General / Lakṣmīdhara (1104–1154 CE),[111] Devaṇṇa-bhaṭṭan (1200 CE), Pratāparuda-deva (16th-century),[112] Nīlakaṇṭha (1600–1650),[113] Dalpati (16th-century), Kashinatha (1790)[114]

Inheritance / Jīmūtavāhana, Raghunandana

Adoption / Nanda-paṇḍita (16th–17th century)[115]

King's duties / Caṇḍeśvara, Ṭoḍar Mal (16th century, sponsored by the Mughal emperor Akbar)[116]

Judicial process / Caṇḍeśvara (14th century), Kamalākara-bhatta (1612), Nīlakaṇṭha (17th century),[113] Mitra-miśra (17th century)


Women jurists

A few notable historic digests on Dharmasastras were written by women.[117][118] These include Lakshmidevi's Vivadachandra and Mahadevi Dhiramati's Danavakyavali.[117] Lakshmidevi, state West and Bühler, gives a latitudinarian views and widest interpretation to Yajnavalkya Smriti, but her views were not widely adopted by male legal scholars of her time.[118] The scholarly works of Lakshmidevi were also published with the pen name Balambhatta, and are now considered classics in legal theories on inheritance and property rights, particularly for women.[119]

Dharma texts and the schools of Hindu philosophy

The Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy developed textual hermeneutics, theories on language and interpretation of Dharma, ideas which contributed to the Dharmasutras and Dharmasastras.[120] The Vedanga fields of grammar and linguistics – Vyakarana and Nirukta – were the other significant contributors to the Dharma-text genre.[120]

Mimamsa literally means the "desire to think", states Donald Davis, and in colloquial historical context "how to think, interpret things, and the meaning of texts".[120] In the early portions of the Vedas, the focus was largely on the rituals; in the later portions, largely on philosophical speculations and the spiritual liberation (moksha) of the individual.[120][121] The Dharma-texts, over time and each in its own way, attempted to present their theories on rules and duties of individuals from the perspective of a society, using the insights of hermeneutics and on language developed by Mimamsa and Vedanga.[120][121][122] The Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy, and its insights into the theories on logic and reason, contributed to the development of and disagreements between the Dharmasastra texts, and the term Nyaya came to mean "justice".[123][124]

Influence

Main article: Hindu law

Dharmaśāstras played an influential role in modern era colonial India history, when they were used as the basis for the law of the land for all non-Muslims (Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs).[15][16][125]

In 18th century, the earliest British of the East India Company acted as agents of the Mughal emperor. As the British colonial rule took over the political and administrative powers in India, it was faced with various state responsibilities such as legislative and judiciary functions.[126] The East India Company, and later the British Crown, sought profits for its British shareholders through trade as well as sought to maintain effective political control with minimal military engagement.[127] The administration pursued a path of least resistance, relying upon co-opted local intermediaries that were mostly Muslims and some Hindus in various princely states.[127] The British exercised power by avoiding interference and adapting to law practices as explained by the local intermediaries.[126][127][128] The colonial policy on the system of personal laws for India, for example, was expressed by Governor-General Hastings in 1772 as follows,

That in all suits regarding inheritance, marriage, caste and other religious usages or institutions, the law of the Koran with respect to Mahometans, and those of the Shaster [Dharmaśāstra] with respect to Gentoos shall be invariably be adhered to.

— Warren Hastings, August 15, 1772[125]


For Muslims of India, the Sharia or the religious law for Muslims was readily available in al-Hidaya and Fatawa-i Alamgiri written under the sponsorship of Aurangzeb. For Hindus and other non-Muslims such as Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Tribal people, this information was unavailable.[126] The British colonial officials extracted from the Dharmaśāstra, the legal code to apply on non-Muslims for the purposes of colonial administration.[129][130]

The Dharmashastra-derived laws for non-Muslim Indians were dissolved after India gained independence, but Indian Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937 continued to be the personal and family law for Indian Muslims.[131] For non-Muslims, a non-religious uniform civil code was passed by Indian parliament in the 1950s, and amended by its elected governments thereafter, which has since then applied to all non-Muslim Indians.[131]

Major English translations

For beginners


• Olivelle, Patrick. 1999. Dharmasūtras: The Law Codes of Āpastamba, Gautama, Baudhāyana, and Vāsiṣṭha. New York: Oxford UP.
• Olivelle, Patrick. 2004. The Law Code of Manu. New York: Oxford UP.

Other major translations

• Kane, P.V. (ed. and trans.) 1933. Kātyāyanasmṛti on Vyavahāra (Law and Procedure). Poona: Oriental Book Agency.
• Lariviere, Richard W. 2003. The Nāradasmṛti. 2nd rev. ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
• Rocher, Ludo. 1956. Vyavahāracintāmani: a digest on Hindu legal procedure. Gent.

Early translations with full-text online

• Jha, Ganganath (trans.), Manusmṛti with the Manubhāṣyya of Medhātithi, including additional notes, 1920.
• Bühler, Georg (trans.), The Laws of Manu, SBE Vol. 25, 1886.
• Bühler, Georg (trans.), The Sacred Laws of the Āryas, SBE Vol. 2, 1879 [Part 1: Āpastamba and Gautama]
• Bühler, Georg (trans.), The Sacred Laws of the Āryas, SBE Vol. 14, 1882 [Part 2: Vāsiṣṭha and Baudhāyana]
• Jolly, Julius (trans.), The Institutes of Viṣṇu, SBE Vol. 7, 1880.
• Jolly, Julius (trans.), The Minor Law-Books, SBE Vol. 33. Oxford, 1889. [contains both Bṛhaspatismṛti and Nāradasmṛti]

See also

• Dhammasattha
• Tirukkural

Notes

1. Pandurang Vaman Kane mentions over 100 different Dharmasastra texts which were known by the Middle Ages in India, but most of these are lost to history and their existence is inferred from quotes and citations in bhasya and digests that have survived.[2]
2. Baudhayana, in verses 1.1.5–6, provides a complete definition of śiṣṭa as "Now, śiṣṭa are those who are free from envy and pride, who possess just a jarful of grain, who are without greed, and who are free from hypocrisy, arrogance, greed, folly and anger."[53]
3. Numerous Dharmasastras are known, but most are lost to history and only known from them being mentioned or quoted in other surviving texts. For example, Dharmasastras by Atri, Harita, Ushanas, Angiras, Yama, Apastamba, Samvartha, Katyayana, Brihaspati, Parasara, Vyasa, Sankha, Likhita, Daksha, Gautama, Satatapa, Vasistha, Prachetas, Budha, Devala, Sumantu, Jamadgni, Visvamitra, Prajapati, Paithinasi, Pitamaha, Jabala, Chhagaleya, Chyavana, Marichi, Kasyapa, Gobhila, Risyasrimaga and others.[70][71]

References

1. John Bowker (2012), The Message and the Book: Sacred Texts of the World's Religions, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0300179293, pages 179–180
2. Kane, P.V. History of the Dharmaśāstras Vol. 1 p. 304
3. James Lochtefeld (2002), "Dharma Shastras" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, ISBN 0-8239-2287-1, pages 191–192
4. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxiii–xxv.
5. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 73.
6. Patrick Olivelle 2006, pp. 173, 175–176, 183.
7. Patrick Olivelle, Manu's Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Mānava-Dharmaśāstra (New York: Oxford UP, 2005), 64.
8. Ludo Rocher, "Hindu Law and Religion: Where to draw the line?" in Malik Ram Felicitation Volume, ed. S.A.J. Zaidi. (New Delhi, 1972), pp.167–194 and Richard W. Lariviere, "Law and Religion in India" in Law, Morality, and Religion: Global Perspectives, ed. Alan Watson (Berkeley: University of California Press), pp.75–94.
9. Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 31–32, 81–82, 154–166, 208–214, 353–354, 356–382
10. Donald Davis (2010), The Spirit of Hindu Law, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521877046, page 13-16, 166–179
11. Kedar Nath Tiwari (1998). Classical Indian Ethical Thought. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 88–95. ISBN 978-81-208-1607-7.
12. Jackson, Roy (2010). Mawlana Mawdudi and Political Islam: Authority and the Islamic State. Routledge. ISBN 9781136950360.
13. Chapra, Muhammad Umer (2014). Morality and Justice in Islamic Economics and Finance. Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 62–63. ISBN 9781783475728.
14. Rocher, Ludo (July–September 1972). "Indian Response to Anglo-Hindu Law". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 92 (3): 419–424. doi:10.2307/600567. JSTOR 600567.
15. Derrett, J. Duncan M. (November 1961). "The Administration of Hindu Law by the British". Comparative Studies in Society and History. Cambridge University Press. 4 (1): 10–52. doi:10.1017/S0010417500001213. JSTOR 177940.
16. Werner Menski (2003), Hindu Law: Beyond tradition and modernity, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-569921-0, Chapter 1
17. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxii.
18. (Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxiii)
19. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 7–8.
20. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 12.
21. Rajendra Prasad (2009). A Historical-developmental Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals. Concept. p. 147. ISBN 978-81-8069-595-7.
22. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxiv–xxv.
23. (Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxiii–xxv)
24. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 19–22, Quote: The dharma-sutra of Apastamba suggests that a rich literature on dharma already existed. He cites ten authors by name. (...).
25. Patrick Olivelle 2006, pp. 178, see note 29 for a list of 17 cited ancient scholars in different Dharmasutras.
26. Patrick Olivelle 2006, p. 178.
27. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxiv.
28. (Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxiv)
29. (Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxv)
30. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 18.
31. Patrick Olivelle 2006, p. 185.
32. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 19.
33. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 19–20.
34. Patrick Olivelle 2006, p. 46.
35. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxvi.
36. Patrick Olivelle 1999, p. 325.
37. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxxi.
38. Patrick Olivelle 2006, p. 178 with note 28.
39. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxvii.
40. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxviii.
41. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxxiv.
42. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxxv.
43. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxxvi.
44. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxxvii.
45. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxxviii–xxxix.
46. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxxviii–xxxix, 27–28.
47. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxxix.
48. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xl.
49. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xli.
50. Patrick Olivelle 2006, pp. 180.
51. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 69.
52. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. 100–101.
53. Patrick Olivelle 2006, p. 181.
54. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xlii.
55. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. x1ii.
56. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 73–77.
57. Patrick Olivelle 2006, pp. 169–170.
58. Timothy Lubin, Donald R. Davis Jr & Jayanth K. Krishnan 2010, p. 57.
59. Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 24–25
60. See Flood 1996: 56 and Olivelle 2005.
61. Steven Collins (1993), The discourse of what is primary, Journal of Indian philosophy, Volume 21, pages 301–393
62. Patrick Olivelle 2005, pp. 3–4.
63. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 77.
64. Lingat 1973: 98
65. Timothy Lubin, Donald R. Davis Jr & Jayanth K. Krishnan 2010, pp. 59–72.
66. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 98.
67. Lariviere 1989: ix
68. Olivelle 2007: 149–150.
69. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 277.
70. Mandagadde Rama Jois 1984, pp. 22.
71. Benoy Kumar Sarkar (1985). The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 192–194. ISBN 978-81-208-2664-9.
72. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 195–198.
73. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 104.
74. Patrick Olivelle 2006, p. 188.
75. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 14, 109–110, 180–189.
76. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 97.
77. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 98, 103–106.
78. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 130–131.
79. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 6.
80. Patrick Olivelle 2006, pp. 173–174.
81. Patrick Olivelle 2006, pp. 175–178, 184–185.
82. Patrick Olivelle 2006, pp. 176–177.
83. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 22.
84. Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 353–354, 356–382
85. G Srikantan (2014), Entanglements in Legal History (Editor: Thomas Duve), Max Planck Institute: Germany, ISBN 978-3944773001, page 123
86. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 129–131.
87. P.V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra: (ancient and mediaeval, religious and civil law). (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1962 – 1975).
88. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 158–159.
89. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 103, 159.
90. Patrick Olivelle 2006, p. 172.
91. Patrick Olivelle 2006, pp. 172–173.
92. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 14–16.
93. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 285.
94. Patrick Olivelle 2006, pp. 186–188.
95. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 149–150.
96. On this topic, see Olivelle, Patrick, Language, Tests, and Society: Explorations in Ancient Indian Culture and Religion. p. 174
97. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 98–99.
98. Patrick Olivelle 2006, pp. 195–198 with footnotes.
99. Kane, P.V. History of the Dharmaśāstras Vol. 4 p. 38, 58
100. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 54–56.
101. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 55.
102. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 107.
103. J Duncan J Derrett (1977), Essays in Classical and Modern Hindu Law, Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004048089, pages 10–17, 36–37 with footnote 75a
104. Kane, P. V., History of Dharmaśāstra, (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1975), Volume I, Part II, 583.
105. Patrick Olivelle 2005, pp. 367–369.
106. Ludo Rocher (2008). Gavin Flood (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. John Wiley & Sons. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-470-99868-7.
107. Sures Chandra Banerji (1999). A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra. Abhinav Publications. pp. 72–75. ISBN 978-81-7017-370-0.
108. David C. Buxbaum (2013). Family Law and Customary Law in Asia: A Contemporary Legal Perspective. Springer. pp. 202–205 with footnote 3. ISBN 978-94-017-6216-8.
109. Sures Chandra Banerji (1999). A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra. Abhinav Publications. pp. 5–6, 307. ISBN 978-81-7017-370-0.
110. Sures Chandra Banerji (1999). A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra. Abhinav Publications. pp. 38–72. ISBN 978-81-7017-370-0.
111. Maria Heim (2004). Theories of the Gift in South Asia: Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Reflections on Dāna. Routledge. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-0-415-97030-3.
112. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 116.
113. Sures Chandra Banerji (1999). A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra. Abhinav Publications. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-81-7017-370-0.
114. Sures Chandra Banerji (1999). A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra. Abhinav Publications. pp. 65–66. ISBN 978-81-7017-370-0.
115. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 117.
116. Sures Chandra Banerji (1999). A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra. Abhinav Publications. p. 71. ISBN 978-81-7017-370-0.
117. Mandagadde Rama Jois (1984). Legal and Constitutional History of India: Ancient legal, judicial, and constitutional system. Universal Law Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 978-81-7534-206-4.
118. Sir Raymond West; Georg Bühler (1878). A Digest of the Hindu Law of Inheritance and Partition: From the Replies of the Sâstris in the Several Courts of the Bombay Presidency, with Introductions, Notes, and an Appendix. Education Society's Press. pp. 6–7, 490–491.
119. Maurice Winternitz (1963). History of Indian Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 602 with footnote 2. ISBN 978-81-208-0056-4.
120. Donald R. Davis, Jr 2010, pp. 47–49.
121. Francis Xavier Clooney (1990). Thinking Ritually: Rediscovering the Pūrva Mīmāṃsā of Jaimini. De Nobili, Vienna. pp. 25–28. ISBN 978-3-900271-21-3.
122. Kisori Lal Sarkar, The Mimansa Rules of Interpretation as applied to Hindu Law. Tagore Law Lectures of 1905 (Calcutta: Thacker, Spink, 1909).
123. Ludo Rocher 2008, p. 112.
124. Mandagadde Rama Jois 1984, pp. 3, 469–481.
125. Rocher, Ludo (1972). "Indian Response to Anglo-Hindu Law". Journal of the American Oriental Society. JSTOR. 92 (3): 419–424. doi:10.2307/600567. JSTOR 600567.
126. Timothy Lubin et al (2010), Hinduism and Law: An Introduction (Editors: Lubin and Davis), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521716260, Chapter 1
127. Washbrook, D. A. (1981). "Law, State and Agrarian Society in Colonial India". Modern Asian Studies. 15 (3): 649–721. doi:10.1017/s0026749x00008714. JSTOR 312295.
128. Kugle, Scott Alan (May 2001). "Framed, Blamed and Renamed: The Recasting of Islamic Jurisprudence in Colonial South Asia". Modern Asian Studies. Cambridge University Press. 35 (2): 257–313. doi:10.1017/s0026749x01002013. JSTOR 313119.
129. Ludo Rocher, "Hindu Law and Religion: Where to draw the line?" in Malik Ram Felicitation Volume. ed. S.A.J. Zaidi (New Delhi, 1972), 190–1.
130. J.D.M. Derrett, Religion, Law, and the State in India (London: Faber, 1968), 96; For a related distinction between religious and secular law in Dharmaśāstra, see Lubin, Timothy (2007). "Punishment and Expiation: Overlapping Domains in Brahmanical Law". Indologica Taurinensia. 33: 93–122. SSRN 1084716.
131. Gerald James Larson (2001). Religion and Personal Law in Secular India: A Call to Judgment. Indiana University Press. pp. 50–56, 112–114. ISBN 0-253-21480-7.

