Samgraha, Saṃgraha, Saṃgrāha: 16 definitions
by Wisdom Library
Accessed: 6/3/21
Introduction:
Samgraha means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
Alternative spellings of this word include Sangrah.
In Hinduism
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
[«previous (S) next»] — Samgraha in Natyashastra glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Nāṭya-śāstra
Saṃgraha (संग्रह, “propitiation”) refers to ‘winning over’ another person by sweet words and gifts. Saṃgraha represents one of the thirteen garbhasandhi, according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 21. Garbhasandhi refers to the “segments (sandhi) of the development part (garbha)” and represents one of the five segments of the plot (itivṛtta or vastu) of a dramatic composition (nāṭaka).
(Description:) Contact for the use of sweet words and gift, is called Protection (saṃgraha).
Source: archive.org: Natya Shastra
Saṃhraha (संग्रह, “digest”).—When subjects taught in detail have been compressed and brought together in a number of sūtras and their bhāṣyas (commentary), these constitute according to the learned a Digest (saṃhraha).
The Digest (saṃgraha) of the Nāṭyaveda treats
• the sentiments (rasa),
• the Psychological States (bhava),
• the histrionic representation (abhinaya),
• the Practices (dharmī),
• the Styles (vṛtti),
• Local Usages (pravṛtti),
• Success (siddhi),
• the notes (svara),
• the instrumental music (ātodya),
• songs (dhruvā),
• and the stage (raṅga).
context information
Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (śāstra) of performing arts, (nāṭya, e.g., theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing dramatic plays (nataka) and poetic works (kavya).
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Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar)
[«previous (S) next»] — Samgraha in Vyakarana glossary
Source: Wikisource: A dictionary of Sanskrit grammar
Saṃgraha (संग्रह).—Name of a very vast work on grammar attributed to an ancient grammarian Vyadi who is supposed to have been a relative of Panini; cf. सेग्रहेस्तमुपागते (segrahestamupāgate) Bhartrhari's Vakyapadiya cf. also संग्रह-प्रतिकञ्चुकेः (saṃgraha-pratikañcukeḥ) cf. संग्रहो नाम लक्षश्लोकात्मको त्याडिकृतो ग्रन्थः । (saṃgraho nāma lakṣaślokātmako tyāḍikṛto granthaḥ |) Some quotations only are found from the Samgraha in grammar works, but the work is lost long ago.
context information
Vyakarana (व्याकरण, vyākaraṇa) refers to Sanskrit grammar and represents one of the six additional sciences (vedanga) to be studied along with the Vedas. Vyakarana concerns itself with the rules of Sanskrit grammar and linguistic analysis in order to establish the correct context of words and sentences.
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Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
[«previous (S) next»] — Samgraha in Purana glossary
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia
Saṃgraha (संग्रह).—One of the two attendants given to Subrahmaṇya by the sea, the other being Vikrama. (Śalya Parva, Chapter 45; Verse 37).
Source: JatLand: List of Mahabharata people and places
Saṃgraha (संग्रह) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. IX.44.46) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Saṃgraha) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.
context information
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
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Ayurveda (science of life)
[«previous (S) next»] — Samgraha in Ayurveda glossary
Source: gurumukhi.ru: Ayurveda glossary of terms
Saṃgraha (संग्रह):—Restricted movement, Retention, Stiffness
context information
Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.
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In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
[«previous (S) next»] — Samgraha in Mahayana glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra
Saṃgraha (संग्रह) or “connections” refers to the third book of the Abhidhamma according to the Haimavata school.
context information
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
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In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
[«previous (S) next»] — Samgraha in Jainism glossary
Source: Encyclopedia of Jainism: Tattvartha Sutra 1
Saṃgraha (संग्रह, “synthetic”) refers to one of the seven types of naya (standpoint), according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 1.33.—To cognize an entity by looking at its attributes as primary and secondary depending on the intentions of the speaker or listener is called naya (standpoint/viewpoint).
What is meant by synthetic viewpoint (saṃgraha-naya)? To cognize all the modes of an entity keeping its class (type of substance) in mind, e.g. by saying substance we understand all types of substances.
context information
Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.
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Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
[«previous (S) next»] — Samgraha in Sanskrit glossary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary
Saṃgraha (संग्रह).—1 Seizing, grasping; taking; प्रज्वाल्य तत्र चैवाग्निमकरोत् पाणिसंग्रहम् (prajvālya tatra caivāgnimakarot pāṇisaṃgraham) Rām.7.12.2.
2) Clenching the fist, grasp, grip.
3) Reception, admission.
4) Guarding, protection; तथा ग्रामशतानां च कुर्याद्राष्ट्रस्य संग्रहम् (tathā grāmaśatānāṃ ca kuryādrāṣṭrasya saṃgraham) Ms.7.114.
5) Favouring, propitiating, entertaining, supporting; धनैः कार्योऽस्य संग्रहः (dhanaiḥ kāryo'sya saṃgrahaḥ) Ms.3.138;8.311.
6) Storing, accumulation, gathering, collecting; स्वधासंग्रहतत्पराः (svadhāsaṃgrahatatparāḥ) R.1.66; तैः कृतप्रकृतिसंग्रहैः (taiḥ kṛtaprakṛtisaṃgrahaiḥ) 19.55;17.6.
7) Governing, restraining, controlling; एव वै परमो योगो मनसः संग्रहः स्मृतः (eva vai paramo yogo manasaḥ saṃgrahaḥ smṛtaḥ) Bhāg. 11.2.21.
8) Conglomeration.
9) Conjunction.
1) Agglomeration (a kind of saṃyoga).
11) Inclusion, comprehension.
12) Compilation.
13) Epitome, summary, abridgment, compendium; संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्यन्ते (saṃgraheṇa pravakṣyante) Bg.8.11; so तर्कसंग्रहः (tarkasaṃgrahaḥ); मय्यावेशितया युक्त एतावान् योगसंग्रहः (mayyāveśitayā yukta etāvān yogasaṃgrahaḥ) Bhāg.11.23.61.
14) Sum, amount, totality; करणं कर्म कर्तेति त्रिविधः कर्मसंग्रहः (karaṇaṃ karma karteti trividhaḥ karmasaṃgrahaḥ) Bg.18.18.
13) A catalogue, list.
16) A store-room.
17) An effort, exertion.
18) Mention, reference.
19) Greatness, elevation.
2) Velocity.
21) Name of Śiva.
22) A guardian, ruler, manager; ततो निक्षिप्य काकुत्स्थो लक्ष्मणं द्वारि संग्रहम् (tato nikṣipya kākutstho lakṣmaṇaṃ dvāri saṃgraham) Rām.7.13.15.
23) The fetching back of discharged weapons by magical means; Mb.
24) Taking to wife, marriage.
25) Perception, notion,
Derivable forms: saṃgrahaḥ (संग्रहः).
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Saṃgrāha (संग्राह).—
1) Laying hold of, grasping.
2) Forcible seizure.
3) Clenching the fist.
4) The fist.
5) The handle of a shield.
6) A particular jumping of the horse; Mb.5.155.2. (com. saṃgrāhaḥ bṛhadudraṅgaḥ heṣaṇapūrvakamagra- pādābhyāmutplavanamiti; 'saṃgrāho bṛhadudraṅge' iti viśvaḥ).
Derivable forms: saṃgrāhaḥ (संग्राहः).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary
Saṃgraha (संग्रह).—m., as in Sanskrit, [Boehtlingk and Roth] s.v. 14, das Heranziehen, für sich Gewinnen; freundliche, liebevolle Behandlung; so interpret Lalitavistara 205.8—9 a-saṃgraha-gṛhītasya, afflicted with lack of friendly behavior or disposition; Lalitavistara 426.5 sattva- saṃgrahaprayukta, given to attractive treatment of creatures; Mahāvastu i.107.10 kevarūpeṇa saṃgraheṇa satvā saṃgṛhṇanti, by what sort of attraction do (Bodhisattvas) attract creatures?; compare Mahāvastu i.133.13 saṃgṛhītagrāhiṇaś ca (bodhisattvāḥ), they are characterized by holding those who have been attracted, sc. by the saṃgraha-vastu, as Senart rightly saw, but [Page548-b+ 71] he was wrong in taking saṃgṛhīta as a subst. = saṃgraha; other cases Mahāvastu i.133.17; 163.7. Note especially Gaṇḍavyūha 495.20 samantapāśa-jāla-bhūtaṃ (bodhicittaṃ), sarvavine- yasattva-saṃgraha-karṣaṇatayā, it is…a net…because it draws in by attraction (by kindly behavior) creatures…; compare Lalitavistara 429.13 s.v. saṃgraha-vastu. Sometimes = saṃgraha- vastu, q.v.: Saddharmapuṇḍarīka 142.11 (verse) catvāraḥ saṃgrahā(ḥ).
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Saṃgrāha (संग्राह).—(m.?; the only real Sanskrit literary occurrences are Mahābhārata 5.152.17 susaṃgrāhāḥ [so Crit. ed., for vulgate asaṃ°], under good control, of horses; and one passage in Schmidt, Nachtrāge, = Griff am Messer), seizure, over- whelming (and dangerous) grasp (?): Lalitavistara 374.17 (verse) iha rāgamadana-makaraṃ tṛṣṇormijalaṃ kudṛṣṭi-saṃgrāhaṃ saṃsārasāgaram ahaṃ saṃtīrṇo, I have here crossed the ocean of the saṃsāra, whose sea-monsters are passion and love, whose wave-water is thirst, whose overwhelming grasp is heresy (? both control and attachment seem inappropriate here; I have thought of emending to -saṃgāham, depths, profound abyss, but this is not quotable); neg. a-saṃgrāha, non-grasping, not (wrongly) clinging to, Bodhisattvabhūmi 44.6, 7 asad- bhūta-samāropāsaṃgrāha-vivarjito bhūtāpavādāsaṃgrā- ha-vivarjitaś (Wogihara, Index, renders by Chinese meaning not wrong holding).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Saṃgraha (संग्रह).—i. e. sam-grah + a, m. 1. Collection, [Pañcatantra] ii. [distich] 176; conjunction, Bhāṣāp. 133; totality, [Bhagavadgītā, (ed. Schlegel.)] 18, 18. 2. A place where anything is kept. 3. Quantity. 4. A compilation, an abridgment, [Bhagavadgītā, (ed. Schlegel.)] 8, 11. 5. A catalogue. 6. Clenching the fist, clenching, grasp, [Hitopadeśa] iv. [distich] 13. 7. Effort. 8. Restraining, [Lassen, Anthologia Sanskritica.] 2, 1. 9. Governing, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 7, 113. 10. Protecting, protection, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 8, 311. 11. Propitiating, attaching, [Pañcatantra] i. [distich] 330 (kurvanti saṃgraham, Attach to themselves); [Rājataraṅgiṇī] 5, 295; encouraging, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 3, 138. 12. Assent, promise. 13. Taking, seizing, [Rājataraṅgiṇī] 5, 274; mentioning, [Hitopadeśa] ii. [distich] 57. 14. Elevation, loftiness.
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Saṃgrāha (संग्राह).—i. e. sam-grah + a, m. 1. Clenching the fist. 2. The fist. 3. The gripe of a shield. 4. Seizing forcibly.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Saṃgraha (संग्रह).—[masculine] seizing, grasping, laying hold on, keeping, winning, acquiring, taking (also to wife), enjoying, fetching back (of a shot arrow by magic), gathering, assembling, collection; enumeration, sum, totalily; restraining, directing, government, concr. ruler, governor, arranger; short exposition, compendium of (—°); attracting, winning over, kindness.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus Catalogorum
1) Saṃgraha (संग्रह) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—[grammatical] Quoted in the Preface of the Mahābhāṣya: Saṃgraha etat prādhānyena parīkṣitam. According to Nāgojī this Saṃgraha had Vyāḍi as its author. It seems more natural to attribute the work to Patañjali himself.
2) Saṃgraha (संग्रह):—a grammar, by Lakṣmīdatta. Oudh. X, 8.
3) Saṃgraha (संग्रह):—an abbreviation of Smṛtisaṃgraha q. v.
4) Saṃgraha (संग्रह):—vedānta, by Vīramaheśvarācārya. Rice. 184.
5) Saṃgraha (संग्रह):—med. L. 616. See Aṣṭāṅgasaṃgraha and Aṣṭāṅgahṛdayasaṃgraha.