Bibliography

• Donald R. Davis, Jr (2010). The Spirit of Hindu Law. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-48531-9.
• Mandagadde Rama Jois (1984). Legal and Constitutional History of India: Ancient legal, judicial, and constitutional system. Universal Law Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7534-206-4.
• Kane, P.V. (1973). History of DharmaŚãstra. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental research Institute.
• Translation by Richard W. Lariviere (1989). The Nāradasmr̥ti. University of Philadelphia.
• Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0.
• Timothy Lubin; Donald R. Davis Jr; Jayanth K. Krishnan (2010). Hinduism and Law: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-49358-1.
• Robert Lingat (1973). The Classical Law of India. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-01898-3.
• Patrick Olivelle (1999). Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of Ancient India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-283882-7.
• Patrick Olivelle (2005). Manu's Code of Law. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-517146-4.
• Patrick Olivelle (2006). Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-977507-1.
• Ludo Rocher (2008). Gavin Flood (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-99868-7.

External links

• Various Dharma Shastras Vol 1, MN Dutt (Translator), Hathi Trust
• Various Dharma Shastras Vol 2, MN Dutt (Translator), Hathi Trust
• The Cooperative Annotated Bibliography of Hindu Law and Dharmaśāstra
• Alois Payer's Dharmaśāstra Site (in German, with copious extracts in English)
• "Maharishi University of Management – Vedic Literature Collection" A Sanskrit reference to the texts of all 18 Smritis.
• History of Dharmashastra, PV Kane
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Hariharananda Vidyabagish [Hariharananda Bharati] [Hariharananda Tirthasvami] [Nandakumar Vidyalankar] [Kulavadhuta Shrimad Hariharananda Tirthasvami] [Utsabananda Vidyabagish?] [Mrityunjay Vidyalankar (c 1762-1819)?]
Excerpt from Raja Ram Mohan Roy - biography of Muslim and Bengali
by Londoni Worldwide Limited
© Londoni Worldwide Limited

Christianity and the 'Maha Nirvana Tantra' (Book of the Great Liberation)

In 1792 the British Baptist shoemaker William Carey published his influential missionary essay 'An Enquiry of the obligations of Christians to use means for the conversion of heathens'. The following year Carey landed in India to settle. His objective was to translate, publish and distribute the Bible in Indian languages and propagate Christianity to the Indian peoples. He realised the "mobile" (i.e. service classes) Brahmins and Pundits were most able to help him in this endeavour, and he began gathering them. He learnt the Buddhist and Jain religious works to better argue the case for Christianity in the cultural context.

In 1795, Carey made contact with a Sanskrit scholar, the Tantric Hariharananda Vidyabagish, who later introduced him to Ram Mohan Roy, who wished to learn English. Ram Mohan began learning English in 1796 and took him six years to master it.

Between 1796 and 1797, the trio of Carey, Vidyavagish and Roy created a religious work known as the "Maha Nirvana Tantra" (Book of the Great Liberation) and positioned it as a religious text to "the One True God".
Carey's involvement is not recorded in his very detailed records and he reports only learning to read Sanskrit in 1796 and only completed a grammar in 1797, the same year he translated part of The Bible from Joshua to Job, a massive task. For the next two decades this document was regularly augmented. Its judicial sections were used in the law courts of the English Settlement in Bengal as Hindu Law for adjudicating upon property disputes of the zamindari. However, a few British magistrates and collectors began to suspect and its usage (as well as the reliance on pundits as sources of Hindu Law) was quickly deprecated. Vidyavagish had a brief falling out with Carey and separated from the group, but maintained ties to Ram Mohan Roy...

Learning 'modern Tantric works' and Jainism in Rangpur

One of Ram Mohan's significant period was between 1809 -1814 when he was posted in Rangpur. There he studied 'modern Tantric works' with the aid of Hariharananda Vidyabagish and learnt about Jainism and studied the Jain texts from the Marwaris of Rangpur. Within two years of leaving Rangpur Ram Mohan would go on to publish a work on the Vedanta-sutra and find the 'Atmiya Sabha', the first of his societies with a religious object.

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Raja Rammohun Roy and the Status of Women in Bengal in the Nineteenth Century
https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu ... /7496/7872

Rammohun Roy like most boys of his generation and class received a very traditional education. He learnt Bengali and basic mathematics and then Persian perhaps at home with a munshi. It is not clear where and when he learnt Sanskrit and Arabic. It seems most likely that he learnt
Sanskrit from Hariharananda Tirthasvami. A friend and a tantrik Sadhu, Hariharananda profoundly influenced Rammohun's view of God and interpretations of the Upanishadas. I

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Ram Chandra Vidyabagish [Ramachandra Vidyavagisa] [Brother to Hariharananda Vidyabagish [Hariharananda Tirthasvami]]
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 3/24/21

Ramchandra Vidyabagish (Bengali: রামচন্দ্র বিদ্যাবাগীশ) (1786 – 2 March 1845) was an Indian lexicographer and Sanskrit scholar. He is known for his Bangabhashabhidhan, the first monolingual Bengali dictionary, published in 1817. He taught at the Vedanta College established by Raja Rammohun Roy, and later at Sanskrit College from 1827-37. Closely associated with the work of Raja Rammohun Roy in Kolkata, he was the first secretary of the Brahmo Sabha established in 1828 and initiated Debendranath Tagore and 21 other young men into Brahmo Samaj in 1843. After Raja Rammohun Roy went to England, his unparalleled erudition and the devotional singing of Bishnu Chakraborti helped in the survival of the Brahmo Samaj.

References

Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Anjali Bose (1988) (ed.) Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary) (in Bengali), Calcutta: Sahitya Sansad, p. 482.

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Ram Chandra Vidyabagish
by Wiki Data
Accessed: 3/24/21

Ramchandra Vidyabagish was an Indian lexicographer and Sanskrit scholar. He is known for his Bangabhashabhidhan, the first monolingual Bengali dictionary, published in 1817. He taught at the Vedanta College established by Raja Rammohun Roy, and later at Sanskrit College from 1827-37. Closely associated with the work of Raja Rammohun Roy in Kolkata, he was the first secretary of the Brahmo Sabha established in 1828 and initiated Debendranath Tagore and 21 other young men into Brahmo Samaj in 1843. After Raja Rammohun Roy went to England, his unparalleled erudition and the devotional singing of Bishnu Chakraborti helped in the survival of the Brahmo Samaj. Although he was opposed to Raja Rammohun Roy’s move to abolish the practice of sati, he extended support to Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar in his move for remarriage of widows. He spoke strongly against the system of polygamy, then prevalent in Hindu society, primarily amongst the Brahmins. He was associated with the Tattwabodhini Sabha and aimed at the advancement of Bengali language through it. He worked for some time on the government’s desire to replace Persian by Bengali as language of the courts. In this he had the active support of both David Hare and Prasanna Coomar Tagore. He strived hard for the use of Bengali as medium of education. He was the younger brother of Nandakumar Vidyalankar later Kulavadhuta Shrimad Hariharananda Tirthasvami, a wandering hermit, who had acquaintance of Raja Rammohun from his younger days. He was the worshipper of One True God according to the Mahanirvana Tantra.

1. Works

Vidyabagish compiled the first monolingual dictionary in Bengali in 1817 and was author of several books. His works include:

• Barnamala
• Shishusebadhi 1840
• Bangabhashabhidhan 1817
• Parameshvarer Upasana Bishaye Pratham Bakhyan
• Bachaspati Mishrer Vivadachintamanih
• Nitidarshan
• Jyotish Sangrahasar

• Rabindra Sarani Kolkata, India with Ram Chandra Vidyabagish as first resident superintendent. In November 1830, Ram Mohan Roy left for England, leaving
• worship on Chitpore Road now Rabindra Sarani Kolkata, India with Ram Chandra Vidyabagish as first resident superintendent. On 23 January 1830 or 11th Magh
• Girish Chandra Sen c. 1835 15 August 1910 was a Bengali religious scholar and translator. He was a Brahmo Samaj missionary and known for being the
• Devendranath Tagore with twenty followers accepted the Brahmo creed from Ram Chandra Vidyabagish on 21 December 1843 7 Poush 1250 according to the Bengali calendar
• Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, alternatively spelt as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee 15 September 1876 16 January 1938 was a Bengali novelist and short story
• Bipin Chandra Pal Bengali: ব প ন চন দ র প ল, Sylheti: ꠛ ꠙ ꠘ ꠌꠘ ꠖ ꠞ ꠙ ꠟ, pronunciation help info 7 November 1858 20 May 1932 was an Indian nationalist
• Vivekananda, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, Keshub Chandra Sen, Acharya Jadunath Sarkar, Ram Manohar Lohia, Jagjivan Ram and many others who made immense
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE 26 September 1820 29 July 1891 born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay Ishshor Chondro Bondopaddhae was a Bengali polymath
• Nityananda Six Goswamis of Vrindavana Ramprasad Sen Raja Ram Mohan Roy Ram Chandra Vidyabagish Debendranath Tagore Keshub Chunder Sen Ramakrishna Sarada
• writings, and provided an inspiration for authors across India. When Bipin Chandra Pal decided to start a patriotic journal in August 1906, he named it Vande
• Krishna Chandra Bhattacharya, also known as K.C. Bhattacharya, 12 May 1875 11 December 1949 was a philosopher at the University of Calcutta known

• Chandra Ray also spelled Prafulla Chandra Ray and Prafulla Chandra Roy CIE, FNI, FRASB, FIAS, FCS Bengali: প রফ ল ল চন দ র র য Praphulla Chandra Rāy
• Akshay Chandra Sarkar Bengali: অক ষয চন দ র সরক র 11 December 1846 2 October 1917 was a poet, an editor and a literary critic of Bengali literature
• Keshub Chandra Sen Bengali: ক শবচন দ র স ন, Keshob Chondro Shen also spelled Keshab Chunder Sen 19 November 1838 8 January 1884 was an Indian Bengali
• Rai Bahadur Dinesh Chandra Sen Bengali: দ ন শ চন দ র স ন 3 November 1866 20 November 1939 was a Bengali writer, educationist and researcher of Bengali
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy 22 May 1772 27 September 1833 was one of the founders of the Brahmo Sabha, the precursor of the Brahmo Samaj, a social - religious
• Ishwar Chandra Gupta Bengali: ঈশ বরচন দ র গ প ত 6 March 1812 23 January 1859 was a famous Indian Bengali poet and writer. Gupta was born in Kanchrapara
• Sanjib Chandra Chattopadhyay Bengali: সঞ জ বচন দ র চট ট প ধ য য Sanjeeb Chondro Chottopaddhae 1834 1889 was a Bengali writer, poet and journalist
• Harish Chandra Mukherjee Bengali: হর শ চন দ র ম খ প ধ য য 1824 1861 was an Indian journalist and patriot, who fought for the indigo cultivators
• Hindu College, amongst his classmates were Rajnarain Bose and Gobinda Chandra Dutt father of Toru Dutt When Hindu College was opened, orthodox sections
• Bengali: স ব দ প রভ কর was a Bengali daily newspaper founded by Ishwar Chandra Gupta. It began as a weekly newspaper in 1831 and became a daily eight
• Brahmo Samaj, literally the Society of Brahma was founded as a movement by Ram Mohan Roy. In 1850 Roy s successor Debendranath Tagore broke from Hinduism

• Sib Chandra Deb Bengali: শ বচন দ র দ ব Shib Chondro Deb also spelt Shib Chandra Deb, Shibchandra Deb, Shib Chander Deb 20 July 1811 12 November
• outburst of Bengali literature. While Ram Mohan Roy and Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar were the pioneers, others like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee widened it and built
• Umesh Chandra Dutta also spelt as Umeshchandra Datta or Umes Chandra Dutta 1840 1907 was one of the pioneer Brahmos who firmly established the Brahmo
• movement, the Brahmo Samaj, in Bengal, India, and a close follower of Keshub Chandra Sen. He was a leading exemplar of the interaction between the philosophies
• Charu Chandra Bhattacharya Bengali: চ র চন দ র ভট ট চ র য 1883 1961 was a prominent science teacher and writer of various scientific articles mainly
• progressives within the organisation, including Keshub Chandra Sen, Sivanath Sastri, Sib Chandra Deb, and Durga Mohan Das, were together. Their thinking
• While a youngster he used to translate news items and features for Iswar Chandra Gupta s Sambad Prabhakar. He even studied in Medical College for some time
• be translated and understood at that time. Notable among them was Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, who standardised the alphabets and paved the path for literary

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Remembering Rammohan: An Essay on the Re‐emergence of Modern Hinduism [Excerpt]
by Brian A. Hatcher

[...]

THE BRAHMO SAMAJ AFTER RAMMOHAN

In the wake of Rammohan's departure and death, the energy and activities of the Brahmo Samaj were severely weakened. "The death of the Founder was almost fatal to the infant society," remarked J. N. Farquhar in his influential early study of the period.54 Attendance dwindled at its weekly meetings. To those familiar with the association it must have seemed as if Rammohan's vision and his Samaj would both soon fade from memory. Such might well have been the case, were it not for the dedicated work of Rammohun's closest associates. None was more instrumental in keeping the Brahmo Samaj alive than Ramacandra Vidyavagisa (1786-1845). As first preceptor, or acarya, of the Samaj, Ramacandra had delivered the inaugural discourse before the Samaj in 1828. After Rammohan's departure he faithfully presided over weekly meetings, continuing to deliver discourses on the Upanisadic theology first enunciated by Rammohan. As one later Brahmo commented: "Only the faithful Ram Chandra Vidyabagish remained steadfast; and for seven years he regularly and punctually conducted the weekly service, as directed by Rajah Ram Mohun Roy, often alone like the solitary watcher by the dim-burning pyre at the burning ghat."55 We should note that the image evoked here is one of the death of a movement, rather than its birth. For the Brahmo Samaj to survive would clearly require the agency of men such as Ramacandra.

Like Rammohan, Ramocandra was a Brahmin by birth. Unlike Rammohan, he had trained as a Sanskrit pandit.56 However, his world was drawn close to Rammohan's in many ways, not least because Rammohan had studied under Ramacandra's older brother, who had renounced worldly life and become a tantric ascetic known as Hariharananda Tirthasvami. It may even be that Rammohan and Ramacandra met one another through Hariharananda.

Clearly the two formed a powerful intellectual friendship. Ramacandra's mastery of Sanskrit literature was a valuable asset to Rammohan. In fact, Rammohan sent Ramacandra to study Vedanta, which he is said to have mastered in very little time.57 Sources indicate Rammohan also gave Ramacandra funds with which to open a Sanskrit school for teaching Vedanta....

The creation of the Tattwabodhini Sabha was to become, in retrospect, a defining moment in Brahmo history. It has claimed the attention of readers of Bengali literature for over a century and a half. In the simplest of terms it is a story about the meeting of two men, Rammohan's old friend Ramacandra and Debendranath -- the latter anxiously seeking God, the former faithfully tending to the legacy of Rammohan. Their encounter would not only mark an upswing in the fortunes of the Brahmo Samaj, it would also contribute significantly to the areas of Bengali literature, social reform, and scientific learning. We can only summarize the story of the creation of the Sabha here.66...

It was at this point that Debendranath chanced upon a stray page of Sanskrit text. Although he had studied Sanskrit, he could not decipher it. He sought help from the family's pandit. Recognizing it as the kind of wisdom popular among the Brahmos, the pandit referred Debendranath to Rammohan's friend Ramacandra, When Ramacandra was shown the page, he was instantly able to identify the passage as the first verse of the Isa Upanisad.70 He read the passage for Debendranath and explained its meaning....

In a second major development, four months after the publication of the Patrika, Debendranath joined twenty-one other members of the Tattvabodhini Sabha in taking formal initiation (diksa) into the Brahmo Samaj. The old Brahmo stalwart Ramacandra presided over the ceremony as acarya. As Debendranath later wrote: "This was an unprecedented event in the annals of the Brahma-Samaj. Formerly there had existed the Brahma-Samaj only, now the Brahma Dharma came into existence."82...

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Universal Worship, Part 2
by The Brown Struggler (GreenJayDeep)
Accessed: 3/24/21

In the year 1838, Devendra Nath Tagore, eldest son of Dwarka Nath Tagore, the friend and fellow-worker of Rajah Ram Mohun Roy, began to take interest in the Brahmo Samaj. As a boy, Devendra Nath had often seen Rajah Ram Mohun Roy and had been, in fact, a pet of his. It is said the Rajah foresaw the young boy would grow to carry on his own life-work. But, for many years, there was no sign of any religious tendency or interest in Devendra Nath. His early youth was like that of any other scion of wealthy families. In the year 1838, while attending on his grand-mother in her last moments at the burning-ghat, a strange feeling came over him: he experienced an indescribable joy in the felt presence of God. The pleasures and riches of the world appeared trivial to him. From that time a great change came over his life. He spent many days in meditation and felt that the idols they worshipped were not God, that God was one and could not be perceived by the senses. Then the memory of Rajah Ram Mohun Roy came back to him; he inquired about his Brahmo Samaj and sent for its Minister, Ram Chandra Vidyabagish.

Devendra Nath began to read the Upanishads under Ram Chandra Vidyabagish and established a society. the Tattwabodhini Sabha, for the study and diffusion of the ancient Theistic literature of India. This institution, which was at first composed of the brothers and cousins of Devendra Nath, began to expand rapidly. Ram Chandra Vidyabagish was appointed its minister; its anniversary was celebrated with great eclat in 1840. The Brahmo Samaj at this time was at the lowest ebb of its life. Fortunately, the Tattwabodhini Sabha came to its rescue at this juncture. The members resolved to take charge of it; the separate monthly service of the Tattwa Bodhini Sabha was discontinued and they began to attend the services of the Brahmo Samaj. Through their youthful energy and enthusiasm the Brahmo Samaj soon revived; and a period of great and growing activity followed. The faithful old Minister of the Brahmo Samaj, Pandit Ram Chandra Vidyabagish, had at last the satisfaction of seeing his devotion rewarded. But for his loyal perseverance, the sapling planted by Rajah Ram Mohan Roy might have perished in the dark days following the death of the founder.

The Brahmo Samaj now passed into the safe keeping of Devendra Nath. Drawn by his influence, many young men joined the Samaj. His active mind devised many new measures for the development of the Samaj.1 1842 the Tattwabodhfni Patrika was founded as the organ of the Brahmo Samaj, which exercised a very powerful influence over the rising generation of Bengal. The Brahmo Samaj, up to the time when Maharshi Devendra Nath Tagore joined it, was nothing but a motley congregation which occasionally met together in a half-serious, half-comical mood for listening to hymns, recitations from the Sanskrit Scriptures and religious discourses. There was neither any definite aim nor any settled conviction. The noble provision of the Trust Deed about the equal rights of all without regard to caste, creed or nationality was openly violated by disallowing the presence of non-Brahmins at the reading of the Vedas; doctrines about idolatry and incarnation were often preached from the pulpit. No sooner had Maharshi Devendra Nath joined the Brahmo Samaj than he turned his attention to rectifying these irregularities.

Institution of a Brahmo Covenant and Initiation: Under his influence and inspiration, it soon developed into a purely theistic congregation, He found that those who came to the service of the Brahmo Samaj were not inspired and animated by one common conviction. In their individual lives and at their homes they were idolaters as the ordinary Hindus. In order to make the Brahmo Samaj a body of men believing in the One God and worshipping Him in truth and spirit only, Devendra Nath drew up a Brahmo covenant containing a number of vows enjoining the renunciation of idolatry, the worship of the One Only in the Vedanta and the practice of virtue. God as described Devendra Nath himself took the lead in being initiated into Brahmoism by Ram Chandra Vidyabagish by signing this Covenant in Dec. 1843; twenty of his friends followed him in this new and momentous departure, Thus was formed the nucleus of a Brahmo community; and by 1874 the number of covenanted Brahmos rose to 767.

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Liturgy of the Brahmo Samaj
by the brahmosamaj.net
Accessed: 4/24/21

In this section we look in detail into the liturgy of the Brahmo Samaj. This liturgy has evolved through the ages.

During the time of Rammohun Roy, two Telegu Brahmins used to recite the Vedas in a side room screened from the view of the congregation - where non-Brahmins were not admitted. Utsabananda Vidyabagish would read the texts of the Upanishads -- which were later explained in Bengali by Pt. Ram Chandra Vidyabagish. Then he would give a sermon followed by a song by Govinda Mala. Several of these sermons were written by Rammohun himself. The universalist nature of Rammohun's new religion was evident in reciting the sruti texts of the Upanishads in front of non-Brahmins. The pundits reciting these texts were free from the orthodoxy of their Telegu counterparts.

The first great revival of the Brahmo Dharma took place under the leadership of Debendranath Tagore (1817 - 1905). The Brahmo Samaj as an organisation had gradually reached a moribund condition after Rammohun departed for England. Under Debendranath and the Tattwabodhini Sabha rituals and ceremonials of the new church were formulated. Debendranath wrote the Brahmo Dharma in 1848 at the age of 31. He dictated it to Akshay Kumar Datta and it took 3 hours to write the first part. The most prominent was the system of Initiation (Diksha). A notable doctrinal change that took place was the abandonment of the belief in the infallibility of the Vedas. It was declared that the basis of Brahmoism would henceforth be no longer any infallible book but "the human heart illuminated by spiritual knowledge born of self - realisation." Spiritually Debendranath laid more emphasis on bhakti or devotion rather than jnana or knowledge as propagated by Rammohun. He qualifies his Brahman with a number of personal attributes making thereby a near approach to Ramanuja's doctrine of Visistaadvaitabad. He was temperamentally averse to any drastic measure in the sphere of reform work which might defeat the purpose by causing an abrupt break with tradition.

The next phase is dominated by the dynamic personality of Keshub Chandra Sen (1838 -1884). He also introduced extempore prayers and speeches from the pulpit rather than fixed stereotyped liturgy. Codification of the doctrines came with the main principles of the Nava Samhita - the New Dispensation. These were as follows: 1) Harmony of all scriptures, saints, and sects. 2) Harmony of reason and faith, of devotion and duty, of yoga and bhakti. 3) The church of the Samaj stands for One Supreme God, to be worshipped without form. No idolatry in any form may enter the precincts of the church. 4) The church stands for universal brotherhood without distinction of caste or creed or sect. Texts from all world religions were used for prayer and worship. Keshub propagated a general theory of revelation in which he included nature, history, by which he means "great men," and inspiration. He clearly emphasized inspiration, as the most direct and significant form of revelation. He described it as "the direct breathing-in of God's spirit - which infuses an altogether new life into the soul, and exalts it above all that is earthly and impure. It is more powerful, being God's direct and immediate action on the human soul while revelation made through physical nature and biography is indirect and mediate".

In the era of Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, led by Sivanath Shastri and Ananda Mohun Bose, the liturgy gave a rational, monistic interpretation of the Upanishads, admitting the essential unity of the universal self and the individual self.

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RAM CHANDRA VIDYABAGISH
by Project Gutenberg Self-Publishing Press
Accessed: 3/24/21

Ramchandra Vidyabagish (Bengali: রামচন্দ্র বিদ্যাবাগীশ) (1786 – 2 March 1845) was an Indian lexicographer and Sanskrit scholar. He is known for his Bangabhashabhidhan, the first monolingual Bengali dictionary, published in 1817. He taught at the Vedanta College established by Raja Rammohun Roy, and later at Sanskrit College from 1827-37. Closely associated with the work of Raja Rammohun Roy in Kolkata, he was the first secretary of the Brahmo Sabha established in 1828 and initiated Debendranath Tagore and 21 other young men into Brahmo Samaj in 1843. After Raja Rammohun Roy went to England, his unparalleled erudition and the devotional singing of Bishnu Chakraborti helped in the survival of the Brahmo Samaj.

Although he was opposed to Raja Rammohun Roy’s move to abolish the practice of sati, he extended support to Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar in his move for remarriage of widows. He spoke strongly against the system of polygamy, then prevalent in Hindu society, primarily amongst the Brahmins.

He was associated with the Tattwabodhini Sabha and aimed at the advancement of Bengali language through it. He worked for some time on the government’s desire to replace Persian by Bengali as language of the courts. In this he had the active support of both David Hare and Prasanna Coomar Tagore. He strived hard for the use of Bengali as medium of education.

He was the younger brother of Nandakumar Vidyalankar (later Kulavadhuta Shrimad Hariharananda Tirthasvami), a wandering hermit, who had acquaintance of Raja Rammohun from his younger days. He was the worshipper of One True God according to the Mahanirvana Tantra.

WORKS
Vidyabagish compiled the first monolingual dictionary in Bengali in 1817 and was author of several books. His works include:

Bangabhashabhidhan (1817)
Jyotish Sangrahasar
Bachaspati Mishrer Vivadachintamanih
Shishusebadhi (1840)
Barnamala
Nitidarshan
Parameshvarer Upasana Bishaye Pratham Bakhyan

Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Anjali Bose (1988) (ed.) Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary) (in Bengali), Calcutta: Sahitya Sansad, p. 482.

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https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_ ... frontcover

For writers not steeped in these notions, by contrast, such as Mrityunjay Vidyalankar, whose 1808 history of Bengal was commissioned by Fort William College ...

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Fort William College [East India College Calcutta]
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 12/15/19

...

Languages

The College of Fort William emerged as both a centre of research and a publication unit, a cradle of creativity as well as scholarship. Planned originally to train probationer British civilians in the languages and cultures of the subjugated country, the college rendered services tantamount to those of a university in promoting modern Indian literatures, Bengali in particular… Under the leadership of William Carey, the College could also claim credit for drawing together Sanskrit pandits and Perso-Arabic munshis to reshape Bengali prose… The variety of the College’s publication also deserve note. From colloquies and popular stories, chronicles and legends, to definitive editions of literary texts.[2]

-- Majumdar, Swapan[3]


Fort William College aimed at training British officials in Indian languages and, in the process, fostered the development of languages such as Bengali and Urdu.[4] The period is of historical importance. In 1815, Ram Mohan Roy settled in Calcutta. It is considered by many historians to be the starting point of the Bengali Renaissance.[5]:212 Establishment of The Calcutta Madrassa in 1781, the Asiatic Society in 1784 and the Fort William College in 1800, completed the first phase of Kolkata’s emergence as an intellectual centre.[2]

Teaching of Asian languages dominated: Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Sanskrit, Bengali. Later, Marathi and even Chinese were added.[6] Each department of the college was staffed by notable scholars. The Persian department was headed by Neil B. Edmonstone, Persian translator to the East India Company's government since 1794. His assistant teacher was John H. Harington, a judge of Sadar Diwani Adalat and Francis Gladwin, a soldier diplomat. For Arabic studies, there was Lt. John Baillie, a noted Arabist. The Urdu department was entrusted to John Borthwick Gilchrist, an Indologist of great repute. Henry Thomas Colebrooke, the famous orientalist, was head of the Sanskrit department. William Carey, a non-civilian missionary and a specialist in many Indian languages, was selected to head the department of vernacular languages.[7] While notable scholars were identified and appointed for different languages, there was no suitable person in Calcutta who could be appointed to teach Bengali. In those days, the Brahmin scholars learnt only Sanskrit, considered to be the language of the gods, and they did not study Bengali. The authorities decided to appoint Carey, who was with the Baptist Mission in Serampore. He, in turn, appointed Mrityunjoy Vidyalankar as head pandit, Ramnath Bachaspati as second pandit and Ramram Basu as one of the assistant pandits.[8]

Along with teaching, translations were organized. The college employed more than one hundred local linguists.[6] There were no textbooks available in Bengali. On 23 April 1789, the Calcutta Gazette published the humble request of several natives of Bengal for a Bengali grammar and dictionary.[8]...