6) Saṃgraha (संग्रह):—jy. by Gaṇapati. Oudh. Xx, 110. See Jyotiḥsaṃgraha.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
1) Saṃgraha (संग्रह):—[=saṃ-graha] [from saṃ-grabh] m. holding together, seizing, grasping, taking, reception, obtainment, [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc.
2) [v.s. ...] taking (in the sense of eating or drinking food, medicine etc.), [Raghuvaṃśa; Bhartṛhari]
3) [v.s. ...] the fetching back of discharged weapons by magical means, [Mahābhārata; Harivaṃśa]
4) [v.s. ...] bringing together, assembling (of men), [Rāmāyaṇa; Raghuvaṃśa; Siṃhāsana-dvātriṃśikā or vikramāditya-caritra, jaina recension]
5) [v.s. ...] collecting, gathering, conglomeration, accumulation (as of stores), [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata] etc.
6) [v.s. ...] (in [philosophy]) agglomeration (= saṃyoga q.v.), [Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary]
7) [v.s. ...] a place where anything is kept, a store-room, receptacle, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
8) [v.s. ...] complete enumeration or collection, sum, amount, totality (eṇa, ‘completely’, ‘entirely’), [Yājñavalkya; Mahābhārata] etc.
9) [v.s. ...] drawing together, making narrower, narrowing, tightening, making thin or slender, the thin part of anything, [Caraka; Vāgbhaṭālaṃkāra; Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra [Scholiast or Commentator]]
10) [v.s. ...] a compendium, summary, catalogue, list, epitome, abridgment, short statement (eṇa or āt, ‘shortly’, ‘summarily’, ‘in few words’), [Kaṭha-upaniṣad; Mahābhārata] etc.
11) [v.s. ...] inclusion, comprehension, [Kusumāñjali; Manvarthamuktāvalī, kullūka bhaṭṭa’s Commentary on manu-smṛti]
12) [v.s. ...] check, restraint, control, [ib.; Vetāla-pañcaviṃśatikā]
13) [v.s. ...] keeping, guarding, protection, [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata] etc.
14) [v.s. ...] a guardian, ruler, manager, arranger, [Rāmāyaṇa; Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
15) [v.s. ...] obstruction, constipation (See -grahanī)
16) [v.s. ...] attracting, winning, favouring, kind treatment, propitiation, entertaining, entertainment, [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata] etc.
17) [v.s. ...] taking to wife, marriage (See dāra-s)
18) [v.s. ...] perception, notion, [Kapila; Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
19) [v.s. ...] mention, mentioning, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
20) [v.s. ...] elevation, loftiness, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
21) [v.s. ...] velocity, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
22) [v.s. ...] Name of Śiva, [Mahābhārata]
23) [v.s. ...] Name of various works ([especially] of a gram. [work] in 100,000 Ślokas by Vyāḍi; also often in [compound])
24) Saṃgrāha (संग्राह):—[=saṃ-grāha] [from saṃ-grabh] m. grasping, laying hold of, forcible seizure, [Horace H. Wilson]
25) [v.s. ...] the fist or clenching the fist, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.] (cf. [Pāṇini 3-3, 36 [Scholiast or Commentator]])
26) [v.s. ...] the handle of a shield, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
[Sanskrit to German] (Deutsch Wörterbuch)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Böhtlingk and Roth Grosses Petersburger Wörterbuch
Saṃgraha (संग्रह):—(von grah = grabh mit sam) m.
1) das Ergreifen: karkaṭa (besser karkaṭakagraha) [Spr. (II) 4523, v. l.] āyudha [7218.] kṛtakāṣāya adj. so v. a. das Anlegen [Rājataraṅgiṇī 3, 320.] das für sich Nehmen, Behalten: pradānaṃ ca pradeyānāmadeyānāṃ ca saṃgrahaḥ [KĀM. NĪTIS. 13, 52.] [Rājataraṅgiṇī 5, 174. fg.] das Bekommen, Erhalten: gṛhasaṃgrahatatparāḥ [Harivaṃśa 6503.] das zu sich Nehmen, Geniessen: svadhā [Raghuvaṃśa 1, 66.] bheṣaja [Spr. (II) 6348] [?(pl., v. l. sg.).] —
2) das (auf übernaturliche Weise geschehende) Zurückholen eines abgeschossenen Pfeiles u.s.w. [Mahābhārata 10, 692.] [Rāmāyaṇa 6, 69, 32.] die darüber handelnde Lehre (in ähnlicher Verbindung aber in anderer Bed. [Weber’s Indische Studien 1, 21, 13]) [Mahābhārata 9, 2471.] [Harivaṃśa 4910]; vgl. saṃhāra . —
3) das Beisammenlassen: ubhayahetu [Prātiśākhya zum Ṛgveda 11, 2. 23.] —
4) das Zusammenbringen, Sammeln, Aufspeichern, Anhäufen; Vorrath: arthasya [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 9, 11.] sasyādeḥ [KĀM. NĪTIS. 12, 18.] [Raghuvaṃśa 17, 60.] [Spr. (II) 1303, v. l. 2183. 2209. 2595. 2742, v. l. 3144. 5087. 6676.] [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 40, 14. 42, 3. 4.] [Rājataraṅgiṇī 6, 70.] [Hitopadeśa 91, 2.] [Vetālapañcaviṃśati] in [Lassen’s Anthologie (III) 15, 8.] [Scholiast] zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 3, 3, 36.] subhāṣitamayairdravyaiḥ saṃgrahaṃ na karoti yaḥ [Spr. (II) 7114.] rasadhānyedhma Vorrath von [6239.] dharma [Mahābhārata 5, 7146.] [Spr. (II) 292. 3675. 4250.] dharmārtha [Rāmāyaṇa 4, 28, 1. 5, 51, 14.] cāritra [7, 13, 18.] guṇa [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 20, 26.] das Versammeln, Zusammenbringen (von Menschen): dikṣu sarvāsu sainyānāṃ sarveṣāṃ kuru saṃgraham [Rāmāyaṇa 4, 28, 30.] balānām [5, 72, 20.] kṛtaprakṛtimukhya adj. [Raghuvaṃśa 19, 55.] —
5) Zusammenstellung, vollständige Aufzählung: asthi [Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 3, 90.] parva [Mahābhārata 1, 311.] nāma [?13, 1114. Suśruta 1, 150, 3. DAŚAR. 1, 39. Sāhityadarpana 389. Spr. (II) 2913, v. l.] pāda im dhanurveda [Weber’s Indische Studien 1, 21, 13.] [Siddhāntakaumudī] zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 7, 2, 63.] uktānāmapyanuktānāṃ śabdānāmiha saṃgrahaḥ [Halāyudha 5, 61.] nānārthasaṃgrahaṃ kar [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 3, 3, 1. 5, 1.] Sammlung: kathā [Lassen’s Anthologie (III) 32, 4.] [Hitopadeśa] in den Unterschrr. der Bücher. Gesammtheit, Inbegriff, das Ganze [Bhāṣāpariccheda 155.] karaṇaṃ karma karteti trividhaḥ karmasaṃgrahaḥ [Bhagavadgītā 18, 18.] indriya [KĀM. NĪTIS. 1, 31.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 28, 57.] [Rāmāyaṇa 5, 42, 3. 4.] [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka 12, 9. 28 (26), 6.] suratotsava [Mṛcchakaṭikā 87, 6.] artha = kośa [Halāyudha 5, 54.] loka [Viṣṇupurāṇa 1, 2, 56.] kāla (ed. Bomb. paryaye) die ganze Zeit so v. a. Termin [Rāmāyaṇa 4, 31, 8.] saṃgraheṇa vollständig [Rāmāyaṇa] [SCHL. 2, 56, 25.] ein vollständiges Compendium und Titel von solchen Compendien (insbes. eines grossen grammatischen Werkes des Vyāḍi) [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 3, 2, 24.] gaṇa kathādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 4, 102.] sarve vedāḥ sopavedopaniṣadaḥ sarahasyāḥ sasaṃgrahāḥ [Mahābhārata.8,4414.] [Oxforder Handschriften 12,a,28.] (grantham) sasūtravṛttyarthapadaṃ mahārthaṃ sasaṃgraham (Vyāḍi’s Werk nach dem Comm.) [Rāmāyaṇa 7, 36, 45.] kratusaṃgrahapariśiṣṭa [Weber’s Indische Studien 1, 59. 5, 42. 127. 159. fgg.] sarvaśākuna [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 86, 4.] vṛtta [104, 64.] sasaṃgrahaṃ vyākaraṇamadhīte [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher.6,3,79, Scholiast] [Oxforder Handschriften 279,b,34. 292,a,12] (gṛhya). kāra [?271,a,9. 10. 274,a, No. 649. Notices of Skt Mss.2,57. Colebrooke.1,234. 300.] Vgl. 11). —
6) das Umfassen, Einschliessen, Mitbegreifen: uttamagrahaṇamupāntyasyāpi saṃgrahārtham [Scholiast] zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 5, 4, 90.] [KUSUM. 24, 3. 53, 4.] [Kullūka] zu [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 3, 117.] —
7) was Etwas umfasst, einschliesst; Behälter [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 3, 8, 25. 4, 17, 30. 21, 34. 24, 45.] —
8) das im Zaum Halten: manasaḥ [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 11, 20, 21.] duṣṭānām (Gegens. pālana) [Vetālapañcaviṃśati] in [Lassen’s Anthologie (III) 1, 19.] —
9) das in Ordnung Halten, Bewahren, Hüten: rāṣṭrasya [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 7, 113. fg.] [Mahābhārata 12, 3261.] der Welt im Gegens. zu nigraha [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 7, 2, 39.] —
10) Lenker, Regierer, Behüter: sarvalokāmarayajña [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 14, 21.] sarva [Rāmāyaṇa 1, 6, 1.] tato nikṣipya kākutstho lakṣmaṇaṃ dvāri saṃgraham etwa Verfüger, Anordner [7, 103, 15.] = samyaguktārthagrahaṇavantam Comm.; eher saṃgrahe in der Bed.
14) zu lesen. —
11) Zusammendrängung, kurze Darlegung [Mārkāṇḍeyapurāṇa 53, 9] (wohl utpattisaṃgrahaṃ zu lesen). saṃgraheṇa in Kürze, mit kurzen Worten [Kaṭhopaniṣad 2, 15.] [Bhagavadgītā 8, 11.] [Spr. (II) 3253.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 4, 8, 5.] saṃgrahāt dass. [Mahābhārata 6, 178. 13, 2630. fg.] [SARVADARŚANAS. 53, 21.] arhatpravacanasaṃgrahapara [31, 14.] saṃgrahe pravṛttā vayam [41, 5. 97, 8.] ślokāḥ [108, 5] (saṃgraha als Titel eines Werkes gefasst von [HALL 164]). rāddhānta [127, 13. fg.] [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 2, 7, 51. 11, 23, 60.] madīye laghusaṃgrahe [Oxforder Handschriften 252,b, No. 626.] bhūtārtha [Spr. (II) 3593.] śiraśchetsyāmi vai karadānasya saṃgraham (vgl. karasaṃkṣepa [15802]) so v. a. kurze Antwort auf [Harivaṃśa 15800.] iti madvacanādrāmo vaktavyo mama saṃgraham (so lesen wir st. saṃgrahaḥ) [Rāmāyaṇa 7, 48, 18.] Vgl. 5). —
12) Verengerung. Schmälerung; schmale Stelle: vāraṅgasya [VĀGBH. 1, 25, 13.] [Scholiast] zu [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 688, 17.] madhya [217, 23.] —
13) Verstopfung; s. grahaṇī . —
14) das Heranziehen, für sich Gewinnen; freundliche —, liebevolle Behandlung: sāmadānārthasaṃyuktaḥ saṃgrahaḥ parikīrtitaḥ [Bharata] [NĀṬYAŚ. 19,84. 63. 34,85.] [DAŚAR.1,37.] [Sāhityadarpana 370.] [PRATĀPAR. 37,a,1.] dhanaiḥ kāryo sya (mitrasya) saṃgrahaḥ [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 3, 138.] sādhūnām [8, 311] (Gegens. nigraha). mitra [Spr. (II) 1959. 2261. 2916.] [Mahābhārata 1, 5620] (Gegens. vigraha). [5, 968] (Gegens. nigraha). [?13, 4313. Rāmāyaṇa 2, 98, 6. Rāmāyaṇa Gorresio 1, 4, 69. 4, 28, 10. 5, 90, 12. fg. KĀM. NĪTIS. 3, 39. 13, 74. 19, 2. Spr. (II) 1447. 3204. Rājataraṅgiṇī 5, 295. Hitopadeśa 92, 17, v. l. Bhāgavatapurāṇa 10, 84, 15.] —
15) das zur Ehe Nehmen, Heirathen: citrāṅgadā [Mahābhārata 1, 125] in der Unterschr. des Adhyāya. —
16) Auffassung, Wahrnehmung: sparśasya [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 3, 26, 35.] das Verstehen: ayauktikasya [Kapila 1, 26.] satsaṃgraha adj. der von Guten verstanden wird [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 6. 9, 44.] su etwa leicht zu fassen [Harivaṃśa 11573.] — Die indischen Lexicographen kennen folgende Bedd.: graha [Medinīkoṣa Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 25.] grāha (st. vigraho ist saṃgraho zu lesen) [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha 3, 770.] samāhṛti [Amarakoṣa 1, 1, 5, 7.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 257.] saṃkṣepa [Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 3, 3, 461.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1432.] [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] [Medinīkoṣa] [Halāyudha 4, 81.] bṛhaduddhāra [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] bṛhadudraṅga (statt dessen bṛhat und uttuṅga [Śabdakalpadruma] nach ders. Aut.; vgl. unter saṃgrāha) [Medinīkoṣa] muṣṭi [VIŚVA im Śabdakalpadruma] svīkāra, mahadyoga [NĀNĀRTHARATNAM.] ebend. — Vgl. anekārtha, tarka, dāra (auch [Mahābhārata 1, 1045. 13, 6087.] [Rāmāyaṇa 2, 37, 23.] [Kathāsaritsāgara 24, 152]), dravyasāra, dhanaṃjaya (unter dhanaṃjaya
2) h) in den Nachträgen), dharma (s. auch oben u. 4), nānārtha (unter nānārtha 3), nāma, nyāya, pāṇi (auch [Rāmāyaṇa Gorresio 1, 75, 21] und zwar bei der Verlobung), putra, bindu, bhagavannāmamāhātmyagrantha, bhāratasaṃgrahadīpikā, bhāvanāsāra, yoga, yogavṛtti, ratna, loka (in der 2ten Bed. auch [Bhagavadgītā 3, 20.] [Spr. (II) 3735, v. l.] Gesammtheit der Welten [Viṣṇupurāṇa 1, 2, 56]), vāstu, vṛtti, vaidya, vaidyakasāra, vrata, śāstrasiddhāntaleśa, sāra, smṛti, smṛtisāgara und sāṃgrahika .
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Saṃgrāha (संग्राह):—(von grah = grabh mit sam) m. = muṣṭi (nach dem [Scholiast] zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher] Faust, nicht Griff: aho mallasya saṃgrāhaḥ) [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 3, 3, 36] (vgl. [6, 2, 144]). Faust [Amarakoṣa 3, 3, 14] (= muṣṭibandha das Ballen der Faust). [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 597.] [Halāyudha 2, 368.] Griff eines Schildes [Amarakoṣa 2, 8, 2, 58.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 784.] Zu belegen ist nur asaṃgrāha adj. als Beiwort gut gearteter Pferde [Mahābhārata 5, 5262.] nach [Nīlakaṇṭha] sich nicht bäumend: saṃgrāhaḥ bṛhadudraṃgaḥ (vgl. unter saṃgraha am Ende) heṣaṇapūrvakamagrapādābhyāmutplavanamiti yāvat tadrahitāḥ asaṃgrāhāḥ saṃgrāhāḥ saṃgrāho bṛhaduraṃga iti viśvaḥ .
context information
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
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Hindi dictionary
[«previous (S) next»] — Samgraha in Hindi glossary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary
Saṃgraha (संग्रह) [Also spelled sangrah]:—(nm) collection; compilation; compendium; repository, deposit, storage; reserve; ~[karttā] compiler, one who collects/stores/compiles.
context information
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See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Graha, Sam.
Starts with (+11): Samgrahacudamani, Samgrahagrahani, Samgrahagrahya, Samgrahagrantha, Samgrahaka, Samgrahakara, Samgrahakarika, Samgrahalaya, Samgrahana, Samgrahaneshti, Samgrahani, Samgrahanihara, Samgrahanikapata, Samgrahaniratna, Samgrahanisutra, Samgrahaniya, Samgrahaparvan, Samgrahaprakashika, Samgraharamayana, Samgraharatnamala.
Ends with (+558): Acarasamgraha, Adbhutasamgraha, Adbhutasarasamgraha, Adhikaranarthasamgraha, Adhikarasamgraha, Adidharmasarasamgraha, Advaitabrahmasiddhiviniyogasamgraha, Advaitamakarandasamgraha, Advaitanirnayasamgraha, Advaitasamgraha, Advaitavaidikasiddhantasamgraha, Agamasarasamgraha, Agamatattvasamgraha, Aghasamgraha, Ahnikasmritisamgraha, Aitareyopanishatkhandarthasamgraha, Alamkarasamgraha, Alamkarashastrasamgraha, Amshumadbhedasamgraha, Anadivirashaivasamgraha.
Full-text (+2859): Asamgraha, Mushtisamgrahapidita, Gudakesa, Samgrahakara, Samgrahavastu, Samgrahagrantha, Samgrahaprakashika, Samgraharamayana, Samgrahacudamani, Samgrahavaidyanathiya, Samgraharatnamala, Samgrahavivarana, Samgrahagrahani, Samgrahavat, Samgrahashloka, Samgrahaparvan, Samgrahita, Samgrahaka, Kushalasamgraha, Dhanyasamgraha.
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Adi, Ādi, Āḍi: 19 definitions
by Wisdom Library
Accessed: 6/3/21
Introduction:
Adi means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Pali, the history of ancient India, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
Alternative spellings of this word include Aadi.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Purana glossary
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia
Āḍi (आडि).—A mighty son of the demon, Andhakāsura. He did penance to please Brahmā and obtained from him a boon to seek vengeance on Śiva who had murdered his father. The boon was that Āḍi would die only when he left his present form and took another form. After obtaining the boon Āḍi went to Kailāsa and outwitting the sentries entered the abode of Śiva in the shape of a serpent. After that he disguised himself as Pārvatī and went near Śiva. But Śiva knew the trick and killed him. (Sṛṣṭi Khaṇḍa of Padma Purāṇa).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index
Āḍi (आडि).—A son of Asura Andhaka; to wreak vengeance on śiva for having slain his father, he entered the harem of Śiva in the guise of a snake, and assumed the guise of Umā before him. He could change his form twice as he liked owing to a boon from Brahmā; but the second change would be followed by death. On close examination, Śiva discovered the figure to be the Asura in disguise, threw the Vajra and slew him.*
context information
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
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Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar)
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Vyakarana glossary
Source: Wikisource: A dictionary of Sanskrit grammar
Adi (अदि).—Uṇādi affix अदि (adi) e. g, शरद्, दरद् (śarad, darad); cf. शॄदॄभसो (śṝdṝbhaso)sदि (di); Uṇ. 127;
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1) Ādi (आदि).—Commencement, initial: cf. अपूर्वलक्षण आदिः (apūrvalakṣaṇa ādiḥ) M.Bh. on I.1.21,
2) Ādi.—Of the kind of, similar; एवंप्रक्रारः (evaṃprakrāraḥ).
context information
Vyakarana (व्याकरण, vyākaraṇa) refers to Sanskrit grammar and represents one of the six additional sciences (vedanga) to be studied along with the Vedas. Vyakarana concerns itself with the rules of Sanskrit grammar and linguistic analysis in order to establish the correct context of words and sentences.
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Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Vaishnavism glossary
Source: Pure Bhakti: Bhagavad-gita (4th edition)
Ādi (आदि) refers to “beginning, first”. (cf. Glossary page from Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā).
context information
Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
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India history and geography
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in India history glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Indian Epigraphical Glossary
Ādi.—(IE 7-1-2), ‘one’. Note: ādi is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.
context information
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
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Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Pali glossary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary
adi : (aor. of adati) ate. || ādi (m.), starting point; beginning. (adj.), first; beginning with. (nt.), and so on; so forth.
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary
Ādi, (Sk. ādi, etym. uncertain) — 1. (m.) starting-point, beginning Sn.358 (Acc. ādiṃ = kāraṇaṃ SnA 351); Dh.375 (Nom. ādi); Miln.10 (ādimhi); J.VI, 567 (Abl. ādito from the beginning). For use as nt. see below 2 b. — 2. (adj. & adv.) (a) (°-) beginning, initially, first, principal, chief: see cpds. — (b) (°-) beginning with, being the first (of a series which either is supposed to be familiar in its constituents to the reader or hearer or is immediately intelligible from the context), i. e. and so on, so forth (cp. adhika); e. g. rukkha-gumb-ādayo (Acc. pl.) trees, jungle etc. J.I, 150; amba-panas’ādīhi rukkehi sampanno (and similar kinds of fruit) J.I, 278; amba-labuj’ādīnaṃ phalānaṃ anto J.II, 159; asi-satti-dhami-ādīni āvudhāni (weapous, such as sword, knife, bow & the like) J.I, 150; kasi-gorakkh’ādīni karonte manusse J.II, 128; . . . ti ādinā nayena in this and similar ways J.I, 81; PvA.30. Absolute as nt. pl. ādinī with ti (evaṃ) (ādīni), closing a quotation, meaning “this and such like”, e. g. at J.II, 128, 416 (ti ādīni viravitvā). — In phrase ādiṃ katvā meaning “putting (him, her, it) first”, i. e. heginning with, from . . . on, from . . . down (c. Acc.) e. g. DhA.I, 393 (rājānaṃ ādiṃ K. from the king down); PvA.20 (vihāraṃ ādikatvā), 21 (pañcavaggiye ādiṃ K.).
context information
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
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Marathi-English dictionary
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Marathi glossary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary
aḍī (अडी).—f (Commonly aḍhī) A layer of fruits on a bed of straw (to be ripened). 2 The basin of a thrashing floor. 3 Sometimes used in the other senses of aḍhī.
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āḍī (आडी).—f (āḍi S) A bird, Turdus ginginianus.
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āḍī (आडी).—f C A common term for the bars of a waterwheel. 2 Framework to confine a vitious cow during milking. 3 The intertwined state of the feet of wrestlers. 4 Commonly aḍhī esp. in Sig. I.
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ādi (आदि).—m (S) Source, stock, root, origin; the seat or subject sustaining, or the cause or principle originating. 2 The beginning, commencement, first part. 3 The first term of a series.
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ādi (आदि).—a (S) First, prior, principal, chief. 2 In comp. although the meaning is still this, First or principal, it well corresponds with Et cetera: as indrādi dēva Indra and the other gods, i. e. Indra being first, the gods; rambhādi-striyā, kāmakrōdha- lōbhādi &c. As the medial member of a compound it assumes ka and becomes ādika, as akārādikavarṇa; brāhmaṇādika jāti; ākāśādika bhūtēṃ. The alphabet from अ; the castes from the Brahman; the five elements from ākāśa. 3 It forms compounds such as ādikāla, ādikāvya, ādidēva, ādidharma, ādibhāṣā, ādisampradāya &c. Others occur in order.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English
aḍī (अडी).—f A layer of fruits on a bed of straw.
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āḍī (आडी).—f Bars of a waterwheel. Frame-work to control a vicious cow while milking. The intertwined position of the feet of wrestlers. A kind of bird.
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ādi (आदि).—m Source; the beginning. a Prior, chief &c. In compounds it corres- ponds to et cetera. indrādi dēva Indra and the other gods. As the intermedi- ate part of a compound ādi becomes ādika as indrādika dēva, ākāśādika bhūtēṃ.
context information
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
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Sanskrit dictionary
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Sanskrit glossary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary
Āḍi (आडि).—= आटि (āṭi) q. v.
Derivable forms: āḍiḥ (आडिः).
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Ādi (आदि).—a.
1) First, primary, primitive; निदानं त्वादिकारणम् (nidānaṃ tvādikāraṇam) Ak.