Fort William College was served by a number of eminent scholars. They contributed enormously towards development of Indian languages and literature. Some of them are noted below:

• William Carey (1761–1834) was with Fort William College from 1801 to 1831. During this period he published a Bengali grammar and dictionary, numerous textbooks, the Bible, grammar and dictionary in other Indian languages.[11]:112
• Matthew Lumsden (1777–1835)
• John Borthwick Gilchrist (June 1759 – 1841)
Mrityunjay Vidyalankar (c. 1762 – 1819) was First Pandit at Fort William College. He wrote a number of textbooks and is considered the first 'conscious artist' of Bengali prose.[12] Although a Sanskrit scholar he started writing Bengali as per the needs of Fort William College. He published Batris Singhasan (1802), Hitopodesh (1808) and Rajabali (1808). The last named book was the first published history of India. Mrityunjoy did not know English so the contents were possibly provided by other scholars of Fort William College.[8]
• Tarini Charan Mitra (1772–1837), a scholar in English, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic and Persian, was with the Hindustani department of Fort William College. He had translated many stories into Bengali.[11]:196
• Lallu Lal (also spelt as Lalloolal or Lallo Lal), the father of Hindi Khariboli prose, was instructor in Hindustani at Fort William College. He printed and published in 1815 the first book in the old Hindi literary language Braj Bhasha, Tulsidas’s Vinaypatrika.[4]
• Ramram Basu (1757–1813) was with the Fort William College. He assisted William Carey, Joshua Marshman and William Ward in the publication of the first Bengali translation of the Bible.[4]
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891) was head pandit at Fort William College from 1841 to 1846. He concentrated on English and Hindi while serving in the college.[11]:64 After discharging his duties as academician, and engagements as a reformer he had little time for creative writing. Yet through the textbooks he produced, the pamphlets he wrote and retelling of Kalidasa’s Shakuntala and Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors he set the norm of standard Bengali prose.[2]
• Madan Mohan Tarkalankar (1817–1858) taught at Fort William College. He was one of the pioneers of textbook writing.[11]:391

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Mrityunjay Vidyalankar
by Banglapedia
Accessed: 3/24/21

বাংলা
Mrityunjay Vidyalankar (c 1762-1819) linguist and writer, was born in Medinipur district, at that time in the province of Orissa, later in West Bengal. He studied at the court of the raja of natore and turned into a Sanskrit scholar. Although not known where he studied Bangla, he made his name as the best Bangla prose writer during the first two decades of the nineteenth century.

On the recommendation of William Carey, he was appointed as the head pundit in Bangla Department at the Fort William College on 4 May 1801. Later in 1805, again on Carey's recommendation, he was given the responsibility of the head pundit in Sanskrit Department. He worked at this college until July 1816, when he resigned his post and worked for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, as his judge-pundit.


It was not because he published more books than any of his contemporary Bengali colleagues, but because of his prose style that he became so distinguished a writer; according to many, the best before ishawar chandra vidyasagar. Although his style was highly Sanskritised, he found the right and rhythmic structure of Bangla sentences with proper collocation, syntax and correlation of words. More significantly, in that formative stage, he played a vital role in shaping Bangla prose style giving it a formalised character, and thus, distancing it from spoken Bangla. He also persuaded Carey and his other Bengali colleagues to avoid, and even discard, Arabic and Persian elements, widely used in Bangla at that time, and to use more Sanskrit words instead. Consequently, he changed the whole course of Bangla prose style for the rest of the century. He wrote Batrish Singhasan (1802), Hitopadesh (1808), Rajabali (1808) and Prabodhachandrika (written in 1813, printed in 1833). He also wrote Vedantachandrika (1817). Even though these books are mainly translations from Sanskrit works, they acquired an originality because of his style.

As a sanskrit scholar he perceived as conservative in his social outlook, but he was, indeed, in some linguistic matters a modern man. He wrote against the practice of sati even before rammohun roy. When the latter first published his pamphlet in favour of banning the custom, he cited the same shastric endorsement as Mrityunjay had done earlier. He died in early June 1819. [Ghulam Murshid]

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History of Bengali
By Sanjeev Nayyar

1818 to 1905
Growth of Bengali Prose - As noted above there was no prose literature in B before the 19th century. The history of B prose literature started with the foundation of Fort William College in Calcutta in 1800 a.d. The college was established with a view to training the officials of the East India Company in the different languages of the country. It had a B section headed by Willaim Carey with eight teachers under him.

Carey felt very keenly the lack of textbooks so the authorities encouraged the teachers to come out with B books. A large number of books were composed by authors in the first ten years some of whom are Ramran Basu, Rajib-lochan etc. The most eminent was Mrityunjay Vidyalankar, four of whose works were published in 1813. For the first time he developed an artistic literary style and fully deserved to be called the ‘Father of Bengali Prose’. The credit is usually given to Raja Ram Mohan Roy but his first book was published in 1813. He made a contribution nevertheless but cannot be regarded as a pioneer in the field of B prose literature.

The early B books were mostly translations from Sanskrit, English and Persian but there were three original compositions all of historical character. Ramran basu and Rajib-lochan wrote the lives of Pratapaditya and Krishna-chandra Ray while Mrityunjay Vidyalankar wrote a history of India from the earliest period to the time of Warren Hastings.

Carey too made a significant contribution to the language. He composed a grammar of B literature in 1815 and a B-English dictionary in 1815. Another book written by him was Itihasamala or a collection of stories. On the whole the contribution of Carey to B prose is very great indeed. The following passage from the Introduction to his Bengali Grammar shows his appreciation of the B language –

“The Bengalee may be considered as more nearly allied to Sanskrit than any of the other languages of India, four-fifth of the words in the language are pure Sanskrit. Words may be compounded with such facility, and to do great an extent in Bengalee, as to convey ideas with the utmost precision, a circumstance which adds much to its copiousness. One these, and many other accounts, it may be esteemed one of the most expressive and elegant languages of the East”. Carey has rightly pointed out that B was more allied to Sanskrit than other Indian languages. One of its effects was the close imitation of Sanskrit prose style by B writers. Vidyashankar adopted Sanskritized style in some of his books to be followed by others later.

By doing so (looking to Sanskrit for sustenance & development) the authors of those times did a great service to B language which was saved from the dominating influence of Persian and Arabic, something that Hindi could or has not been able to avoid. While the language was thus remodeled and simplified, the B writers drank deeply at the fountain of English literature, which was gradually becoming accessible to them due to the spread of English education.

The first manifestation of the new spirit was the growth of B periodicals starting 1818. Three papers Bangal Gejeti (weekly Bengal gazette, did not last for than a year), monthly journal named Digdarsana and a weekly called Samachara-darpana (mirror of news). The last two were brought out by the Baptist missionaries of Serampore. Atleast seven other B periodicals were started between 1820 to 1850. These periodicals have historical value, people and life of that time, how people were waking up from a thousand years of slumber to enter into a new world.

They were also landmarks in the development of B language and literature. It became gradually free from Sanskrit compounds, which rendered it possible for masters like Bankim-chandra Chatterjee and Rabindranath Tagore to transform it into one of the most beautiful and highly developed languages of the world.

The Samachara-darpana got increasingly popular with time. It published news of what was happening in other countries especially England. From an historical perspective it is important because India’s downfall started when as a cultural unit it reduced its contact with the outside world – went into a shell. Towards the closing centuries of Hindu rule this is exactly what happened. Al-Biruni noted this as a great defect in the character of Indians as far back as 1030. Unfortunately there was no improvement on this count during the Muslim rule. It was left to the Brits to do so then. Today in 2002 it is the Internet and World Wide Web that has helped Indians connect / communicate as never before.

Poetry - While the B prose style was of recent growth, B poetical literature has a long history before the 19th century. However, most of the works were based on religious themes. The last great master of poetic styles that came into style in the 18th century was Dasarathi Ray 1806-57, best known for his spontaneity of diction and smiles.

The first poet to break a new ground was Iswardas Gupta 1812-59 who wrote poems on social and political themes and translated English verses. He was part old and part new school. The first great poet of the new school was Madhu-sudan Datta 1824-73 who brought about an epoch-making change in the form and spirit of B poetry. He introduced blank verses and his epic Meghanada-vadha-kavya breathes a new spirit. He used Indian themes but treated them in a distinctly European way. In his Vrajangana-kavya, based on the Radha-Krishna story he caught the depth of the old Vaishnava poets but in his own way.

Rangalal Banerjee 1827-87 wrote some poems on Rajput chivalry and other historical themes. Two of the greatest poets after Shri Datta referred to above were Hem-chandra Bandyopadhay 1838-1903 and Nabin-chandra Sen 1847-1909. The former is better known for his patriotic poems inspired by fervent nationalism. The latter is the author of a triology of epic poems, giving a new interpretation to the life and message of Sri Krishna. His best-known work is Palasir Yuddha based on the decisive Battle of Plassey. This epic and many short poems breathe a fervid sense of patriotism.

The next phase of development was the romantic poems, which began with Biharilal Chakravarti 1835-94 and culminated in Rabindranath Tagore.

Novels - The B novels, inspired as it were by English novels, did not reach the heights of excellence of B poetry. The greatest writer in this field was Bankim-chandra Chatterji 1838-94 whose first novel Durgesa Nandini was published in 1865. It heralded a new style in B literature for two reasons. One he introduced a new style of B prose that continued throughout the 19th century. Two he simplified the language and removed difficult Sanskrit words.

Bankim’s novels showed an astounding vigor of the present B language, combined with beauty and simplicity. They also revealed a new world of romance and idealism. He showed for the first time that the ordinary life of a middle class B can be a subject matter of a high class novel, and that religious / social views can be preached through novels without detriment to their artistic merit. Some of his novels were translated into English. What Bankimji did most importantly was to revive amongst Bengalis pride in their own literature. Besides novels he wrote religious treatise and essays on a variety of subjects. His Ananda-math (Abbey of Bliss) which contains the famous song Vande Mataram has attained all India fame on account of its patriotic fervor in the form of a quasi-historical romance. While Bankimji was influenced by European thought and literature his originality is beyond question. For half a century he remained the uncrowned king of Bengali literature.

Drama - It was only in 1831 that Prasanna-kumar Tagore set up the first B stage. However, the first public stage was enacted in 1872. It was named National Theatre. These performances led to the development of B drama.

Here again Madhu-sudan Datta’s play Krishnakumari based on the story of the princess of Udaipur and several comedies exposing social abuses were works of high order. The next dramatist Dinabandhu Mitra 1830-73 also showed great dramatic powers. His drama Nila-darpana that exposed the oppressions of indigo-planters created a sensation at that time. Rajakrishna Ray 1849-94 wrote on a number of dramas on Puranic themes and introduced the regular free verse – remarkable innovation in B dramas. Another playwright was Giris-chandra Ghosh 1844-1912 raised the genius of B dramas to a high level. There were other dramatists too.

Others - There were a number of stalwarts who wrote on a variety of subjects during this period. There was Keshab Chandra Sen, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda. When Rabindranath made his debut various branches of B literature had already attained a position of eminence. Poems, novels, short stories, dramas, satire, autobiography and essays of all kinds is where Tagore contributed to. But he was a real pioneer in lyric poems, in songs in the modern spirit and in short stories.

Before we conclude this period it is important to emphasize the debt, which B prose literature owes to English literature and Western ideas. One of the serious charges levied against English literature was that vernacular literature has suffered. In this case the fact remains the B literature attained the highest development in Bengal where English education was the most advanced. We may contrast this with Bombay, Madras and other parts of British India where the main stress was on vernaculars and not on English, as in Bengal. Having said that if we were to look at India in 2002 regional languages have suffered because of the importance given to the learning of English language. I see most parents today speaking to their children in English rather than in their mother tongues. I am not suggesting that we do not learn English but not at the expense of our mother tongue.

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https://is.muni.cz/el/1423/jaro2016/SOC ... en;htmle=1
editors
Sherry B. Ortner, Nicholas B. Dirks, Geoff Eley
THE NATION AND ITS FRAGMENTS
titles

A PURANIC HISTORY
The first three books of narrative prose in Bengali commissioned by the Fort William College in Calcutta for use by young Company officials learning the local vernacular were books of history, Of these, Rdjabali (1808) by Mrityunjay Vidyalankar was a history of India—the first history of India in the Bengali language that we have in print.7 Mrityunjay (ca. 1762-1819) taught Sanskrit at Fort William College and was the author of some of the first printed books in Bengali. When he decided to set down in writing the story of "the Rajas and Badshahs and Nawabs who have occupied the throne in Delhi and Bengal," he did not need to undertake any fresh "research" into the subject; he was only writing down an account that was in circulation at the time among the Brahman
1
78 CHAPTER FOUR
literati and their landowning patrons.8 His book was; we might say, a good example of the historical memory of elite Bengali society as exemplified in contemporary scholarship.
The book starts with a precise reckoning of the time at which it is being written.
In course of the circular motion of time, like the hands of a clock, passing-through the thirty kalpa such as Pitrkalpa etc., we are now situated in the Svetavaraha kalpa. Each kalpa consists of fourteen manu; accordingly, we are now in the seventh manu of Svetavaraha kalpa called Valvasvata. Each manu consists of 284 yuga; we are now passing through the one hundred and twelfth yuga of Vaivasvata manu called Kaliyuga. This yuga consists of 432,000 years. Of these, up to the present year 1726 of the Saka era, 4,905 years have passed; 427,095 years are left. (R, pp. 3-4)
The calendrical system is also precisely noted. For the first 3,044 years of Kaliyuga, the prevailing era (saka) was that of King Yudhisthira. The next 135 years comprised the era of King Vikramaditya. These two eras are now past.
Now we are passing through the era of the King called Salivahana who lived on the southern banks of the river Narmada. This saka will last for 18,000 years after the end of the Vikramaditya era. After this there will be a king called Vijayabhinandana who will rule in the region of the Citrakuta mountains. His saka will last for 10,000 years after the end of the Salivahana era.
After this there will be a king called Parinagarjuna whose era will last until 821 years are left in the Kaliyuga, at which time will be born in the family of Gautabrahmana in the Sambhala country an avatara of Kalkideva. Accordingly, of the six eras named after six kings, two are past, one is present and three are in the future. {R, p. 8)
Whatever one might say of this system of chronology, lack of certitude is not one of its faults.
Mrityunjay is equally certain about identifying the geographical space where the historical events in his narrative take place.
Of the five elements—space [akasa], air, fire, water and earth—the earth occupies eight ana [half] while the other four occupy two ana [one-eighth] each. . . . Half of the earth is taken up by the seas, north of which is Jam-budvipa. . . . There are seven islands on earth of which ours is called Jam-budvipa. Jambudvipa is divided into nine varsa of which Bharatavarsa is one. Bharatavarsa in turn is divided into nine parts [khaifda] which are called Aindra, Kaseru, Tamraparna, Gavastimata, Naga, Saumya, Varuna, Gandharva and Kumarika. Of these, the part in which the varndsrama [caste] system exists is the Kumarikakhanda.
THE NATION AND ITS PASTS 79he modern world.
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Panchamakara [Panca-makara]
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 3/23/21


Panchamakara or Panchatattva, also known as the Five Ms, is the Tantric term for the five transgressive substances used in a Tantric practice. These are madya (alcohol), māṃsa (meat), matsya (fish), mudrā (gesture), and maithuna (sexual intercourse).