2) Chief, first, principal, pre-eminent; oft. at the end of comp. in this sense; see below.
3) First in time existing before.
-dīḥ 1 Beginning, commencement (opp. anta); अप एव ससर्जादौ तासु बीजमवासृजत् (apa eva sasarjādau tāsu bījamavāsṛjat) Ms.1.8; Bg.3.41; अनादि (anādi) &c.; जगदादिरनादिस्त्वम् (jagadādiranādistvam) Ku.2.9; oft. at the end of comp. and translated by 'beginning with', 'et cætera', 'and others', 'and so on' (of the same nature or kind), 'such like'; इन्द्रादयो देवाः (indrādayo devāḥ) the gods Indra and others (indraḥ ādiryeṣāṃ te); एवमादि (evamādi) this and the like; भ्वादयो धातवः भू (bhvādayo dhātavaḥ bhū) and others, or words beginning with भू (bhū), are called roots; oft. used by Pāṇini to denote classes or groups of grammatical words; अदादि, दिवादि, स्वादि (adādi, divādi, svādi) &c.
2) First part of portion.
3) A firstling, first-fruits.
4) Prime cause.
5) Nearness.
6) One of the seven parts of Sāma; अथ सप्तविधस्य वाचि सप्तविधं सामोपासीत यत्किंच वाचो हुमिति स हिंकारो यत्प्रेति स प्रस्तावो यदेति स आदिः (atha saptavidhasya vāci saptavidhaṃ sāmopāsīta yatkiṃca vāco humiti sa hiṃkāro yatpreti sa prastāvo yadeti sa ādiḥ) Ch. Up.2.8.1.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary
Ādi (आदि).—beginning (= Sanskrit): ādiṃ, acc. (= Pali ādiṃ katvā, with acc. object) and ādau, loc., with following kṛtvā, and preceding acc. (once gen.), lit. putting…first; so beginning with, starting with, from…on (the loc. ādau used precisely like the acc. ādiṃ; putting at the beginning = making the beginning; loc. only in Mahāvastu): tuṣitabhavanavāsam ādiṃ kṛtvā, beginning with (the Bodhisattva's) dwelling in the Tuṣita-heaven (= from then on) Śikṣāsamuccaya 292.5 = Daśabhūmikasūtra 14.21, compare tuṣitabhavanam ādau kṛtvā sarveṣāṃ bodhi- sattvānāṃ…Mahāvastu i.147.15; āvīcim ādiṃ kṛtvā sarvanai- rayikāṇāṃ sattvānāṃ…Lalitavistara 86.11, of all hell-inhabitants [Page093-b+ 71] from Āvīci on; mātuḥ kukṣim ādau kṛtvā bodhisattvānāṃ yāvat parinirvṛtā Mahāvastu i.145.2, beginning with the mother's womb, of Bodhisattvas, until they have entered complete nirvāṇa; bhartāraṃ ādau kṛtvā Mahāvastu i.147.8 (no man has any carnal desire for the destined mothers of Buddhas) from their husbands on; bodhisattvasya garbhāvakrāntim ādau kṛtvā Mahāvastu i.157.15; śākyamuniṃ samyaksaṃbuddhaṃ ādau kṛtvā ḍaśa bhūmayo deśitā Mahāvastu i.161.7, beginning from (the time of) Śākyamuni the Buddha, the Ten Stages have been taught (not before! so, I think, the parallels require us to interpret, contrary to Senart n. 506); with gen. of the dependent noun (rather than acc.), evidently construed as modifier of ādiṃ: tṛṣṇāyāḥ paunarbhavikyā ādiṃ kṛtvā Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra 180.10, beginning with (starting from; lit. making a beginning of) desire for rebirth. Cf. Mahābhārata Crit. ed. 2.52.17d saha strībhir draupadīm ādi-kṛtvā, along with the women, beginning with Draupadī (i.e. D. and the others). This seems to be unparalleled in Sanskrit See also s.v. ādīkaroti.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Āḍi (आडि).—f.
(-ḍiḥ) A bird, the S'arali, (Turdus ginginianus.) E. āṅ before aḍa to go, in affix; also āṭi, āḍikā and āṭī.
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Ādi (आदि).—m. only
(-diḥ) 1. First, prior. 2. First, pre-eminent. ind. (In composition,) Other, et-cetera, as svādi the affix su et-cetera. E. āṅ before dā to give, and ki aff.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Ādi (आदि).—i. e. ādya, with i for ya, 1. m. Beginning, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 1, 8; 4, 25. 2. indecl. First, Mahābhārata 2, 2008.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Ādi (आदि).—[masculine] commencement, beginning, firstling; [locative] ādau in the beginning, first. Often adj. —° (also ādika) beginning with, and so on. Abstr. āditva & ādikatva [neuter]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
1) Āḍi (आडि):—f. (= āti q.v.) Name of an aquatic bird, [Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa]
2) Āḍī (आडी):—[from āḍi] f. = āḍi q.v.
3) Ādi (आदि):—1. ādi m. beginning, commencement
4) a firstling, first-fruits
5) ifc. beginning with, et caetera, and so on (e.g. indrādayaḥ surāḥ, the gods beginning with Indra id est. Indra etc.; gṛhādiyukta, possessed of houses etc.; evamādīni vastūni, such things and others of the same kind: śayyā khaṭvādiḥ [Comm. on [Pāṇini 3-3, 99]], Śayyā means a bed etc.; often with -ka at the end e.g. dānadharmādikam [Hitopadeśa], liberality, justice, etc.)
6) the third part in the 7-partite Sāman, [Chāndogya-upaniṣad]
7) 2. ādi mfn. beginning with ā, [Rāmatāpanīya-upaniṣad]
8) Ādī (आदी):—[=ā-dī] -√2. dī (3. sg. [imperfect tense] ādīdet, [Ṛg-veda i, 149, 3]; 3. sg. [Aorist] ā-dīdayat, [Ṛg-veda ii, 4, 3]) to shine upon, enlighten.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary
1) Āḍi (आडि):—(ḍiḥ) 2. f. A bird, vide āṭi.
2) Ādi (आदि):—(diḥ) 2. m. Beginning (in composition, et cetera.)
[Sanskrit to German] (Deutsch Wörterbuch)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Böhtlingk and Roth Grosses Petersburger Wörterbuch
Āḍi (आडि):—f.
1) = āṭi [Amarakoṣa 2, 5, 25.] —
2) ein bes. Fisch [Rājanirghaṇṭa im Śabdakalpadruma]
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Ādi (आदि):—m. [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 3, 3, 108, Vārttika von Kātyāyana. 6,] [Scholiast] Anfang, Beginn; Erstling [Amarakoṣa 3, 2, 30.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1459.] ādyantayoḥ [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 1, 9, 8. 24, 5, 18. 26, 7, 58.] ādyante (am Anfange und am Ende) dyuniśoḥ [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 4, 25.] ādyantau = antādī gaṇa rājadantādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 2, 2, 31.] ādyavasāne gaṇa dadhipayaādi zu [2, 4, 14.] mantrāntaiḥ karmādiḥ [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 1, 3, 5. fgg.] paryāyādiṣu [13, 3, 18.] sutyādau [14, 1, 23.] ādisāmarthyāt [4, 2, 30.] ādiśca bhavati ya evaṃ veda [Māṇḍūkyopaniṣad 9.] [Chāndogyopaniṣad 2, 8, 1] (vgl. [Weber’s Indische Studien 1, 257]). lokādimagniṃ tamuvāca [Kaṭhopaniṣad 1, 15.] sarvasyādiḥ [Mahābhārata 3, 153.] mām jñātvā bhūtādim [Bhagavadgītā 9, 13.] ādau im Beginn, am Anfange, zuerst [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 1, 8. 21. 71. 2, 74] (ādāvante ca). [3, 85. 8, 391.] [Bhagavadgītā 3, 41.] [Pañcatantra I, 182] (ādau tatas). [Kathāsaritsāgara 25, 153] (ādau madhyatas ante). [Vopadeva’s Grammatik 25, 32] (ādau atha). Häufig am Ende eines adj. comp.: avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyaktamadhyāni avyaktanidhanānyeva [Bhagavadgītā 2, 28.] daivādyanta mit einem Opfer an die Götter beginnend und endend [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 3, 205.] niṣekādiśmaśānānta [2, 16.] guṇaśabdo nañādiḥ ein Eigenschaftswort, dem die Neg. a vorangeht [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 16.] marīcyādīn munīn die Weisen, bei denen [Manu’s Gesetzbuch] den Anfang macht, d. h. M. und die andern Weisen [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 1, 58.] śrotrādīni (indriyāṇi) [2, 91. 142.] garbhiṇī tu dvimāsādiḥ eine Frau, die zwei Monate oder länger schwanger ist [8, 407.] evamādīn solche, deren Anfang der Art ist, d. i. diese und ähnliche [9, 260. 8, 329.] evamādi vacanam [Rāmāyaṇa 4, 12, 38.] śayyā khaṭvādiḥ śayyā bedeutet khaṭvā u.s.w. [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 3, 3, 99,] [Scholiast] annādidāyin der Speise und Anderes giebt [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 3, 104.] Sehr oft wie beim letzten Beispiel mit Weglassung des subst., auf welches das adj. zu beziehen ist und welches zum ersten Gliede des comp. sich wie ein Genus zur Species oder eine Species zum Individuum verhält. In einem solchen Falle pflegt das adj. sich im Geschlecht zu richten nach dem im comp. unmittelbar vorangehenden Worte oder nach einem ganz nahe liegenden Ergänzungsworte: annapānendhanādīni Speisen, Getränke, Feuerung u.s.w. [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 7, 118.] stambo gucchastṛṇādinaḥ [Amarakoṣa 2, 9, 21.] gaṇikādeḥ [2, 6, 1, 22.] rasitādi [1, 1, 2, 10.] mānalīlāsmarādayaḥ [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 507.] tapoyogaśamādayaḥ [76.] gāmiyānāsanādayaḥ (sc. śabdāḥ) [9.] evamādīni (sc. vacāṃsi) vilapya [Nalopākhyāna 13, 20.] ato haṃ bravīmi kaṅkaṇasya tu lobhena ityādi (und so weiter) [Hitopadeśa 12, 16.] [ŚUK. 39, 7.] Befremdend ist das Geschlecht in rūpasaṃkhyādīn die Form, die Zahl und Anderes [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 8, 31.] mātāmahādi [Amarakoṣa 2, 6, 1, 33.] Ein solches adj. comp. erhält oft noch das suff. ka, f. kāḥ agniṣṭomādikānmakhān [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 2, 143.] bāladāyādikaṃ riktham [8, 26.] dānadharmādikaṃ caratu bhavān [Hitopadeśa 10, 21.] kriyā vṛṣotsargādikāḥ sarvāścakāra [Pañcatantra 9, 3.] [Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 3, 6.] jātirgopiṇḍādiṣu gotvādikā [Sāhityadarpana 10, 13.] ityādikam [Śihlana’s Śāntiśataka 1, 20.] — ādi (sic!) kar = puraskar voranstellen, vorangehen lassen: prāyāt saha strībhirdraupadīmādi kṛtvā [Mahābhārata 2, 2008.] — Ein nachvedisches Wort, das auch dem [The Śatapathabrāhmaṇa] noch fremd ist. Es stammt wohl von dā, dadāti mit ā ( [Vopadeva’s Grammatik 26, 181]); die urspr. Bed. wäre also Angriff.
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Āḍi (आडि):—
1) ein best. Vogel (vgl. āti) [Mārkāṇḍeyapurāṇa 9, 10. 13. 15.] yuddhamāḍivakam (adj.) der Kampf zwischen dem Āḍi und dem Vaka d. i. zwischen Vasiṣṭha und Viśvāmitra (die in diese Vögel verwandelt worden waren) [8, 270. 9, 32.] āḍīvakaṃ yuddham [Harivaṃśa 11100.]
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Ādi (आदि):—1. Minimum: pañcādikā daśaparāstatrāṅkāḥ mindestens fünf und höchstens zehn [Sāhityadarpana 277. Z. 3] vom Ende ādi kṛtvā [Mahābhārata 2, 2008]; hier die scharfsinnige Erklärung [NĪLAKAṆṬHA'S] : ādi attuṃ śīlamasya tat ādi kṛtāntamukhe kṛtvā vidhāya .
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Ādi (आदि):—2. (ā + 1. ādi) adj. mit ā beginnend [WEBER, Rāmatāpanīya Upaniṣad 310.]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Sanskrit-Wörterbuch in kürzerer Fassung
Āḍi (आडि):—f. —
1) ein best. Wasservogel , = āti. —
2) *ein best. Fisch.
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Ādi (आदि):—1. m. —
1) Anfang , Beginn. ādau am Anfange , zuerst. ādi (metrisch) kar Jmd (Acc.) vorangehen lassen. —
2) Erstling. —
3) Anlaut. —
4) am Ende eines adj. Comp. (häufig mit angefügtem ka , f. kā). mit dem beginnend , der und die folgenden. garbhiṇī dvimāsādiḥ eine Frau , die zwei Monate oder länger schwanger ist. pañcādikā daśaparāstatrāṅkāḥ mindestens fünf und höchstens zehn Acte.
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Ādi (आदि):—2. Adj. mit ā beginnend.
context information
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
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Hindi dictionary
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Hindi glossary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary
1) Ādi (आदि) [Also spelled aadi]:—(nm) beginning; (ind) etcetera; (a) early, initial, primordial; ~[kavi] the first-ever poet — Valmiki, the author of Sanskrit Ramayan; ~[kālīna] primitive; ~[kāvya] the Ramayan of Valmiki —the first literary creation; —[puruṣa] Brahma: —the creator of the Universe; ~[rūpa] prototype.
2) Ādī (आदी) [Also spelled aadi]:—(a) habitual; habituated, accustomed.
context information
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Accessed: 6/3/21
Introduction:
Adi means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Pali, the history of ancient India, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
Alternative spellings of this word include Aadi.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Purana glossary
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia
Āḍi (आडि).—A mighty son of the demon, Andhakāsura. He did penance to please Brahmā and obtained from him a boon to seek vengeance on Śiva who had murdered his father. The boon was that Āḍi would die only when he left his present form and took another form. After obtaining the boon Āḍi went to Kailāsa and outwitting the sentries entered the abode of Śiva in the shape of a serpent. After that he disguised himself as Pārvatī and went near Śiva. But Śiva knew the trick and killed him. (Sṛṣṭi Khaṇḍa of Padma Purāṇa).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index
Āḍi (आडि).—A son of Asura Andhaka; to wreak vengeance on śiva for having slain his father, he entered the harem of Śiva in the guise of a snake, and assumed the guise of Umā before him. He could change his form twice as he liked owing to a boon from Brahmā; but the second change would be followed by death. On close examination, Śiva discovered the figure to be the Asura in disguise, threw the Vajra and slew him.*
context information
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
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Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar)
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Vyakarana glossary
Source: Wikisource: A dictionary of Sanskrit grammar
Adi (अदि).—Uṇādi affix अदि (adi) e. g, शरद्, दरद् (śarad, darad); cf. शॄदॄभसो (śṝdṝbhaso)sदि (di); Uṇ. 127;
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1) Ādi (आदि).—Commencement, initial: cf. अपूर्वलक्षण आदिः (apūrvalakṣaṇa ādiḥ) M.Bh. on I.1.21,
2) Ādi.—Of the kind of, similar; एवंप्रक्रारः (evaṃprakrāraḥ).
context information
Vyakarana (व्याकरण, vyākaraṇa) refers to Sanskrit grammar and represents one of the six additional sciences (vedanga) to be studied along with the Vedas. Vyakarana concerns itself with the rules of Sanskrit grammar and linguistic analysis in order to establish the correct context of words and sentences.
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Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Vaishnavism glossary
Source: Pure Bhakti: Bhagavad-gita (4th edition)
Ādi (आदि) refers to “beginning, first”. (cf. Glossary page from Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā).
context information
Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
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India history and geography
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in India history glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Indian Epigraphical Glossary
Ādi.—(IE 7-1-2), ‘one’. Note: ādi is defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit, Prakrit or Dravidian languages.
context information
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
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Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Pali glossary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary
adi : (aor. of adati) ate. || ādi (m.), starting point; beginning. (adj.), first; beginning with. (nt.), and so on; so forth.
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary
Ādi, (Sk. ādi, etym. uncertain) — 1. (m.) starting-point, beginning Sn.358 (Acc. ādiṃ = kāraṇaṃ SnA 351); Dh.375 (Nom. ādi); Miln.10 (ādimhi); J.VI, 567 (Abl. ādito from the beginning). For use as nt. see below 2 b. — 2. (adj. & adv.) (a) (°-) beginning, initially, first, principal, chief: see cpds. — (b) (°-) beginning with, being the first (of a series which either is supposed to be familiar in its constituents to the reader or hearer or is immediately intelligible from the context), i. e. and so on, so forth (cp. adhika); e. g. rukkha-gumb-ādayo (Acc. pl.) trees, jungle etc. J.I, 150; amba-panas’ādīhi rukkehi sampanno (and similar kinds of fruit) J.I, 278; amba-labuj’ādīnaṃ phalānaṃ anto J.II, 159; asi-satti-dhami-ādīni āvudhāni (weapous, such as sword, knife, bow & the like) J.I, 150; kasi-gorakkh’ādīni karonte manusse J.II, 128; . . . ti ādinā nayena in this and similar ways J.I, 81; PvA.30. Absolute as nt. pl. ādinī with ti (evaṃ) (ādīni), closing a quotation, meaning “this and such like”, e. g. at J.II, 128, 416 (ti ādīni viravitvā). — In phrase ādiṃ katvā meaning “putting (him, her, it) first”, i. e. heginning with, from . . . on, from . . . down (c. Acc.) e. g. DhA.I, 393 (rājānaṃ ādiṃ K. from the king down); PvA.20 (vihāraṃ ādikatvā), 21 (pañcavaggiye ādiṃ K.).
context information
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
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Marathi-English dictionary
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Marathi glossary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary
aḍī (अडी).—f (Commonly aḍhī) A layer of fruits on a bed of straw (to be ripened). 2 The basin of a thrashing floor. 3 Sometimes used in the other senses of aḍhī.
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āḍī (आडी).—f (āḍi S) A bird, Turdus ginginianus.
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āḍī (आडी).—f C A common term for the bars of a waterwheel. 2 Framework to confine a vitious cow during milking. 3 The intertwined state of the feet of wrestlers. 4 Commonly aḍhī esp. in Sig. I.
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ādi (आदि).—m (S) Source, stock, root, origin; the seat or subject sustaining, or the cause or principle originating. 2 The beginning, commencement, first part. 3 The first term of a series.
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ādi (आदि).—a (S) First, prior, principal, chief. 2 In comp. although the meaning is still this, First or principal, it well corresponds with Et cetera: as indrādi dēva Indra and the other gods, i. e. Indra being first, the gods; rambhādi-striyā, kāmakrōdha- lōbhādi &c. As the medial member of a compound it assumes ka and becomes ādika, as akārādikavarṇa; brāhmaṇādika jāti; ākāśādika bhūtēṃ. The alphabet from अ; the castes from the Brahman; the five elements from ākāśa. 3 It forms compounds such as ādikāla, ādikāvya, ādidēva, ādidharma, ādibhāṣā, ādisampradāya &c. Others occur in order.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English
aḍī (अडी).—f A layer of fruits on a bed of straw.
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āḍī (आडी).—f Bars of a waterwheel. Frame-work to control a vicious cow while milking. The intertwined position of the feet of wrestlers. A kind of bird.
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ādi (आदि).—m Source; the beginning. a Prior, chief &c. In compounds it corres- ponds to et cetera. indrādi dēva Indra and the other gods. As the intermedi- ate part of a compound ādi becomes ādika as indrādika dēva, ākāśādika bhūtēṃ.
context information
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
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Sanskrit dictionary
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Sanskrit glossary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary
Āḍi (आडि).—= आटि (āṭi) q. v.
Derivable forms: āḍiḥ (आडिः).
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Ādi (आदि).—a.
1) First, primary, primitive; निदानं त्वादिकारणम् (nidānaṃ tvādikāraṇam) Ak.
2) Chief, first, principal, pre-eminent; oft. at the end of comp. in this sense; see below.
3) First in time existing before.
-dīḥ 1 Beginning, commencement (opp. anta); अप एव ससर्जादौ तासु बीजमवासृजत् (apa eva sasarjādau tāsu bījamavāsṛjat) Ms.1.8; Bg.3.41; अनादि (anādi) &c.; जगदादिरनादिस्त्वम् (jagadādiranādistvam) Ku.2.9; oft. at the end of comp. and translated by 'beginning with', 'et cætera', 'and others', 'and so on' (of the same nature or kind), 'such like'; इन्द्रादयो देवाः (indrādayo devāḥ) the gods Indra and others (indraḥ ādiryeṣāṃ te); एवमादि (evamādi) this and the like; भ्वादयो धातवः भू (bhvādayo dhātavaḥ bhū) and others, or words beginning with भू (bhū), are called roots; oft. used by Pāṇini to denote classes or groups of grammatical words; अदादि, दिवादि, स्वादि (adādi, divādi, svādi) &c.
2) First part of portion.
3) A firstling, first-fruits.
4) Prime cause.
5) Nearness.
6) One of the seven parts of Sāma; अथ सप्तविधस्य वाचि सप्तविधं सामोपासीत यत्किंच वाचो हुमिति स हिंकारो यत्प्रेति स प्रस्तावो यदेति स आदिः (atha saptavidhasya vāci saptavidhaṃ sāmopāsīta yatkiṃca vāco humiti sa hiṃkāro yatpreti sa prastāvo yadeti sa ādiḥ) Ch. Up.2.8.1.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary
Ādi (आदि).—beginning (= Sanskrit): ādiṃ, acc. (= Pali ādiṃ katvā, with acc. object) and ādau, loc., with following kṛtvā, and preceding acc. (once gen.), lit. putting…first; so beginning with, starting with, from…on (the loc. ādau used precisely like the acc. ādiṃ; putting at the beginning = making the beginning; loc. only in Mahāvastu): tuṣitabhavanavāsam ādiṃ kṛtvā, beginning with (the Bodhisattva's) dwelling in the Tuṣita-heaven (= from then on) Śikṣāsamuccaya 292.5 = Daśabhūmikasūtra 14.21, compare tuṣitabhavanam ādau kṛtvā sarveṣāṃ bodhi- sattvānāṃ…Mahāvastu i.147.15; āvīcim ādiṃ kṛtvā sarvanai- rayikāṇāṃ sattvānāṃ…Lalitavistara 86.11, of all hell-inhabitants [Page093-b+ 71] from Āvīci on; mātuḥ kukṣim ādau kṛtvā bodhisattvānāṃ yāvat parinirvṛtā Mahāvastu i.145.2, beginning with the mother's womb, of Bodhisattvas, until they have entered complete nirvāṇa; bhartāraṃ ādau kṛtvā Mahāvastu i.147.8 (no man has any carnal desire for the destined mothers of Buddhas) from their husbands on; bodhisattvasya garbhāvakrāntim ādau kṛtvā Mahāvastu i.157.15; śākyamuniṃ samyaksaṃbuddhaṃ ādau kṛtvā ḍaśa bhūmayo deśitā Mahāvastu i.161.7, beginning from (the time of) Śākyamuni the Buddha, the Ten Stages have been taught (not before! so, I think, the parallels require us to interpret, contrary to Senart n. 506); with gen. of the dependent noun (rather than acc.), evidently construed as modifier of ādiṃ: tṛṣṇāyāḥ paunarbhavikyā ādiṃ kṛtvā Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra 180.10, beginning with (starting from; lit. making a beginning of) desire for rebirth. Cf. Mahābhārata Crit. ed. 2.52.17d saha strībhir draupadīm ādi-kṛtvā, along with the women, beginning with Draupadī (i.e. D. and the others). This seems to be unparalleled in Sanskrit See also s.v. ādīkaroti.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Āḍi (आडि).—f.
(-ḍiḥ) A bird, the S'arali, (Turdus ginginianus.) E. āṅ before aḍa to go, in affix; also āṭi, āḍikā and āṭī.