Taboo-breaking elements are only practiced literally by "left-hand path" tantrics (vāmācārins), whereas "right-hand path" tantrics (dakṣiṇācārins) oppose these.[1]

Interpretations of the Panchamakaras

Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe)


In the introduction of his translation of the Mahanirvana Tantra, Sir John Woodroffe, under the pseudonym Arthur Avalon, describes the Panchamakara thus:[2]

There are, as already stated, three classes of men: Pashu, Vira and Divya. The operation of the Guna which produce these types affect, on the gross material plane, the animal tendencies; manifesting in the three chief physical functions: eating and drinking, whereby the Annamayakosha is maintained; and sexual intercourse, by which it is reproduced. These functions are the subject of the Panchatattva or Panchamakara ("five Ms"), as they are vulgarly called--viz.: Madya (wine), Mangsa (meat), Matsya (fish), Mudra (parched grain), and Maithuna [sexual intercourse]. In ordinary parlance, Mudra means ritual gestures or positions of the body in worship and Hatha Yoga but as one of the five elements it is parched cereal and is defined as 'Bhrishta-danya dikang yadyad chavya-niyam prachaks-hate, sa mudra kathita devi sarvves-hang naganam-dini'. The Tantras speak of the five elements as Panchatattva, Kuladravya, Kulatattva and certain of the elements have esoteric names, such as Karanavari or Tirtha-vari, for wine, the fifth element being usually called Lata-sadhana (Sadhana with woman or Shakti). The five elements, moreover have various meanings, according as they form part of the Tamasika (Pashvachara), Rajasika (Virachara) or Divya or Sattvika sadhanas respectively.[2]


Vamachary and dakshinachara

In the right-handed path, the Dakshinachara (Dakṣiṇācāra), as described for example by the spiritual leader Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar,[3] the five M's have dual meanings, one crude (left-handed) and one subtle (right-handed).

The five M's / Crude meaning (Vamachara) / Subtle meaning[3] (Dakshinachara)

Madya / Wine / Amrita, divine nectar that drips from the glands in brain onto the tip of tongue and can be trapped using Khechari Mudra
Mamsa / Meat / Control of speech. It symbolizes the Khechari Mudra in which the tongue is swallowed back simulating eating meat.
Matsya / Fish / Ida and Pingala Nadis, controlled through pranayama. They are visualised as figure-of-8-shaped structures intertwining like two fish.
Mudra / Parched grain / Spiritual company, satsang; gestures the hands and body take when the Kundalini is activated and pass up through the central channel, the Sushumna Nadi.
Maithuna / Sexual intercourse, or female sexual discharge[4] / Raising kundalini to the Sahasrara chakra.


According to Sarkar, the purpose of the Five M's is dual: for people to practice yoga sadhana (meditation) while in the "midst of crude enjoyments" and then gradually reduce the consumption of wine, meat, fish, etc. and not to overindulge in sexual activities; and after learning to resist the allure of these activities, to engage in the subtle practices of Tantra meditation.[3]

See also

• Ganachakra
• Yogini#Panchamakara

References

1. Rawson 1978[page needed]
2. Avalon 1913, Introduction: Panchatattva
3. Anandamurti 1985[page needed] and Anandamurti 1993[page needed]
4. White 2006, pp. 83-85.

Cited sources

• Anandamurti, Shrii Shrii (1993). Discourses on Tantra. Ananda Marga.
• Anandamurti, Shrii Shrii (1985). Namah Shiváya Shántáya. Ananda Press.
• Avalon, Arthur (1913). "Introduction". Mahanirvana Tantra.
• Rawson, Philip (1978). The Art of Tantra. Thames & Hudson.
• White, David Gordon (2006) [2003]. Kiss of the Yogini: 'Tantric Sex' in its South Asian Contexts. University of Chicago Press. pp. 83–85. ISBN 978-0226894843.
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Shastra [Sastra]
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 3/23/21

Shastra (शास्त्र, IAST: Śāstra, IPA: [ʃaːst̪rə]) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.[1] The word is generally used as a suffix in the Indian literature context, for technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice.[2]

Shastra has a similar meaning to English -logy, e.g. ecology, psychology, meaning scientific and basic knowledge on particular subject. Examples in terms of modern neologisms include

1. bhautikashastra "physics",
2. rasaayanashastra "chemistry",
3. jīvashāstra "biology",
4. vaastushastra "architectural science",
5. shilpashastra "science of mechanical arts and sculpture",
6. arthashastra "science of politics and economics"[3] and
7. nitishastra "compendium of ethics or right policy".


In Western literature, Shastra is sometimes spelled as Sastra,[4] reflecting a misunderstanding of the IPA symbol ‘ś’, which corresponds to the English ‘sh’.

Etymology

The word Śāstra literally means "that which has been instructed/decreed", from the root Śāsana which means "instruction/decree".[5][6]

Terminology

"Shastra" commonly refers to a treatise or text on a specific field of knowledge. In early Vedic literature, the word referred to any precept, rule, teaching, ritual instruction or direction.[1] In late and post Vedic literature of Hinduism, Shastra referred to any treatise, book or instrument of teaching, any manual or compendium on any subject in any field of knowledge, including religious.[1] It is often a suffix, added to the subject of the treatise, such as

1. Yoga-Shastra,
2. Nyaya-Shastra,
3. Dharma-Shastra,
4. Koka- or Kama-Shastra,[7]
5. Moksha-Shastra,
6. Artha-Shastra,
7. Alamkara-Shastra (rhetoric),
8. Kavya-Shastra (poetics),
9. Sangita-Shastra (music),
10. Natya-Shastra (theatre & dance) and others.[1][2]

In Buddhism, a "shastra" is often a commentary written at a later date to explain an earlier scripture or sutra. For example, Yutang Lin says that a text written by him and not given by Buddha, cannot be called a "Sutra"; it is called a "Sastra". In Buddhism, Buddhists are allowed to offer their theses as long as they are consistent with the Sutras, and those are called "Sastras."[8]

In Jainism, the term means the same as in Hinduism. An example of Jaina Shastra is the 12th-century Yoga Shastra of Hemchandracharya.[9]

Shastra is sometimes the root of compounded Sanskrit words. A custodian of Shastra, for example, is called Shastradhari (Sanskrit: शास्त्रधारी).[10]

References in the early textsThe term is found in several passages of the Rigveda (2nd millennium BCE), such as in hymn VIII.33.16.

नहि षस्तव नो मम शास्त्रे अन्यस्य रण्यति ।
यो अस्मान्वीर आनयत् ॥१६॥

— Rigveda 8.33.16, [11]


In this Rigvedic verse, the term means rule or instruction.

The Maitri Upanishad (mid to late 1st millennium BCE), similarly, mentions the materialist Charvakas and Brihaspati who disagreed that the Vedas are a treatise of knowledge, proposing relativism instead, in the following passage:[12]

बृहस्पतिर्वै शुक्रो भूत्वेन्द्रस्याभयायासुरेभ्यः क्षयायेमामविद्यामसृजत्
तया शिवमशिवमित्युद्दिशन्त्यशिवं शिवमिति वेदादिशास्त्रहिंसकधर्माभिध्यानमस्त्विति

— Maitri Upanishad 7.9, [12][13]


The term is found in other Upanishads as well as in Bhagavad Gita such as in verses 15.20, 16.23–16.24, and 17.1.[14]

The Ṛigvedaprātiśākhya (11.36; 14.30) uses the term Shastra to refer to the prātiśākhya tradition. Kātyāyana, Patañjali and Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī use the term. Similarly, the Vedāṅgajyotiṣa uses the term to refer to astronomical treatises. The term vedāṅgaśāstrāṇām, refers to the śāstra of the Vedāṅgas.

The term "śāstra" is found in Yaska's Nirukta (1.2, 14), where the reference is to Nirukta (etymology). An early use of the term śāstra with reference to the literature on dharma is found in the vārttika of Kātyāyana, who uses the expression dharmaśāstra[15]

Chronology and authenticity

Shastras are predominantly post-Vedic literature, that is after about 500 BCE. However, it is unclear when various Shastras were composed and completed. The authenticity of the manuscripts is also unclear, as many versions of the same text exist, some with major differences. Patrick Olivelle, credited with a 2005 translation of Manu Dharma-sastra, published by the Oxford University Press, states the concerns in postmodern scholarship about the presumed authenticity and reliability of manuscripts as follows (abridged):[16]

The MDh (Manusmriti) was the first Indian legal text introduced to the western world through the translation of Sir William Jones in 1794. (...) All the editions of the MDh, except for Jolly's, reproduce the text as found in the [Calcutta] manuscript containing the commentary of Kulluka. I have called this as the "vulgate version". It was Kulluka's version that has been translated repeatedly: Jones (1794), Burnell (1884), Buhler (1886) and Doniger (1991). (...) The belief in the authenticity of Kulluka's text was openly articulated by Burnell (1884, xxix): "There is then no doubt that the textus receptus, viz., that of Kulluka Bhatta, as adopted in India and by European scholars, is very near on the whole to the original text."

This is far from the truth. Indeed, one of the great surprises of my editorial work has been to discover how few of the over fifty manuscripts that I collated actually follow the vulgate in key readings.

— Patrick Olivelle, Manu's Code of Law (2005)[16]


The literature of late 1st millennium BCE such as Arthashastra,[17] and Shastras of various fields of knowledge from the early 1st millennium period is of great interest as it helped the emergence of diverse schools and the spread of Indian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism in and outside South Asia.[3][18][19]

The shastras are both descriptive and prescriptive. Among the various Shastras, Manu's code of law has been among the most studied as the colonial British government attempted to establish different laws in British India based on Sharia for Muslims and Manu's code of law.[20][21][22]

The shastras are not consistent or a single consensus [of] documents. Dharma-sastras, for example, contain opposing views and contradictory theories. This is in part because they represent an ideal of human behaviour, while at the same time recognising the need to account for likely failings. The shastras do not present life as it was lived. Rather they reveal an idea of what life should be. The shastra texts constitute one of the great bodies of literature of the ancient world.[23]

Sutra

Main article: Sutra

Sutras are another genre of Indian texts that emerged in the 1st millennium BCE, particularly after the 600 BCE.[24] Sutra (literally "binding thread") denotes a distinct type of literary composition from Shastra. In Sanskrit, "sutra" typically referred to one or more aphorisms; hence sutras use short, aphoristic, evocative statements. In contrast, a Shastra is typically longer, with more detail and explanations. An example of a Sutra is Patanjali's Yogasutras (considered a classic Hindu treatise), while an example of Shastra is Hemachandra's Yogasastra (considered a classic Svetambara Jain treatise), both on yoga.[25]

Shastras and Sutras are among the numerous other genres of literature that has survived from ancient and medieval India. Other genres include Vedas, Upanishads, Vedangas, Itihasa, Puranas, Bhasyas, and Subhashitas.[26]

Major shastras by topics

• Vastu shastra, architecture
• List of vastu shastra sanskrit treatises on architecture
• Vaimānika Shāstra, early 20th-century, sanskrit text on "science of aeronautics"
• Dharma Shastra:
These [are] a genre of Sanskrit theological texts, and refers to the treatises (śāstras) of Hinduism on dharma. There are many Dharmashastras, variously estimated to be 18 to about 100, with different and conflicting points of view.[27][note 1] Each of these texts exist in many different versions, and each is rooted in Dharmasutra texts dated to 1st millennium BCE that emerged from Kalpa (Vedanga) studies in the Vedic era.[29][30]
• Kamashastra (Kama Shastra)
• Yoga Vasistha
• Moksopaya (mahayana uttaratantra shastra)
• Artha Shastra, financial affairs
• Natya Shastra, performing arts
• Surya Siddantha, astronomy
• Mahayana Sutras
• Samudrika Shastra
• Shilpa Shastra

See also

• Vaimānika Shāstra
• Dharma Shastra
• Kamashastra (Kama Shastra)
• Yoga Vasistha
• Moksopaya (mahayana uttaratantra shastra)
• Artha Shastra
• Mahayana Sutras
• Samudrika Shastra
• Shilpa Shastra

Notes

1. Pandurang Vaman Kane mentions over 100 different Dharmasastra texts which were known by the Middle Ages in India, but most of these are lost to history and their existence is inferred from quotes and citations in bhasya and digests that have survived.[28]
References[edit]
1. Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on zAstra
2. James Lochtefeld (2002), "Shastra" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N-Z, Rosen Publishing, ISBN 0-8239-2287-1, page 626
3. Boesche, Roger (January 2003). "Kautilya's Arthaśāstra on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India". The Journal of Military History. Society for Military History. 67 (1): 9–37. doi:10.1353/jmh.2003.0006. ISSN 0899-3718.
4. JDM Derrett (1973), Geschichte, Volume 1, Series Editor: Jan Gonda, Brill, ISBN 978-9004037403, pages 34–36
5. "Knowledge-Net of Amarakosha (अमरकोश-ज्ञान-जालम्)".
6. "शासना at Spokensanskrit.org".
7. Alex Comfort and Charles Fowkes (1993), The Illustrated Koka Shastra: Medieval Indian Writings on Love Based on the Kama Sutra, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 978-0684839813
8. The Unification of Wisdom and Compassion Dr. Yutang Lin
9. Amritlal Savchand Gopani (1989), The Yoga Shastra of Hemchandracharya: A 12th Century Guide to Jain Yoga, Prakrit Bharti Academy, OCLC 21760707
10. disctionary meaning of Shastradhari
11. Rig Veda ऋग्वेदः मण्डल ८ Wikisource
12. Max Muller, Maitri Upanishad 7.9, Oxford University Press, page 342
13. Maitri Upanishad 7.9 Wikisource
14. Sanskrit: इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रमिदमुक्तं मयानघ । एतद्बुद्ध्वा बुद्धिमान्स्यात्कृतकृत्यश्च भारत ॥ १५-२०॥;
English Translation: Winthrop Sargeant (2009), The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0873958318
15. Olivelle, P. (2006). Explorations in the Early History of the Dharmaśāstra in P. Olivelle (ed.) Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE, New York: Oxford Unuiversity Press, ISBN 0-19-568935-6, p.169
16. Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 353–354, 356–382
17. Patrick Olivelle (2013), King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra, Oxford UK: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199891825, pages 30–32
18. Robert Lingat (1973), The Classical Law of India, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520018983, page 77;
Steven Collins (1993), The discourse of what is primary, Journal of Indian philosophy, Volume 21, pages 301–393
19. Keay, John, India, A History, New York, Grove Press, 2000
20. Rudolph, Susanne Hoeber; Rudolph, Lloyd I. (August 2000). "Living with Difference in India". The Political Quarterly. Wiley. 71 (s1): 20–38. doi:10.1111/1467-923X.71.s1.4.
21. Gaborieau, Marc (June 1985). "From Al-Beruni to Jinnah: Idiom, Ritual and Ideology of the Hindu-Muslim Confrontation in South Asia". Anthropology Today. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 1 (3): 7–14. doi:10.2307/3033123. JSTOR 3033123.
22. Pollock, Sheldon, From Discourse of Ritual to Discourse of Power in Sanskrit Culture, Journal of Ritual Studies 4:2, 1990, 315-45
23. Doniger, Wendy, The Hindus, An Alternative History, Oxford University Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-959334-7 pbk
24. Arvind Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195644418, page 205-206
25. Olle Quarnström (2002), The Yogaśāstra of Hemacandra: A Twelfth Century Handbook of Śvetāmbara Jainism, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0674009349
26. Ludwik Sternbach (1973), Subhashita – A forgotten chapter in the histories of Sanskrit literature, in Indologica Taurinensia, Torino, Vol I, pages 169–254
27. John Bowker (2012), The Message and the Book: Sacred Texts of the World's Religions, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0300179293, pages 179–180
28. Kane, P.V. History of the Dharmaśāstras Vol. 1 p. 304
29. James Lochtefeld (2002), "Dharma Shastras" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, ISBN 0-8239-2287-1, pages 191–192
30. Patrick Olivelle 1999, pp. xxiii–xxv.
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Anglo-Hindu law
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 3/23/21

Anglo-Hindu law refers to the laws enacted during the British colonial era, which applied to the Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs of British India.[1]

The first phase of Anglo-Hindu law started in 1772,[2] and lasted till 1864, where translation of some ancient Indian texts along with textual interpretation provided by British court appointed Hindu Pandits were the basis of Anglo-Hindu law, mirroring Anglo-Muslim law extracted from Quran and interpreted by Muslim Qadis for Indian Muslims.[3][4] The second phase of Anglo-Hindu law started in 1864, and ended in 1947, during which a written legal code was adopted, and the Hindu Pandits along with Muslim Qadis were dismissed due to growing inconsistencies in interpretation of texts and suspicions of corruption.[4] Anglo-Hindu law was expanded with a series of British parliament Acts between 1828 and 1947, that was based on political consensus rather than religious texts.[5][6]

History

In 18th century, the British East India Company, which started out as an agent of the Mughal emperor, soon took over the political and administrative powers in India, it was faced with various state responsibilities such as legislative and judiciary functions.[3] The administration pursued a path of least resistance, relying upon co-opted local intermediaries that were mostly Muslims and some Hindus in various princely states.[7] The British exercised power by avoiding interference and adapting to law practices as explained by the local intermediaries.[8] The colonial state thus sustained what were essentially pre-colonial religious and political laws for resolving conflicts, well into the late nineteenth century.[3][7]

That in all suits regarding inheritance, marriage, caste and other religious usages or institutions, the law of the Koran with respect to Mahometans [Muslims], and those of the Shaster [Shastra] with respect to Gentoos [Hindus] shall be invariably be adhered to.