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Ādi (आदि).—m. only
(-diḥ) 1. First, prior. 2. First, pre-eminent. ind. (In composition,) Other, et-cetera, as svādi the affix su et-cetera. E. āṅ before dā to give, and ki aff.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Ādi (आदि).—i. e. ādya, with i for ya, 1. m. Beginning, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 1, 8; 4, 25. 2. indecl. First, Mahābhārata 2, 2008.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Ādi (आदि).—[masculine] commencement, beginning, firstling; [locative] ādau in the beginning, first. Often adj. —° (also ādika) beginning with, and so on. Abstr. āditva & ādikatva [neuter]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
1) Āḍi (आडि):—f. (= āti q.v.) Name of an aquatic bird, [Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa]
2) Āḍī (आडी):—[from āḍi] f. = āḍi q.v.
3) Ādi (आदि):—1. ādi m. beginning, commencement
4) a firstling, first-fruits
5) ifc. beginning with, et caetera, and so on (e.g. indrādayaḥ surāḥ, the gods beginning with Indra id est. Indra etc.; gṛhādiyukta, possessed of houses etc.; evamādīni vastūni, such things and others of the same kind: śayyā khaṭvādiḥ [Comm. on [Pāṇini 3-3, 99]], Śayyā means a bed etc.; often with -ka at the end e.g. dānadharmādikam [Hitopadeśa], liberality, justice, etc.)
6) the third part in the 7-partite Sāman, [Chāndogya-upaniṣad]
7) 2. ādi mfn. beginning with ā, [Rāmatāpanīya-upaniṣad]
8) Ādī (आदी):—[=ā-dī] -√2. dī (3. sg. [imperfect tense] ādīdet, [Ṛg-veda i, 149, 3]; 3. sg. [Aorist] ā-dīdayat, [Ṛg-veda ii, 4, 3]) to shine upon, enlighten.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary
1) Āḍi (आडि):—(ḍiḥ) 2. f. A bird, vide āṭi.
2) Ādi (आदि):—(diḥ) 2. m. Beginning (in composition, et cetera.)
[Sanskrit to German] (Deutsch Wörterbuch)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Böhtlingk and Roth Grosses Petersburger Wörterbuch
Āḍi (आडि):—f.
1) = āṭi [Amarakoṣa 2, 5, 25.] —
2) ein bes. Fisch [Rājanirghaṇṭa im Śabdakalpadruma]
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Ādi (आदि):—m. [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 3, 3, 108, Vārttika von Kātyāyana. 6,] [Scholiast] Anfang, Beginn; Erstling [Amarakoṣa 3, 2, 30.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1459.] ādyantayoḥ [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 1, 9, 8. 24, 5, 18. 26, 7, 58.] ādyante (am Anfange und am Ende) dyuniśoḥ [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 4, 25.] ādyantau = antādī gaṇa rājadantādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 2, 2, 31.] ādyavasāne gaṇa dadhipayaādi zu [2, 4, 14.] mantrāntaiḥ karmādiḥ [Kātyāyana’s Śrautasūtrāṇi 1, 3, 5. fgg.] paryāyādiṣu [13, 3, 18.] sutyādau [14, 1, 23.] ādisāmarthyāt [4, 2, 30.] ādiśca bhavati ya evaṃ veda [Māṇḍūkyopaniṣad 9.] [Chāndogyopaniṣad 2, 8, 1] (vgl. [Weber’s Indische Studien 1, 257]). lokādimagniṃ tamuvāca [Kaṭhopaniṣad 1, 15.] sarvasyādiḥ [Mahābhārata 3, 153.] mām jñātvā bhūtādim [Bhagavadgītā 9, 13.] ādau im Beginn, am Anfange, zuerst [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 1, 8. 21. 71. 2, 74] (ādāvante ca). [3, 85. 8, 391.] [Bhagavadgītā 3, 41.] [Pañcatantra I, 182] (ādau tatas). [Kathāsaritsāgara 25, 153] (ādau madhyatas ante). [Vopadeva’s Grammatik 25, 32] (ādau atha). Häufig am Ende eines adj. comp.: avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyaktamadhyāni avyaktanidhanānyeva [Bhagavadgītā 2, 28.] daivādyanta mit einem Opfer an die Götter beginnend und endend [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 3, 205.] niṣekādiśmaśānānta [2, 16.] guṇaśabdo nañādiḥ ein Eigenschaftswort, dem die Neg. a vorangeht [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 16.] marīcyādīn munīn die Weisen, bei denen [Manu’s Gesetzbuch] den Anfang macht, d. h. M. und die andern Weisen [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 1, 58.] śrotrādīni (indriyāṇi) [2, 91. 142.] garbhiṇī tu dvimāsādiḥ eine Frau, die zwei Monate oder länger schwanger ist [8, 407.] evamādīn solche, deren Anfang der Art ist, d. i. diese und ähnliche [9, 260. 8, 329.] evamādi vacanam [Rāmāyaṇa 4, 12, 38.] śayyā khaṭvādiḥ śayyā bedeutet khaṭvā u.s.w. [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 3, 3, 99,] [Scholiast] annādidāyin der Speise und Anderes giebt [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 3, 104.] Sehr oft wie beim letzten Beispiel mit Weglassung des subst., auf welches das adj. zu beziehen ist und welches zum ersten Gliede des comp. sich wie ein Genus zur Species oder eine Species zum Individuum verhält. In einem solchen Falle pflegt das adj. sich im Geschlecht zu richten nach dem im comp. unmittelbar vorangehenden Worte oder nach einem ganz nahe liegenden Ergänzungsworte: annapānendhanādīni Speisen, Getränke, Feuerung u.s.w. [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 7, 118.] stambo gucchastṛṇādinaḥ [Amarakoṣa 2, 9, 21.] gaṇikādeḥ [2, 6, 1, 22.] rasitādi [1, 1, 2, 10.] mānalīlāsmarādayaḥ [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 507.] tapoyogaśamādayaḥ [76.] gāmiyānāsanādayaḥ (sc. śabdāḥ) [9.] evamādīni (sc. vacāṃsi) vilapya [Nalopākhyāna 13, 20.] ato haṃ bravīmi kaṅkaṇasya tu lobhena ityādi (und so weiter) [Hitopadeśa 12, 16.] [ŚUK. 39, 7.] Befremdend ist das Geschlecht in rūpasaṃkhyādīn die Form, die Zahl und Anderes [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 8, 31.] mātāmahādi [Amarakoṣa 2, 6, 1, 33.] Ein solches adj. comp. erhält oft noch das suff. ka, f. kāḥ agniṣṭomādikānmakhān [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 2, 143.] bāladāyādikaṃ riktham [8, 26.] dānadharmādikaṃ caratu bhavān [Hitopadeśa 10, 21.] kriyā vṛṣotsargādikāḥ sarvāścakāra [Pañcatantra 9, 3.] [Yājñavalkya’s Gesetzbuch 3, 6.] jātirgopiṇḍādiṣu gotvādikā [Sāhityadarpana 10, 13.] ityādikam [Śihlana’s Śāntiśataka 1, 20.] — ādi (sic!) kar = puraskar voranstellen, vorangehen lassen: prāyāt saha strībhirdraupadīmādi kṛtvā [Mahābhārata 2, 2008.] — Ein nachvedisches Wort, das auch dem [The Śatapathabrāhmaṇa] noch fremd ist. Es stammt wohl von dā, dadāti mit ā ( [Vopadeva’s Grammatik 26, 181]); die urspr. Bed. wäre also Angriff.
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Āḍi (आडि):—
1) ein best. Vogel (vgl. āti) [Mārkāṇḍeyapurāṇa 9, 10. 13. 15.] yuddhamāḍivakam (adj.) der Kampf zwischen dem Āḍi und dem Vaka d. i. zwischen Vasiṣṭha und Viśvāmitra (die in diese Vögel verwandelt worden waren) [8, 270. 9, 32.] āḍīvakaṃ yuddham [Harivaṃśa 11100.]
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Ādi (आदि):—1. Minimum: pañcādikā daśaparāstatrāṅkāḥ mindestens fünf und höchstens zehn [Sāhityadarpana 277. Z. 3] vom Ende ādi kṛtvā [Mahābhārata 2, 2008]; hier die scharfsinnige Erklärung [NĪLAKAṆṬHA'S] : ādi attuṃ śīlamasya tat ādi kṛtāntamukhe kṛtvā vidhāya .
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Ādi (आदि):—2. (ā + 1. ādi) adj. mit ā beginnend [WEBER, Rāmatāpanīya Upaniṣad 310.]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Sanskrit-Wörterbuch in kürzerer Fassung
Āḍi (आडि):—f. —
1) ein best. Wasservogel , = āti. —
2) *ein best. Fisch.
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Ādi (आदि):—1. m. —
1) Anfang , Beginn. ādau am Anfange , zuerst. ādi (metrisch) kar Jmd (Acc.) vorangehen lassen. —
2) Erstling. —
3) Anlaut. —
4) am Ende eines adj. Comp. (häufig mit angefügtem ka , f. kā). mit dem beginnend , der und die folgenden. garbhiṇī dvimāsādiḥ eine Frau , die zwei Monate oder länger schwanger ist. pañcādikā daśaparāstatrāṅkāḥ mindestens fünf und höchstens zehn Acte.
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Ādi (आदि):—2. Adj. mit ā beginnend.
context information
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Discover the meaning of adi in the context of Sanskrit from relevant books on Exotic India
Hindi dictionary
[«previous (A) next»] — Adi in Hindi glossary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary
1) Ādi (आदि) [Also spelled aadi]:—(nm) beginning; (ind) etcetera; (a) early, initial, primordial; ~[kavi] the first-ever poet — Valmiki, the author of Sanskrit Ramayan; ~[kālīna] primitive; ~[kāvya] the Ramayan of Valmiki —the first literary creation; —[puruṣa] Brahma: —the creator of the Universe; ~[rūpa] prototype.
2) Ādī (आदी) [Also spelled aadi]:—(a) habitual; habituated, accustomed.
context information
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Bharata, Bhārata, Bharatā, Bharaṭa: 40 definitions
by Wisdom Library
Accessed: 6/3/21
Introduction:
Bharata means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Hinduism
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Natyashastra glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Nāṭya-śāstra
1) Bharata (भरत) refers to an “actor” and represents a member of a theatrical part according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 35. Accordingly, “as he alone conducts as the leader the performance of a play by acting in many roles and playing many instruments and by providing many accessories, he is called Bharata”.
Note: The term “Bharata” seems to have originally meant those who sang ballads connected with the heroic exploits of the Bharata race. The term ‘Bharthari’ meaning singers on the exploits of Bhartṛhari a prince who renounced the world and attained spiritual eminence, is analogous to Bharata. The Bharata ballads were the nucleus of the Mahābhārata. According to the hypothesis of Winternitz, such ballads gave rise to drama. See in this connexion the author’s Contributions to the History of Hindu Drama, Calcutta, 1957, pp. 15ff.
2) Bhārata (भारत) refers to one of the four “ways of using weapons” (releasing missiles); it is a Sanskrit technical defined in the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 11. These ‘ways’ are known as nyāya and arise out of the various cārīs (‘dance-steps’).
(Instructions of Bhārata): “Putting forward the shield with the left hand and taking the weapon the actor should walk about on the stage. Stretching the hand forward fully and then drawing it back he should move the shield at his back from side to side and flourish the weapon around his head, and it should also be turned round [about the wrist] near the cheek. And again the hands holding the weapon and the shield should be flourished gracefully around the head”.
Source: archive.org: The mirror of gesture (abhinaya-darpana)
One of the Hands of Famous Emperors.—For Bharata, the Śikhara hand held on the right shoulder.
context information
Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (śāstra) of performing arts, (nāṭya, e.g., theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing dramatic plays (nataka) and poetic works (kavya).
Discover the meaning of bharata in the context of Natyashastra from relevant books on Exotic India
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Purana glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Bhagavata Purana
1) Bharata (भरत):—Son of Daśaratha (son of Aja). He was an incarnation who appeared to his father in the form of a son. (see Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.10.2)
2) Bharata (भरत):—Son of Duṣmanta (son of Rebhi). After performing a sacrifice called the marut-stoma, he was granted a son by the Maruts (demigods). He was named Bharadvāja. (see Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.20.24)
Source: Wisdom Library: Varāha-purāṇa
1) Bharata (भरत).—Son of Ṛṣabha, who was the son of Nābhi, according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 74. Nābhi was a son of Medhātithi, a grandson of Svāyambhuva Manu, who was created by Brahmā, who was in turn created by Nārāyaṇa, the unknowable all-pervasive primordial being. Bharata obtained from Ṛṣabha the region called Bhārata (which lies south of Hemādri). Bharata had a son named Sumati who inherited his kingdom when Bharata retired to the forest.
2) Bhārata (भारत) is the name of a region situated on the southern side of mount Meru, according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 75. Meru is one of the seven mountains located in Jambūdvīpa, which is ruled over by Āgnīdhra, a grandson of Svāyambhuva Manu, who was created by Brahmā, who was in turn created by Nārāyaṇa, the unknowable all-pervasive primordial being.
Bhārata is divided in nine regions:
1. Indra,
2. Kaseru,
3. Tāmravarṇa,
4. Gabhasti,
5. Nāgadvīpa,
6. Saumya,
7. Gandharva,
8. Vāruṇa,
9. Bhārata.
Each is surrounded by an ocean (sāgara) and is one thousand yojanas in extent.
There are also seven major mountains (kulaparvata) found in Bhārata:
1. Mahendra,
2. Malaya,
3. Sahya,
4. Śuktimān,
5. Ṛkṣa,
6. Vindhya,
7. Pāriyātra.
The Varāhapurāṇa is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, and was originally composed of 24,000 metrical verses, possibly originating from before the 10th century. It is composed of two parts and Sūta is the main narrator.
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia
1) Bharata (भरत).—Son of Duṣyanta born of Śakuntalā. Genealogy. Descending in order from Viṣṇu-Brahmā-Atri-Candra-Budha-Purūravas-Āyus-Nahuṣa-Yayāti-Pūru-Janamejaya-Prācinvā-Pravira-Namasyu-Vītabhaya-Śuṇḍu-Bahuvidha-Saṃyāti-Rahovādī-Raudrāśva-Matināra-Santurodha-Duṣyanta-Bharata. (See full article at Story of Bharata from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)
2) Bharata (भरत).—Son of Daśaratha. Genealogy. Descending in order from Viṣṇu-Brahmā-Marīci-Kaśyapa-Vivasvān-Vaivasvatamanu-Ikṣvāku-Vikukṣi-Śaśāda-Kakutstha-Anenas-Pṛthulāśva-Prasenajit-Yuvanāśva-Māndhātā-Purukutsa-Trasadasyu-Anaraṇya-Haryaśva-Vasumanas-Sudhanvā-Trayyāruṇa-Satyavrta-(Triśaṅku)-Hariścandra-Rohitāśva-Harita-Cuñcu-Sudeva-Bharuka-Bāhuka-Sagara-Asamañjas-Aṃśumān-Bhagīratha-Śrutanābha-Sindhudvīpa-Ayutāyus-Ṛtuparṇa-Sarvakāma-Sudās-Mitrasaha (Kalmāṣapāda)-Aśmaka-Mūlaka-Khaṭvāṅga (Dilīpa, Dīrghabāhu)-Raghu-Aja-Daśaratha-Bharata.
3) Bharata (भरत).—A son of Ṛṣabha. Genealogy and birth. Descending in order from Viṣṇu-Brahmā-Svāyambhuvamanu-Priyavrata-Agnīdhra-Nābhi-Ṛṣabha-Bharata.
4) Bharata (भरत).—A sage and the famous author of Nāṭyaśāstra. He was a critic who lived around the year 400 B.C. His book on Nāṭyaśāstra (Histrionics) is world famous. Kālidāsa in the second act of his drama, Vikramorvaśīya states that this Bharata used to coach the devas in the art of acting. Nāṭyaśāstra is a book comprising thirty-seven chapters dealing with the art of dance and music. He has written in detail about the four Alaṃkāras, Upamā, Dīpaka, Rūpaka and Yamaka and also about the ten requisites of a Kāvya. He has not forgotten to write about the defects and demerits of Kāvya also. Commentaries on Nāṭyaśāstra have been written by lions in the profession: Mitragupta, Harṣavardhana, Śaṅkuka, Udbhaṭa, Bhaṭṭanāyaka and Abhinavagupta. Of these 'Abhinavabhāratī' the commentary written by Abhinavagupta is the only one freely available now.
5) Bharata (भरत).—The Mahābhārata speaks about a few other Bharatas who were sons of Agni. Śamyu is a son of Agni known as Bharata. This Bharata has got another name, Ūrjja. (Śloka 6, Chapter 219, Vana Parva, Mahābhārata). There is an Agni of name Bharata with a son named Bhārata. When this Agni is propitiated one gets healthy and strong and so this Agni is called Puṣṭimān also. (Śloka 7, Chapter 219, Vana Parva, Mahābhārata). There is another Bharata son of an Agni called Adbhuta. It is this Agni that burns dead bodies. As this Agni lives permanently in Agniṣṭoma Yajñas; it gets the name of Niyata also. (Śloka 6, Chapter 222, Vana Parva, Mahābhārata).
6) Bhārata (भारत).—(MAHĀBHĀRATA). An epic written by Vyāsa. General information. The Mahābhārata is an epic. Bharata is acclaimed as the first emperor of Bhārata. The theme of this great epic is the fight between the two lines of princes belonging to the dynasty of Bharata. That is why the book is called Mahābhārata. The great size of the volume and the greatness of the wisdom contained therein have contributed much to its getting the name, Mahābhārata. Once the devas put the Mahābhārata in one pan of a balance and the Vedas in the other pan. Then the devas were convinced that the Mahābhārata weighed more than all the Vedas put together. (Ślokas 269-271, Chapter 1, Ādi Parva, Mahābhārata).* This book contains over a lakh of verses. There is no subject on earth which is not dealt with in the Mahābhārata. None of the world’s epics is so big as Mahābhārata. In size the Mahābhārata is double that of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey put together. The following poem about it is worth mentioning now:
7) Bhārata (भारत).—(Bhāratavarṣa. India).
The purāṇas describe the Earth to be constituted of seven continents: Jambūdvīpa, Plakṣadvīpa, Śālmalīdvīpa, Kuśadvīpa, Krauñcadvīpa, Śākadvīpa and Puṣkaradvīpa. Of these India is Jambūdvīpa.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index
1a) Bharata (भरत).—(Jaḍa): the eldest of the hundred sons of Ṛṣabha (Nābhi) and Jayantī; was devoted to Nārāyaṇa;1 a Mahābhāgavata; married Pāñcajanī, daughter of Viśvarūpa and she gave birth to five sons; was installed on the throne; protected his subjects righteously and performed yajñas by the method of Cāturhotra; having spent a million years thus he divided his property among his sons and placed Sumati on his throne; he left for the hermitage of Pulastya as a hermit and became constant in the worship of Hari; gave up his kingdom and sought refuge in Hari;2 a sage;3
1b) A son of Daśaratha;1 had two sons Takṣa and Puṣkala who had Gāndhāra for their kingdom;2 wore bark of wood and ate food dressed with gomūtra, took bed on the bare earth during Rāma's exile, when he was at Nandigrāma meditating on the pādukā of Rāma he took his place on the śilā; his āśrama, where holy men congregated; returned to Ayodhyā with all royal paraphernalia on hearing of Rāma's arrival; embraced by Rāma;3 was present at Rāma's coronation;4 killed a number of Gandharvas.5
1c) A son of Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā; announced to Duṣyanta as such by a voice from the air; an aṃśa of Hari; brought up in his early age by the sage Kaṇva; became cakravarti after his father; anointed Adhirāṭ; performed 55 horse sacrifices on the banks of the Ganges and the Yamunā with the aid of Purodha Māmatiya; he tied to the sacrificial post 3300 horses and distributed liberally cows and elephants to priests; he brought under his subjection the Kirātas, Hūṇas, Yavanas, Āndhras, and all the Mlecchas; he recovered the celestial women from Rasātala; he ruled righteously for 27000 years; he had three wives of Vidarbha origin; as they did not resemble their father the nine sons born to these were killed by their mothers who feared that they might be set aside; to perpetuate his line, Bharata performed Marutsoma when the Maruts presented him Bharadvāja, son of Bṛhaspati whom he adopted as his son;1 made the 16 gifts;2 again performed Marutsoma for getting a son; Bharadvāja was born as Vitatha to Bharata when Bharata died.3
1d) A name of Brahmandanāgni*
1e) Also Bhāratavarṣa—a country adjacent to Meru: north of the sea and south of the Himālayas: nine divisions of; S. to N. 1000 Yojanas, from Kumarī to the Ganges' source: E. to W. 9000 Yojanas: the Kirātas were on the East and the Yavanas on the West: slowly the four castes grew; seven Kulaparvatas; was peopled by the Aryas and the Mlecchas and fed by a number of rivers of ever flowing waters like the Ganges, Sindhu: contains a number of kingdoms and tribes: four Yugas in.*
1f) A kingdom in the east, watered by the Ganges.*
1g) Born from the middle of the hand of Brahmā.*
1h) The famous author of the Nāṭyaśāstra; got Menakā, Ūrvaśī and Rambhā to enact Lakṣmīsvayamvara before Indra and Purūravas when Ūrvaśī fell in love with the latter and forgot her abhinaya, for which Bharata cursed her.*
1i) A son of Karandhama.*
1j) A son of Tālajangha and father of Vṛṣa.*
1k) A tribe.*
2) Bharatā (भरता).—An Apsarasa [celestial maiden] and a daughter of Suyaśā.*
3a) Bhārata (भारत).—An ākhyāna by Vyāsa; the essentials of the Vedas are introduced for the use of women, Śūdras and others.*
3b) Belonging to the line of Pūru; after the name of Bharata son of Duṣyanta;1 kingdom of the.2
Source: JatLand: List of Mahabharata people and places
Bhārata (भारत) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. I.70.1) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Bhārata) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.
Source: Shodhganga: The saurapurana - a critical study
Bharata (भरत) refers to one of the four sons of Daśaratha who is the grandson of Raghu, according to the Vaṃśānucarita section of the 10th century Saurapurāṇa: one of the various Upapurāṇas depicting Śaivism.—Accordingly, [...] Raghu was the son of Dīrghabāhu. The son of Raghu was very famous from whom Daśaratha was born. Daśaratha had four sons who were religious and famous in the world. They were Rāma, Bharata, Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna. All of them were devoted to Lord Mahādeva. [...] When Rāma was about to be consecrated, his step mother Kaikeyī asked for two boons to Daśaratha to grant which he promised earlier. As a result Bharata became the king, Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa were sent to the forest along with Sītā.
context information
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
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Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Vaishnavism glossary
Source: VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 9.20.24-26
Mahārāja Bharata, the son of Duṣmanta, had the mark of Lord Kṛṣṇa's disc on the palm of his right hand, and he had the mark of a lotus whorl on the soles of his feet. By worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead with a grand ritualistic ceremony, he became the emperor and master of the entire world. Then, under the priesthood of Māmateya, Bhṛgu Muni, he performed fifty-five horse sacrifices on the bank of the Ganges, beginning from its mouth and ending at its source, and seventy-eight horse sacrifices on the bank of the Yamunā, beginning from the confluence at Prayāga and ending at the source.
Source: Pure Bhakti: Brhad Bhagavatamrtam
1) Bharata (भरत) refers to:—Brother of Śrī Rāmacandra. (cf. Glossary page from Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta).
context information
Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
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Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Shaivism glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Śaivism
Bhārata (भारत) refers to one of the seven regions (navakhaṇḍa) situated within Jambūdvīpa, according to Parākhyatantra 5.61. It is also known as Bhāratakhaṇḍa. Jambūdvīpa is one of the seven continents situated within the world of the earth (pṛthivī). These continents are located above the seven pātālas and may contain even more sub-continents within them, are round in shape, and are encircled within seven concentric oceans.
According to the Parākhyatantra, “to the south of that is the landmass Bhārata, like the landmass Hari. Here the suffering was borne (bhṛta) by Bharata because of his sons, who followed bad paths”.
In the middle of these nine regions (e.g., Bhārata) is situated the golden mountain named Meru which rises above the surface of the earth by 84,000 yojanas while it penetrates the circle of the earth to a depth of sixteen yojanas.
The Parākhyatantra is an old Śaiva-siddhānta tantra dating from before the 10th century.