— Warren Hastings, August 15, 1772[9]


For Muslims of India, the code of Muslim law was readily available in al-Hidaya and Fatawa-i Alamgiri written under the sponsorship of Aurangzeb. For Hindus and other non-Muslims, this information was unavailable.[3] The British colonial officials, for practice, attempted to extract from the Dharmaśāstra, the English categories of law and religion for the purposes of colonial administration.[10][11]

The early period of Anglo-Hindu Law (1772–1828) was structured along the lines of Muslim law practice. It included the extracted portions of law from one Dharmaśāstra by British-appointed scholars (especially Sir William Jones, Henry Thomas Colebrooke, Sutherland, and Borrodaile) in a manner similar to Islamic al-Hidaya and Fatawa-i Alamgiri.[4][12][13] It also included the use of court pandits in British courts to aid the British judges in interpreting Shastras just like Qadis (Maulavis) for interpreting the Islamic law.[4]

The arrival of William Bentinck as the Governor-General of British India in 1828, marked a shift towards universal civil code, whose administration emphasized preference for the same law for all human beings, individualism and equal treatment to help liberate, empower and end social practices among Hindus and Muslims of India that had received much public coverage in Britain through the publications of Christian missionaries and individuals such as Thomas Macaulay.[14]

Governor-General Dalhousie, in 1848, extended this trend and stated his policy that the law must "treat all natives much the same manner". Over time, between 1828-1855, a series of British parliamentary acts were passed to revise the Anglo-Hindu and Anglo-Muslim laws, such as those relating to the right to religious conversion, widow remarriage, and right to create wills for inheritance.[14] In 1832, the British colonial government abolished accepting religious fatwa as a source of law.[15] In 1835, the British began creating a criminal code that would replace the existing criminal code which was a complex conflicting mixture of laws derived from Muslim texts (Quran) and Hindu texts (Shastras), and this common criminal code was ready by 1855.[15] These changes were welcomed by Hindu law reform movement, but considered abrogating religion-defined rules within the Muslim law. The changes triggered discontent, call for jihad and religious war, and became partly responsible for the 1857 Indian revolt against the British rule.[16][17]

In 1864, after the East India Company was dissolved and India became a formal part of the British Empire, Anglo-Hindu law entered into a second phase (1864–1947), one in which British colonial courts in India relied less on the Muslim Qadis and Hindu Pandits for determining the respective religious laws, and relied more on a written law.[14] A universal criminal code for India was adopted in 1864, the expanded to include procedural and commercial code by 1882, which overruled pre-existing Anglo-Hindu and Anglo-Muslim laws.[15] However, the personal laws for Muslims remained sharia-based, while the Anglo-Hindu law was enacted independent of any text on matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and the Anglo-Hindu law covered all Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists in India.[18] In 1872, the British crown enacted the Indian Christian Marriage Act which covered marriage, divorce and alimony laws for Indian Christians of all denominations except the Roman Catholics.[19]

The development of legal pluralism, that is separate law based on individual's religion was controversial in India, from the very start.[9]

Sources of Anglo-Hindu law

John Mayne, in 1910, wrote that the classical Hindu law has the oldest pedigree of any known system of jurisprudence.[20] Mayne noted that while being ancient, the conflicting texts on almost every question presents a great difficulty in deciding what the classical Hindu law was. As more literature emerges, and is translated or interpreted, Mayne noted that the conflict between the texts on every matter of law has multiplied, and that there is a lack of consensus between the Western legal scholars resident in India.[20]

Mayne and others used the Smriti to extract elements of Anglo-Hindu law.[21] Sir William Jones translated the Manu Smriti into English, and it was largely the initial basis of Anglo-Hindu law.[22]

As new literature, such as Naradasmriti and Mitakshara were discovered, disagreements between the smritis became difficult to resolve. Later writers assumed that the Smritis constituted a single body of law, one part supplementing the other and every part capable of being reconciled with the other.[23][24] Regional differences in the texts made the situation more complex.[25]

Digests

Two digests were made under European influence. The Vivadarnava Setu was compiled at the request of Warren Hastings and is commonly known as Halhed's Gentoo Code. The Vivada Bhangarnava was compiled at the request of Sir William Jones by Jagannatha Turkapunchanana and translated by Henry Colebrooke. It is commonly referred to as Jagannatha's or Colebrooke's Digest. The Gentoo Code, in its English translation is "worthless",[26] because Halhed translated it from Persian, not from Sanskrit. This was not the case for Colebrooke's Digest.[27]

The code and its development

Colonial Hindu legal code marks a large span of nearly two-hundred years, beginning in 1772 and ending in 1947. This time period can be split into two main phases. The first phase, starting in 1772 and ending in 1864, is marked with three main proponents that include the translations of the dharmasastras by the British scholar administrators, the use of court pandits to define laws and rules, and the rise of case law. The second phase, starting in 1864 and ending in 1947, is marked by the dismissal of court pandits, rise of the legislative processes, and a codified law system.[28][29]

Translation of sources

The British were under the conviction that all Indian traditions were based on texts and ignored the tradition's customary significance. Furthermore, they thought that different commentaries and interpretations could be systematically sorted out by school and region. This led to the "objectification" of India, where the translation of the law code of India rendered it to more colonization.[30] The British cherrypicked the conflicting codes in ancient texts to assist colonial aims, through translation.[31]

Warren Hasting's plan of 1772 motivated the British in India to learn Sanskrit as it was necessary for them to govern Bengal. In Hasting's plan Indians were to be governed by Indian principles, particularly in relation to the law.[32] This collection of legal code, picked out from ancient texts of India, came to be known as Anglo-Hindu law. Hastings was aware that British law was too technical, complicated and inappropriate for the conditions in India. In 1774, Hastings wrote to the Lord Chief Justice denying the idea that India was ruled by nothing more than "arbitrary wills, or uninstructed judgments, or their temporary rulers". Hastings was confident that the Hindus and other original inhabitants of India knew written laws, and these were to be found in ancient Sanskrit texts. Initially, no European in Calcutta knew Sanskrit so Hindu pandits' were hired for the job. The original Sanskrit text was translated into a local language, which was then ultimately re-translated into English. Chains of translations were quite common and negatively impacted the value of the original text. The translation, completed by N. B. Halhed, was published in 1776 as A Code of Gentoo Laws; or Ordinations of the Pundits.[33] The code was used in the East India Company's courts until the early 19th century.[34]

Warren Hastings' Plan of 1772

Warren Hastings was appointed under a new parliamentary act in 1772 to the newly created position of governor-general and was instructed by the Court of Directors to stabilize the governance of the Bengal territories. Hastings' plan for the better administration of Bengal was centered on British officers being designated a "collector".[35] The collector would be assigned to a defined area (district) with provincial boundaries and would have mixed executive and judicial power in these areas. Hastings is a very significant figure in the realm of British Imperialism; he was the man who knew the natives and who was to represent the forces of law and order.

He maintained that the natives had an effective administration structure consonant with Indian theory and practice. Though it was clearly not based on European principles, he premised his plan on this notion. Unfortunately, during the fifty years leading up to Hastings' plan, the Bengali system had nearly collapsed. Fortunately, Hastings was more than qualified to essentially start anew. He had a European education and for the first fifteen years of his career, he was stationed near the court of the last effective provincial governors of Bengal. Hastings knew how an Indian state functioned and believed that it was the textual tradition that was relevant to developing British administrative institutions.

Hastings' plan called for two courts. One court dealt with revenue and civil litigation and was called the court of Dewani. The other court dealt with internal order and criminal law and was called the Faujdari court. The "collector", as mentioned above, acted as a judge as he established the facts in the case based on testimony, most commonly depositions from the witnesses, and the documentary evidence was put before the court. His assistant (dewan) and a pandit then found the law that was applicable to the case. Legal specialists, or law professors, interpreted the codes in the legal texts and provided authoritative decisions on the applicable codes. This was the basis for Anglo-Hindu case law. Hastings' was responsible for rejecting the despotic model of Indian law as he stressed the importance of utilizing "Indian law" throughout his career.

Colebrooke's Two Schools of Law

Colebrooke was appointed to the East India Company in 1782. He was skilled at Sanskrit and developed his own conception of the nature and function of Hindu law. Colebrooke led the English in fixing an interpretation of variation in legal texts and this eventually became standard in the British courts in India. He suggested that regional variations or differences existed in India, leading to various interpretations of the same text.

The term "school of law" as it applies to legal opinions of India was first used by Colebrooke.[36] Colebrooke established only two schools that were marked by a vital difference of opinion: those who follow the Mitakshara and those who follow the Daya Bhaga.[37] The Daya Bhaga and the Mitakshara differ in the most vital points[38] because each applied different principles. First, the Daya Bhaga treated religious efficacy as the ruling canon in determining the order of succession, rejecting the preference of agnates to cognates. Secondly, the Daya Bhaga denies the doctrine that property is by birth, the cornerstone of the joint family system. Thirdly, the brothers of the joint family system in the Daya Bhaga recognize their right to dispose of their shares at their pleasure. Fourthly, the Daya Bhaga recognizes the right of a widow to succeed her husband's share.[39]

Colebrooke's assumed that the commentaries on Hindu legal texts were the works of "lawyers, juriscouncils and lawgivers", and that these texts were actual law of India before the arrival of Islam, an assumption later scholars found as flawed.[40] Moreover, the British made a false analogy between Hindu law and Muslim law.

Like, the Koran among the Muhammedans, the Veda is put into the hands of children in the first period of their education; and continues afterwards to be read by rote, for the sake of the words, without comprehension of the sense.

-- Essays on the Religion and Philosophy of the Hindus, by Henry Thomas Colebrooke, Esq.


The British were familiar with the latter, from other British colonies in Africa and the Middle East, as well as having initially worked as agents of the rulers of Mughal Empire. As a result, Colebrooke sought from Hindu texts and yielded a Hindu law to match what were thought of as the schools of Muslim law.[41]

In Colebrooke's view each school had fixed "doctrines" and English judges therefore needed access to the reasons and arguments by which each school supported their doctrine. When Indian scholars could not provide the texts that demonstrated this, European methods were used. After Jones announced that he intended to provide Hindus with their own laws through the mediation of English judges assisted by court appointed pandits, a legal code was in practice. The British sought consistency over time and this created a case law based on precedent.[42]

Jones' Digest

Sir William Jones was appointed judge in the Supreme Court of Calcutta in 1783. He had studied Persian and Arabic at Oxford and had published a number of translations. Additionally, Jones had an active political career and was a very influential figure of the time. After beginning his judicial career in India he found Halhed's code to be more curious than it was useful. Though he had no intention of ever learning Sanskrit, reacting to the defectiveness of the available translations, he became motivated to do so. By 1786, Jones' Sanskrit was good enough to decide between conflicting opinions of his pandits by reading the appropriate translation of the appropriate text. He was able to discern whose interpretation of the law was correct.[43]

Jones believed there was a fixed body of laws and codes that had been objects of corruption over time. He wanted to provide the British courts in India, the Crown and the East India Company with a basis on which decisions could be rendered consonant with a pure version of Hindu law. Thus, believed Jones, the Anglo-Hindu law could become consistent and fair.[44]

By 1787, Jones had created a plan for the administration of justice in India that reflected the Indian's own principles of jurisprudence. He envisioned a digest (translation completed by Colebrooke) complete with Hindu and Muslim law on the subjects of contracts and inheritances. Jones plan was to find and fix a Hindu civil law with the topics that affected the ownership and transmission of property.[45]

In 1788, Jones requested government support from his plan by reiterating to Cornwallis that it would establish a standard of justice with principles and rules accessible to the English. Cornwallis agreed, and from 1788 until his death in 1794 Jones devoted his time to what would become "The Digest of Hindu Law on Contracts and Successions". By the time of his death he had compiled the Digest in Sanskrit and Arabic and had begun translating them to English. Colebrooke completed the translation in 1797.[46]

Other Anglo-Hindu law manuals

The digests and manuals that followed Halhed's contained more substance and covered more topics of Hindu law, simply because scholars acquired more texts and regional language skills over time. Sir Thomas Strange was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Madras from 1801 to 1817. He, in 1825, published a manual of Hindu law.[47] Other sources on Hindu Law include:

1. Mayne, John Dawson. 1906. A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage
2. Aiyar, Nandivada R. Narasimha. 1893 The Principles of Hindu Law
3. Stokes, Whitley. 1887. The Anglo-Indian Codes
4. Grady, Standish Grove. 1871. A Manual of Hindu Law
5. Strange, Thomas Andrew. 1830. Hindu Law (This is a unique text in so far as it addresses the opinions of the pandits in a question and answer format.)
6. Coghlan, William Mant. 1876. An Epitome of Some Hindu Law Cases
7. Rattigan, William Henry. 1871. Select Cases in Hindu Law Decided by Her Majesty's Privy Council and the Superior Courts in India


Case law

Hindu law was codified by the British in multiple ways: translation, case law, and enactment of various laws based on debate rather than texts. Legislation came to be the strongest source of law in India in so far as it held the highest jurisdiction when sources conflicted.[48][49] Examples include,

• The Hindu Widow's Remarriage Act of 1856: Allowed widows to remarry in certain situations.
• The Native Convert's Marriage Dissolution Act of 1866: Allowed for Hindus who had converted to Christianity to dissolve their marriage.
• The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929: Restricted marriages of children below a certain age.
• The Hindu Married Women's Right to Separate Residence and Maintenance Act of 1944: Gave special rights to Hindu married women.

Timeline of Court System

• 1726 - Charter by King George I
o This is where the British judicial system in India began.
o Made important changes to judicial administration in the three main Presidency towns of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras.
• 1772 - Plan for the Administration of Justice
o Devised by General-Governor Warren Hastings
 Hindu law is formally established as part of the British legal system administered in colonial India.
 "In all suits regarding inheritance, marriage, caste and other religious usages or institutions, the laws of the Koran with respect to the Mohamedans and those of Shaster with respect to the Gentoos shall invariably be adhered to" (Sec. 27 of the Administration of Justice Regulation of 11 April 1980).
• 1773 - The East India Company Regulating Act
o Made provision to establish Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William at Calcutta, which would supersede the then prevalent judicial system.
• 1774 March 26: the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William was established.
o Supreme Court: had full power and authority to hear and determine all complaints against any of His Majesty's subjects for any crimes and also to entertain, hear and determine any suits or actions against any of His Majesty's subjects in Bengal, Biar, and Orissa.
• 1780 - The Regulating Act
o Important date because it ended the practice of applying English law to Hindus and Muslims. It required all judges to administer the Islamic and Hindu law. Before this, it was certain whether the judges would apply English or religious law in a particular case.
• 1800 - Established Supreme Court of Madras under Charter issued by King George III
• 1803 - Established Supreme Court of Bombay under Charter issued by King George III
o Replaced the Recorder's Court
• 1833 - The India Charter Act
o Called for the creation of the Indian Law Commission, that would be composed of Hindu legal experts, appointed to identify various rules under Hinduism that could be applied to the laws and court system of British India. They were asked to make recommendations for how to consolidate or amend these laws in ways that would prevent gaps in the law.[50]
• 1859 - The Code of Civil Procedure and the Law of Limitation
• 1860 - The Penal Code
• 1861 - The Code of Criminal Procedure
• 1861 - The Indian High Court's Act
o "Reorganized the then prevalent judicial system in the country by abolishing the Supreme Courts at Fort William, Madras, and Bombay, and also the then existing Sadar Adalats in the Presidency Towns. The High Courts were established having civil, criminal, admiralty, vice-admiralty, testimony, intestate, and matrimonial jurisdiction, as well as original and appellate jurisdiction."[51]
• 1909 - Government of India Act
o Allowed for Indian participation, albeit limited, in both provincially and central legislative councils. Important step because it allowed Indians, to have a bigger influence the laws that would be administered to Hindus.
• 1935 - Government of India Act
o Provisions were included for the establishment of a Federal Court, which was necessary in order to make judicial administrations in various provinces more competent between the governmental bodies themselves. This was an important step in unifying India. The Federal Court was a precursor to the Supreme Court of India, which was inaugurated in 1950.

The High Courts of British India

The three High Courts of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras were established in the three Presidency towns by Letters Patent from Queen Victoria. Before the Indian High Courts Act of 1961, all three Presidencies had Supreme Courts that were in charge of administering justice. Several other High Courts were established during British rule such as the Allahabad High Court and Karnataka High Court, established in 1866 and 1884, respectively.

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council served as the highest court of appeals for Anglo-Hindu law and British Indian law. The Privy Council, located in London, did not only handle Indian appeal cases, its jurisdiction spanned throughout many parts of the British Empire. With regards to India, the Privy Council was successful at infusing English concepts and principles into the British Indian legal system and they thus became an integral part of Indian law.

The right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was retained after Indian independence, but terminated when the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act 1949 came into force on 26 January 1950, when the Republic of India was declared. The Federal Court of India was replaced by the Supreme Court of India.

See also

• Gentoo
• Modern Hindu law
• Hindu Code Bill
• Hindu Inheritance (Removal of Disabilities) Act, 1928
• Hindu Personal Law

References

1. Ludo Rocher (1972), Indian response to Anglo-Hindu law, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 92(3), pages 419-424
2. Rosane Rocher, "The creation of Anglo-Hindu law" in Lubin, Davis & Krishnan, Hinduism and Law (2010), p. 78, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511781674.008
3. Donald R. Davis, Jr., "A historical overview of Hindu law" in Lubin, Davis & Krishnan, Hinduism and Law (2010), Chapter 1, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511781674.005
4. Michael Anderson in Arnold, David; Robb, Peter; Robb, Peter G. (1993), Institutions and Ideologies: A SOAS South Asia Reader, Psychology Press, Chapter 10, ISBN 978-0-7007-0284-8
5. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch. 3
6. Rosane Rocher, "The creation of Anglo-Hindu law" in Lubin, Davis & Krishnan, Hinduism and Law (2010), pp. 78-89, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511781674.008
7. Washbrook, D. A. (1981). "Law, State and Agrarian Society in Colonial India". Modern Asian Studies. 15 (3): 649–721. doi:10.1017/s0026749x00008714. JSTOR 312295.
8. Kugle, Scott Alan (May 2001). "Framed, Blamed and Renamed: The Recasting of Islamic Jurisprudence in Colonial South Asia". Modern Asian Studies. Cambridge University Press. 35 (2): 257–313. doi:10.1017/s0026749x01002013. JSTOR 313119.
9. Rocher, Ludo (July–September 1972). "Indian Response to Anglo-Hindu Law". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 92 (3): 419–424. doi:10.2307/600567. JSTOR 600567.
10. Rocher, Ludo (2012), "Hindu Law and Religion: Where to Draw the Line", in Donald R. Davis, Jr.; Richard W. Lariviere (eds.), The Nature of Hindu Law, Volume 1, pp. 83–102, doi:10.7135/UPO9780857285782.007, ISBN 9780857285782 also in Malik Ram Felicitation Volume. ed. S.A.J. Zaidi (New Delhi, 1972), 190–1.
11. J. D. M. Derrett, Religion, Law, and the State in India (London: Faber, 1968), 96; For a related distinction between religious and secular law in Dharmaśāstra, see Lubin, Timothy (2007). "Punishment and Expiation: Overlapping Domains in Brahmanical Law". Indologica Taurinensia. 33: 93–122. SSRN 1084716.
12. K Ewing (1988), Sharia and ambiguity in South Asian Islam, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520055759
13. A digest of Moohummudan law on the subjects to which it is usually applied by British courts of justice in India Neil Baillie, Smith, Elder & Co. London
14. Rudolph, Susanne Hoeber; Rudolph, Lloyd I. (August 2000). "Living with Difference in India". The Political Quarterly. Wiley. 71 (s1): 20–38. doi:10.1111/1467-923X.71.s1.4.
15. AK Giri in Costa, Pietro; Zolo, Danilo (2007), The Rule of Law History, Theory and Criticism, Springer Science & Business Media, pp. 596–597, ISBN 978-1-4020-5745-8
16. Llewellyn-Jones, Rosie (2007), The Great Uprising in India, 1857-58: Untold Stories, Indian and British, Boydell & Brewer, pp. 111–112, ISBN 978-1-84383-304-8
17. Cook, David (23 May 2005), Understanding Jihad, University of California Press, pp. 80–83, ISBN 978-0-520-93187-9
18. Kunal Parker in Larson, Gerald James, ed. (2001), Religion and Personal Law in Secular India: A Call to Judgment, Indiana University Press, pp. 184–199, ISBN 0-253-10868-3
19. Mallampalli, Chandra (2004), Christians and Public Life in Colonial South India, 1863-1937: Contending with Marginality, Routledge, pp. 59–64, ISBN 978-1-134-35025-4
20. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Stevens and Hynes, Harvard Law Library Series, see Preface section
21. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Ch 2. pp. 14-15
22. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Ch 2. pp. 20-22
23. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Ch 2. pp. 26-27
24. Brown, Mackenzie (1953). Indian Political Thought from Manu to Gandhi. University of California Press. p. 164.
25. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Ch 2. pp. 27-28
26. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Ch 2. pp. 33
27. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Ch 2. pp. 33-34
28. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Introduction. pp. 5-6
29. Lariviere, Justices and Panditas: Some Ironies in the Hindu Legal Past
30. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Foreword. pp. xv
31. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 2. pp. 20-21
32. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 2. pp. 26
33. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), p. 66
34. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 3. pp. 67
35. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge 1996, p. 60.
36. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Ch 2. pp. 38
37. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Ch 2. pp. 38-39
38. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Ch 2. p. 40
39. Mayne, A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage (1878), Ch 2. pp. 40-41
40. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 3. pp. 73
41. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 3. pp. 74
42. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 3
43. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 3. pp. 68
44. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 3. pp. 69
45. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 3. pp. 69-71
46. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 3. pp. 70
47. Strange, Thomas Andrew. A Manual of Hindu Law on the Basis of Sir Thomas Strange
48. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996), Ch 3. pp. 71
49. Marc Galanter, Law and Society in Modern India (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989)
50. Gilchrist, R.N. (1921). Principles of Political Science. Longmans, Green and Company. p. 201.
51. "GlobaLex - A Guide to India's Legal Research and Legal System". nyulawglobal.org. Retrieved 1 October 2014.

Sources

• Cohn, Bernard S. (1996), Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: The British in India, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-00043-3
• Lubin, Timothy; Davis Jr, Donald R.; Krishnan, Jayanth K. (2010), Hinduism and Law: An Introduction, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-139-49358-1
• Mayne, John Dawson (1878). A Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage. Higginbatham.
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William Digby (writer)
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 3/24/21

Image
William Digby
Born: 1 May 1849, Wisbech
Died: 29 September 1904 (aged 55)
Occupation: Journalist; politician
Nationality: British
Period: 1878–1901
Subject: Politics, Famines, India
Notable works: Famine Campaigns in Southern India; Prosperous British India
Spouse: Ellen Amelia Little; Sarah Maria Hutchinson

William Digby (1 May 1849 – 29 September 1904) was a British author, journalist and humanitarian.

Early life and career

William Digby was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire on 1 May 1849. He did his apprenticeship with the Isle of Ely and Wisbech Advertiser. He was employed at the Sussex Advertiser from 1864 to 1871.[1] He was married twice – first to Ellen Amelia Little in 1874 (who died in 1878) and then to Sara Maria Hutchinson in 1879. William Digby moved to the Indian subcontinent in 1871 and worked as a sub-editor in The Ceylon Observer,[2] and as the editor of The Madras Times in 1877.[3] He also worked as the editor of the Liverpool and Southport Daily News in 1880 and that of the Plymouth Daily Western Mercury in 1879. He served as senior partner of William Hutchinson and Company in 1887.[3]

Activism and politics

While working in Sri Lanka, Digby was involved in a temperance campaign and another one for abolishing food taxes.[4]

Famine relief

While working in India, he witnessed the Great Famine of 1876–78 and involved himself in relief works. He served as the Honorary Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Famine Relief Fund.[5] He opposed the laissez faire famine relief policies of the Famine Commissioner, Sir Richard Temple and argued for more Government aid in mitigating the effects of famine. In 1878 he wrote an extensive book about the famine titled The Famine Campaign in Southern India, Vol I and Vol II. For his contribution to the famine relief works, he was made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (C.I.E) in 1878. The failure of the Government of India to provide effective famine relief made William Digby an outspoken critic of the British Government's India policy.

Liberal politics

Digby returned to England in 1879 after his first wife's death.[4] In November 1882 he became the first secretary of the National Liberal Club, a post he held till 1887.[4] He advocated full economic and racial equality, then representative Government and eventually Self-Government for the Indians. He published Indian Problems for English Consideration in 1881. In it, Digby argued that Indian reform was 'a Liberal duty', and defined India as 'a larger Ireland'.[4] Digby was an admirer of Lord Ripon and published a pamphlet in February 1885 titled India for the Indians and for England in defence of Ripon.[4] He contested the 1885 General Election as a Liberal Party candidate from the Paddington North constituency on a platform of legislative reform in India. He lost to Conservative Party candidate Lionel Louis Cohen by a margin of 685 votes (out of a total 5345 polled).[6]

The Indian Agency

In May 1888 he set up the Indian Political and General Agency in London for the purpose of raising awareness about Indian grievances in the British Parliament and Press.[7] He served as its secretary during 1887–1892. He became a strong advocate of constitutional reform and acted as an unofficial guide to Indian National Congress leaders visiting London. He used his political contacts (obtained through his position as the secretary of the National Liberal Club) to raise India's grievances in the British Public sphere. Through his lobbying he was able to get Charles Bradlaugh to attend the Fifth INC Conference held at Bombay in 1889. Bradlaugh also agreed to introduce a bill in British Parliament for establishing legislative councils in India. During this time Digby also worked as the editor of the Congress journal India. Though he was well paid for his efforts, the Congress office bearers in India delayed paying the expenditure for his lobbying efforts. Digby met those expenditures by doing private lobbying for the Maharaja of Kashmir. As part of his lobbying, he wrote a book titled "Condemned Unheard" advocating the Kashmiri king's position. This private lobbying and incidents of Digby and Bradlaugh receiving money from the Kashmiri king for presenting petitions to and raising questions in parliament alarmed Allan Octavian Hume. Hume set up the "British Committee of the Indian National Congress" to oversee the Indian Agency's work. The Committee did not want payments to be made to Bradlaugh through its books and completely ended its association with the Indian Agency in 1890. Digby served as the secretary to the British Committee from 1889 to 1892. Digby's continuing private lobbying efforts were a major embarrassment to the Congress and it cut its connections to Digby in September 1892.[8] This ended Digby's association with the Indian National Congress.

1892 election

Digby contested the 1892 General Election as the Liberal candidate from the South Islington parliamentary constituency. He lost to the Conservative candidate Albert Rollit by 321 votes.[9]

Death

Digby died on 29 September 1904.[1] Condoling his death, The Hindu Organ wrote that "..his death is a great loss to all eastern subjects of His Majesty".[2] Gandhi wrote an obituary in the Indian Opinion on 29 October 1904 which praised him as follows:

By the death of William Digby CIE, India has lost a champion, whom it will be difficult to replace. His advocacy of the Indian cause was strenuous and well-informed... By his voluminous writings, the late Mr. Digby ever kept the different Indian questions before the public.[10]


Bibliography

• The Famine Campaign in Southern India: Madras and Bombay Presidencies and province of Mysore, 1876–1878, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (1878)
• Forty Years of Official and Unofficial Life in an Oriental Crown Colony, being the Life of Sir Richard Morgan (1879)
• Indian Problems for English Consideration (1881)
• India for the Indians — and for England (1885)
• The general election, 1885. India's interest in the British ballot box (1885)
• 1857: A friend in need 1887: Friendship forgotten, An episode in Indian Foreign Office Administration (1890)
• Condemned Unheard: The Government of India and H.H. the Maharaja of Kashmir: a Letter to the Rt. Hon. Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth (1890)
• Prosperous British India – A Revelation from Official Records (1901)

See also

• 'Prosperous' British India
• Political history of Mysore and Coorg (1565–1760)
• British Raj

Notes

1. Riddick, P.256
2. Martyn, P.277
3. Kaminsky, P.237
4. William Digby and the Indian Question by Mira Matikkala
5. Digby(Famine Campaign Vol 2), P.1
6. Debrett, P.219
7. Owen, P.31
8. Owen, P.32-36
9. Constitutional Year Book 1914, p.113
10. Gandhi, P.285

References

• Brown, Frank Herbert (1912). "Digby, William" . Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• Digby, William (1878), The Famine Campaign in Southern India: Madras and Bombay Presidencies and province of Mysore, 1876–1878, Volume 1, London: Longmans, Green and Co
• Digby, William (1878), The Famine Campaign in Southern India: Madras and Bombay Presidencies and province of Mysore, 1876–1878, Volume 2, London: Longmans, Green and Co
• Kaminsky, Arnold. P (1986), The India Office, 1880–1910, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0-313-24909-1
• Martyn, John. H (2003) [1923], Martyn's notes on Jaffna: chronological, historical, biographical, New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, ISBN 81-206-1670-7
• Gandhi, Mohandas K (1958), Collected Works, Volume 4, New Delhi: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India
• Kaul, Chandrika; Brown, 'F. H. "Digby, William (1849–1904)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32823. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Owen, Nicholas (2007), The British left and India: metropolitan anti-imperialism, 1885–1947, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-923301-4
• Mair, Robert Henry (1886), Debrett's House of Commons, London: Dean and Son
• The Constitutional year book, Volume 1914, National Unionist Association of Conservative and Liberal Unionist Organizations, 1914
• Riddick, John F. (2006), The history of British India: a chronology, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0-313-32280-5

External links

• Famine Campaigns in Southern India: Volume 1, Volume 2
• 1857:A friend in need 1887: Friendship forgotten An episode in Indian Foreign Office Administration
• Prosperous British India – A Revelation

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William Digby
Dictionary of National Biography
1912

DIGBY, WILLIAM (1849–1904), Anglo-Indian publicist, third son of William Digby of Walsoken, Wisbech, by his wife Ann Drake, was born there on 1 May 1849. Scantily educated at the British schools, Wisbech, he studied for himself, and from 1864 to 1871 was apprentice in the office of the 'Isle of Ely and Wisbech Advertiser.' In 1871 he went out to Colombo as sub-editor of the 'Ceylon Observer.' There he advocated temperance and free trade, proved successful in his effort to abolish revenue farming, and publishing 'The Food Taxes of Ceylon' (1875) was elected in March 1878 an honorary member of the Cobden Club.

Cobden Club
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 3/24/21

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Free trade · Peace · Goodwill amongst nations—publishing logo as used by the Cobden Club in 1881 works

The Cobden Club was a society and publishing imprint, based in London, run along the lines of a gentlemen's club of the Victorian era, but without permanent club premises of its own. Founded in 1866 by Thomas Bayley Potter[1] for believers in Free Trade doctrine, it was named in honour of Richard Cobden, who had died the year before. Potter was honorary secretary of the Cobden Club from its foundation until his death in 1898.[1]

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Thomas Bayley Potter DL, JP (29 November 1817 – 6 November 1898) was an English merchant in Manchester and Liberal Party politician...

Potter became Chairman of the Manchester branch of the Complete Suffrage Society in 1830. While he was generally aligned with the Radicals, there was a rift between their leaders John Bright and Richard Cobden over the Crimean War, which the Potter brothers supported; and Sir John Potter successfully stood against Bright in 1857. Potter, who was in many ways a follower of Cobden, tried to smooth matters over at the end of the 1850s.

In 1863 Potter was the founder and president of the Union and Emancipation Society. Initially simply the Emancipation Society, it was prompted by Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation that had freed enslaved people on 1 January 1863. Potter put his own money into the organisation, which adopted the pamphleteering publicity tactics of the Anti-Corn Law League, and ran frequent meetings. It was joined by prominent supporters of the Union in the American Civil War, including Edward Dicey, J. S. Mill and Goldwin Smith.

In 1865, Potter entered the British House of Commons and sat as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale. This was the seat of Cobden, who had died that year. Potter kept it until 1895. In the House of Commons he was known as "Principles Potter".

Potter established the Cobden Club in 1866 and was honorary secretary until his death. He had proposed a "political science association" in a letter to J. S. Mill of 1864, taking as model the Social Science Association. It operated as a publisher, funded education in economics, and held an annual dinner, under a name suggested by Thorold Rogers. It was fundamentalist about free trade.

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"the Manchester school". Potter as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, June 1877

A personal friend of Giuseppe Garibaldi, Potter also supported Italian unification. The finance for Garibaldi's purchase of the island of Caprera was arranged at a dinner given by him.

-- Thomas Bayley Potter, by Wikipedia


Unusually for contemporary clubs, it had a publishing arm. The publishing arm was instrumental in publishing Cobden's collected speeches in 1870, under the co-editorship of John Bright, one of the club's early patrons. Because of its Free Trade connection, it mainly attracted Liberals as members, but with the fading of both the Liberals as a national force, and of Free Trade as a popular cause, the club fell into decline in the 20th century. The popularity of Temperance reform among members also made it unappealing to potential recruits with the passing years.

In 1958 the Cobden Club, by now moribund, was taken over by the classical liberal activist Oliver Smedley.[2] Like many other clubs, it went through substantial financial difficulties in the late 1970s, and closed at the end of that decade.

It is unrelated to the Cobden Working Men's Club founded in Kensal Town, London in 1880 (other than their both having been named after the same person). Nor is it related to a later west London private restaurant and bar of that name founded in 1996, which claimed to be a "refounded" Cobden Club, but which had no connection to the old club, and had no political affiliation,[3][4] and later closed.

See also

• List of London's gentlemen's clubs

References

1. Manchester Faces & Places (Vol X, No 3 ed.). London & Manchester: JG Hammond & Co Ltd. December 1898. pp. 42–46.
2. Richard Cockett, Thinking the Unthinkable. Think-Tanks and the Economic Counter-Revolution, 1931–1983 (London: Fontana, 1995), p. 126.
3. "Cobden Club - Welcome to Cooper and Dean Events".
4. http://www.rockabaret.co.uk Archived 2007-05-17 at the Wayback Machine


As official shorthand-writer for the legislative council, he prepared six volumes of the Ceylon 'Hansard' (1871-6).

In 1877 he became editor of the 'Madras Times,' and persistently urged the need of alleviating the great Southern Indian famine. Largely owing to his representations a relief fund was opened at the Mansion House in London, and 820,000l. was subscribed. He was active as honorary secretary in India of the executive committee, which distributed relief through 120 local committees. He was made C.I.E. on 1 Jan. 1878, and in his 'Famine Campaign in Southern India' (1878, 2 vols.) faithfully described the visitation.

Returning to England in 1879 for domestic reasons, Digby edited the 'Liverpool and Southport Daily News' for a few months in 1880, and from that year to 1882 was editor of the 'Western Daily Mercury' at Plymouth. From Nov. 1882 till 1887 he was the energetic secretary of the newly founded National Liberal Club in London, and eagerly flung himself into political work. He contested unsuccessfully in the liberal interest North Paddington in 1885 and South Islington in 1892. In 1887 he established, and became senior partner of, the firm of William Hutchinson & Co., East India agents and merchants. Meanwhile he pursued in the press and on the platform with almost fanatical warmth the agitation for extending self-government among the natives of India. In 1885 he published 'India for the Indians and for England,' a book praised by John Bright in a speech at St. James's Hall on 25 Feb. 1885. In 1887 he founded, and until 1892 he directed, the Indian political agency, which distributed information about India to the English public. In 1889 he became secretary to the newly constituted British committee of the Indian national congress, and he edited the committee's organ, 'India' (1890-2). In 'Prosperous British India' (1901) he claimed to prove a steady growth of poverty among the Indian masses under British rule.

Digby died from nervous exhaustion at his home, Dorset Square, London, N.W., on 24 Sept. 1904, and was buried by the side of his second wife at Bromley cemetery. An oil-painting of him by John Colin Forbes, R.C.A., was presented to the National Liberal Club by friends and admirers on 19 Dec. 1905. He married (1) in 1874, Ellen Amelia, only daughter of Captain Little of Wisbech; she died in June 1878, leaving one son, William Pollard Digby, electrical engineer; and (2) in December 1879, Sarah Maria, eldest daughter of William Hutchinson, some time mayor of Wisbech; she died in January 1899, leaving a daughter and three sons, the eldest of whom, Everard, has been editor of the 'Indian Daily News,' Calcutta.

Besides many pamphlets and the works cited, Digby published 'Forty Years of Official and Unofficial Life in a Crown Colony' (Madras, 1879, 2 vols.), being a biography of Sir Richard F. Morgan, acting chief justice in Ceylon.

[Digby's books and pamphlets; Biographical Mag., July 1885; Isle of Ely and Wisbech Advertiser, 24 and 27 Sept. 1904, and 20 Dec. 1905; personal knowledge.]


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The Ceylon Observer
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 3/24/21

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The Ceylon Observer
Fiat justitia
Image
Front page of The Observer and Commercial Advertiser first issue, 4 February 1834
Type Daily newspaper
Owner(s): Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited
Founded: 4 February 1834
Language: English
Ceased publication: February 1982
City: Colombo
Country: Sri Lanka
Sister newspapers: Ceylon Daily News; Dinamina; Silumina; Sunday Observer; Thinakaran; Thinakaran Varamanjari
OCLC number: 1781404

The Ceylon Observer was an English language daily newspaper in Sri Lanka published by Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL). It was founded in 1834 as The Observer and Commercial Advertiser and was published from Colombo. It ceased publication in 1982.

History

The Observer and Commercial Advertiser was started on 4 February 1834 by Colombo based British merchants.[1][2] It was under the control of E. J. Darley who was also its first editor.[3] The merchants then appointed George Winter editor.[3] The paper was published on Mondays and Thursdays but later became an afternoon daily.[2][4] In its first year the paper's editor and publishers were tried for libel after the paper printed a letter criticising the superintendent of police but were acquitted.[1]

Christopher Elliott, colonial surgeon for Badulla, became editor of the paper in 1835 and later its owner.[1][3] Elliott changed the name of the paper to The Colombo Observer.[1] The paper was critical of Governor Wilmot-Horton's administration which resulted in a pro-government paper, The Ceylon Chronicle, being established by a group of civil servants in 1837.[5][6] The Colombo Observer supported Governor Stewart-Mackenzie's administration but opposed the Campbell and Torrington administrations.[1] A monthly (later fortnightly, then weekly) sister newspaper, The Overland Observer, commenced in 1840.[3]

Alastair Mackenzie Ferguson joined the staff of The Colombo Observer in 1846 and bought the paper in 1859 after Elliott became the Principal Officer of the newly created Civil Medical Department.[3][7] Ferguson's nephew John Ferguson joined the paper in 1861.[7] The paper changed its name to The Ceylon Observer in 1867.[3][7] John Ferguson became joint-editor in 1870 and a partner in 1875.[3] Following A. M. Ferguson's death in 1892 John Ferguson became editor of the paper.[7] John Ferguson was succeeded as editor by his son Ronald Haddon Ferguson.[3]

The paper was bought by a company owned by the European Association of Ceylon in 1920.[8] D. R. Wijewardena bought the paper in 1923, adding it to his growing media empire (later known as Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited).
[9] A Sunday edition of the paper, the Sunday Observer, commenced on 4 February 1928.[10]

In the early twentieth century The Ceylon Observer and its sister newspaper Ceylon Daily News actively campaigned for constitutional change in Ceylon.[11] ANCL and its rival Times of Ceylon Limited (TOCL) dominated the newspaper industry when Ceylon obtained independence from Britain in 1948.[2] The ANCL newspapers were seen as pro-United National Party.[2] In July 1973 the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led United Front government nationalised ANCL.[2] The legislation which nationalised the ANCL, the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Special Provisions) Law No. 28 of 1973, required broad basing of its publications but successive governments have failed to carry this out and ANCL is today still the largest newspaper company in Sri Lanka. Its various publications are slavishly pro-government irrespective of which party is in power.[2]

The Ceylon Observer ceased publishing in February 1982.[12] The Sunday Observer, which is still in circulation, is sometimes referred to being the same newspaper as The Ceylon Observer.[8][13]

References

1. "Periodicals and Newspapers in Ceylon" (PDF). Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon. XXXI (4): 137–152. April 1942. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
2. Karunanayake, Nandana (2008). "18: Sri Lanka". In Banerjee, Indrajit; Logan, Stephen (eds.). Asian Communication Handbook 2008. Singapore: Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University. pp. 446–460. ISBN 9789814136105.
3. Beven, Francis. "The Press". In Wright, Arnold (ed.). Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon. Asian Educational Services. pp. 301–319.
4. "Ceylon Times' begins publication". The Sunday Times. 9 July 2006.
5. "Significant events in May: An English newspaper". The Sunday Times. 30 April 2006.
6. Scott, Andrew (15 May 2012). "Newspapers and journals in early Sri Lanka". Daily News.
7. Martyn, John H. (1923). Notes on Jaffna – Chronological, Historical, Biographical (PDF). Tellippalai: American Ceylon Mission Press. pp. 205–206. ISBN 81-206-1670-7.
8. "The 'Observer' is 180 years old". Daily FT. 31 May 2014.
9. "Newspaper proliferation and the vanishing tribe" (PDF). The Nation. 20 May 2007.
10. Chandrarathne, Ranga (3 February 2008). "Sunday Observer 80th Anniversary: Eighty years in print". Sunday Observer.
11. Salgado, Upali (1 February 1998). "Those good ole days!". The Sunday Times.
12. "1834–1982, English, Periodical, Newspaper edition: Ceylon observer". National Library of Australia.
13. "Till we meet again". Daily News. 1 March 2002.

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The Madras Times
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 3/24/21

The Madras Times
Type: Daily newspaper
Language: English
Headquarters: Madras
Country: India

The Madras Times was an English-language newspaper which was published in the then Madras Presidency from 1835 to 1921.

History

Chennai-historian, S. Muthiah claims that The Madras Times was founded as a bi-weekly in 1835-36, though most sources point to 1859, the year of its supposed acquisition by Gantz and Sons, as the founding date of the newspaper. Gantz and Sons also acquired The Spectator, the first major newspaper in South India. The paper was converted to a daily in 1860.

The Madras Times flourished throughout the second half of the 19th century. [b]During the 1870s and 1880s, the paper was edited by William Digby Seymour [NO, William Digby (writer) [above]!], the celebrated Indophile.

The Madras Times was purchased by business magnate John Oakshott Robinson in 1921. The paper was subsequently merged with The Mail.

Orientation

The newspaper was liberal in its views and favoured amicable relationship between the British who ruled India and the Indian inhabitants. The paper was edited by Charles Cornish and Henry Cornish in 1860s. The duo were later embroiled in a dispute with the management and quit to start The Madras Mail which was the Times' most popular rival and opponent throughout the late 1800s.

References

• Muthiah, S. (2004). Madras Rediscovered. East West Books (Madras) Pvt Ltd. pp. 51–53. ISBN 81-88661-24-4.
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