Source: Shodhganga: Iconographical representations of Śiva
Bharata (भरत) or Bharatāgama refers to one of upāgamas (supplementary scriptures) of the Prodgītāgama which is one of the twenty-eight Siddhāntāgama: a classification of the Śaiva division of Śaivāgamas. The Śaivāgamas represent the wisdom that has come down from lord Śiva, received by Pārvatī and accepted by Viṣṇu. The purpose of revealing upāgamas (e.g., Bharata Āgama) is to explain more elaborately than that of mūlāgamas (e.g., Prodgīta-āgama) and to include any new idea if not dealt in mūlāgamas.
context information
Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.
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Kavya (poetry)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Kavya glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara
Bharata (भरत) is the younger brother of Rāma, both sons of Daśaratha, the king of Ayodhyā, according to in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 51. Accordingly, “... long ago king Daśaratha, the sovereign of Ayodhyā, had a son named Rāma, the elder brother of Bharata, Śatrughna and Lakṣmaṇa. He was a partial incarnation of Viṣṇu for the overthrow of Rāvaṇa, and he had a wife named Sītā, the daughter of Janaka, the lady of his life. As fate would have it, his father handed over the kingdom to Bharata, and sent Rāma to the forest with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa”.
The story of Bharata was narrated by the Vidyādharī Kāñcanaprabhā to Naravāhanadatta while in a Svayambhū temple of Śiva, in order to demonstrate that “people who possess firmness endure for a long time mutual separation to which no termination is assigned”, in other words, that “heroic souls endure separation for so long a time”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Bharata, is a famous Sanskrit epic story revolving around prince Naravāhanadatta and his quest to become the emperor of the vidyādharas (celestial beings). The work is said to have been an adaptation of Guṇāḍhya’s Bṛhatkathā consisting of 100,000 verses, which in turn is part of a larger work containing 700,000 verses.
Source: Shodhganga: The Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara
Bharata (भरत) is the name of an important person (viz., an Ācārya or Kavi) mentioned in Rājaśekhara’s 10th-century Kāvyamīmāṃsā.—Bharatamuni, is a well-known composer of NS, which is a treatise on Dramaturgy. His also the one of the eighteen apprentices of Kāvya-puruṣa. Rājaśekhara posits him as the founder of Nātaka or Rūpaka by saying ‘rupakinarupaṇīyaṃ bharatiḥ’ (Kāvyamīmāṃsā. Ch-2). However Rājaśekhara does not quoted his opinion anywhere from Bharata, but some of matters he was influenced by Bharata.
context information
Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.
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Nirukta (Sanskrit etymology)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Nirukta glossary
Source: Shodhganga: The significance of the mūla-beras (nirukta)
Bharata is commonly explained as an acronym composed of the first letters of bhāva, rāga, and tāla; and the suffix nāṭyam in Tamil means dance. The two terms, “nāṭya” and “bharata” were combined to make the term Bharatanatyam. This classical dance tradition found a new form and structure in Tamilnadu in the 16th and 17th centuries. Bhagavati is of the opinion that the word bharata generally refers to a class of dancers. Siva, the lord of dance, taught abhinaya to one of his disciples, Tandu, who taught this art to sage Bharata.
context information
Nirukta (निरुक्त) or “etymology” refers to the linguistic analysis of the Sanskrit language. This branch studies the interpretation of common and ancient words and explains them in their proper context. Nirukta is one of the six additional sciences (vedanga) to be studied along with the Vedas.
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Shilpashastra (iconography)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Shilpashastra glossary
Source: Shodhganga: The significance of the mūla-beras (śilpa)
Bharata is the name of a deity depicted at Ramaswamy Temple in Kumbakonam (Kumbhakonam), representing a sacred place for the worship of Viṣṇu.—In the sannidhi for Rāma, there are icons of Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān. [...] In front of the stone images are the utsava-mūrti of Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata, Satrukguṇa and Hanumān. Satrukguṇa is found to the left of Lakṣmaṇa and Bharata is found to the right of Rāma. Satrukguṇa and Bharata are found in standing posture with hands in añjali-hasta.
context information
Shilpashastra (शिल्पशास्त्र, śilpaśāstra) represents the ancient Indian science (shastra) of creative arts (shilpa) such as sculpture, iconography and painting. Closely related to Vastushastra (architecture), they often share the same literature.
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Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Shaktism glossary
Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram
Bhārata (भारत) refers to the land of India, according to Tantric texts such as the Kubjikāmata-tantra, the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Accordingly, “[...] The Virgin (goddess) (kumārikā) established her fame in the land of Bhārata (in this way) and so the meritorious and holy Region of the Virgin (kaumārikākhaṇḍa) came into being”.
Note: The Svacchandabhairavatantra also refers to the Land of Bhārata i.e. India as that of the Virgin, although it is not associated with her Yoni. According to the cosmology of the Svacchandabhairavatantra (cf. Tantrāloka chapter eight) there are eight continents. Each of them lies beyond one of eight mountain chains that surround mount Meru in the centre. Bhārata is to the south of the Himalayan chain, which is itself south of Meru and is shaped like a bow. It differs from the other continents because the beings who inhabit most of it can only experience pleasure and pain (bhoga) and not produce Karma. Bhārata is divided into nine islands, separated from one another by seas. The island closest to the Himalayas is called Kumārikā. This is India. Of all the parts of the continent of Bhārata, this is where Karma is created and destroyed.
context information
Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.
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General definition (in Hinduism)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Hinduism glossary
Source: Apam Napat: Indian Mythology
1) Bharata was one of the most illustrious kings of the Chandra dynasty, which was also referred to as the Bharata dynasty from his time. He was the son of Dushyanta and Shakuntala. He showed an aptitude for war from an early age and even defeated his father when he was still a boy. That story is told here. He had many sons but he did not find any of them worthy of succeeding him. Therefore, he performed a great Yagna and a son named Bhumanyu was born to him. Bhumanyu was the successor to Bharata.
2) Bharata is the son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya and his second queen Kaikeyi. His father wanted to crown Rama, his eldest son (by his first wife Kausalya), but Kaikeyi intervened and got him to make Bharata his heir-apparent. Rama was also sent on an exile for fourteen years to the forest, accompanied by his wife Sita and his brother Laxmana. Dasharatha died of grief.
3) Bharata was a King of the Solar dynasty, the son of Dhruvasandhi and an ancestor of Rama. His son is Asita.
Source: WikiPedia: Hinduism
1) In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Bharata was the second brother of the main protagonist Rama, and the son of Dasaratha and Kaikeyi. Dasaratha was the emperor of Ayodhya and belonged to the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty. It is said that after Rama, he was the symbol of dharma and idealism. A few commentators, however, deem Bharata to be even greater than Rama himself in virtue. He is considered to be born in the aspect of the Sudarshana Chakra, the most famous of Vishnu's Panchayudhas.
etymology: Bharata (Sanskrit: भरत, Indonesian: Barata, Chinese: Poloto, Burmese: Bhadra, Malay: Baradan, Tamil: Paratan, Thai: Phra Phrot)
2) Bharata (भरत): Means "to be or being maintained"). Bharat may be
1. a name of Agni
2. a name of Rudra
3. one of the Adityas
4. Emperor Bharata, son of Dushyanta and Shakuntalā
5. Bharata (Ramayana), a son of Dasharatha, younger brother of Rama
6. Bharata Muni, the author of the Natyashastra
7. Bharata (Bhagavata), the eldest of a hundred sons of a saintly king by name Rishabha Deva according to the Bhagavata purana.
3) Bhārata (भारत): Meaning ("descended from Bharata"). Bhārata may refer to
1. The Bhāratas, an Aryan tribe of the Rigveda
2. an early epic forming the core of the Mahabharata (allegedly comprising about a quarter of the extended epic)
3. the Republic of India (properly, Bhārata GaNarājya, भारत गणराज्य).
Source: Vaniquotes: Hinduism
Bharata is the incarnation of Pradyumna.
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Theravada glossary
Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper Names
1. Bharata. A sage of old who, as a result of living the holy life, was born in the Brahma world. J.vi.99.
2. Bharata. The Bodhisatta born as the king of Roruva and husband of Samuddavijaya. For his story see the Aditta Jataka. J.iii.470 ff.
3. Bharata. A hunter who brought from the Himalaya the chief of a herd of monkeys whose cry was one of the noises mentioned in the Atthasadda Jataka (q.v.). J.iii.432.
4. Bharata Thera. He was a householder of Campa, and, having heard that Sona Kolivisa had left the world, he, too, with his brother, Nandaka, entered the Order, soon afterwards becoming an arahant. Later, he helped his more slow witted brother to obtain insight.
In the past Bharata gave to Anomadassi Buddha a pair of comfortable and very beautiful sandals. Thag.vss.175, 176; ThagA.i.300f.
5. Bharata. King of the Soviras in the time of Renu. His capital was in Roruva. D.ii.235f.
6. Bharata. A king of Benares, belonging to the dynasty of Okkaka. He was the father of Dasaratha (q.v.). MT. 130.
7. Bharata. A scion of the Mahasammata race and son of Sagaradeva. He was the father of Angirasa. Mhv.ii.4; Dpv.iii.6.
-- or --
A title by which Pancala, king of Uttarapancala, is addressed in the Sattigumba Jataka (J.iv.435); also the king of Benares, in the Sankhapala Jataka (J.v.170) and Manoja, king of Benares, in the Sona Nanda Jataka (J.v.317, 326).
The scholiast explains (J.v.317) the word by ratthabharadharitaya.
context information
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
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Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Tibetan Buddhism glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Tibetan Buddhism
Bharata (भरत) is the name of a Tathāgata (Buddha) mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Bharata).
context information
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
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General definition (in Buddhism)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Buddhism glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Buddhism
Bharata (भरत) (son of Sāgaradeva and father of Aṅgira) is the name of an ancient king from the Solar dynasty (sūryavaṃśa) and a descendant of Mahāsaṃmata, according to the Mahābuddhavaṃsa or Maha Buddhavamsa (the great chronicle of Buddhas) Anudīpanī chapter 1, compiled by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw. These twenty-eight kings were of long lives of asaṅkhyeyya (asaṃkhyeya) years. The twenty-seven kings [viz., Bharata] after Mahāsammata were his descendants. Some of these twenty-eight kings reigned in Kusavatī City, others in Rājagaha and still others in Mithilā.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Jainism glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Jainism
Bhārata (भारत).—One of the seven regions (kṣetra) of Jambūdvīpa according to Jaina cosmology. Jambūdvīpa sits at the centre of madhyaloka (‘middle world’) is the most important of all continents and it is here where human beings reside. In Bhārata flows the twin rivers Gaṅgā and Sindhu.
Source: archive.org: Trisastisalakapurusacaritra
1) Bharata (भरत) and Brāhmī were born as twins from Sunandā (one of Ṛṣabha’s wifes), according to chapter 1.2 [ādīśvara-caritra] of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra (“lives of the 63 illustrious persons”): a Sanskrit epic poem narrating the history and legends of sixty-three important persons in Jainism.
Accordingly, “[...] when a little less than six pūrvas had passed after the wedding, while the Lord enjoyed himself with them, the Jīvas of Bāhu and Pīṭha fell from Sarvārthasiddhi and entered Sumaṅgalā’s womb as twins. Likewise the jīvas of Subāhu and Mahāpīṭha fell from Sarvārthasiddhi and entered Sunandā’s womb. [...] Sumaṅgalā bore children, Bharata and Brāhmī, as the east bears the sun and (morning) twilight lighting up the quarter of the sky”.
2) Bharata (भरत) (or Bhāratakṣetra, Bhāratavarṣa) refers to one of the seven zones of Jambūdvīpa which is situated in the “middle world” (madhyaloka), according to chapter 2.2.
Accordingly:—“Now, there are 7 zones here in Jambūdvīpa: Bhārata, Haimavata, Harivarṣa, Videha, Ramyaka, Hairaṇyavata, and Airāvata from south to north. Making the division between these there are 7 mountain-ranges, bounding the zones: Himavat, Mahāhimavat, Niṣadha, Nīla, Rukmin, and Śikharin with equal diameter at the base and top. [...] In the zone named Bhārata there are the great rivers, Gaṅgā and Sindhu; [...] The first of each pair flows to the east and the second to the west. [...]”.
Source: Encyclopedia of Jainism: Tattvartha Sutra 3: The Lower and middle worlds
Bharata (भरत) or Bhāratavarṣa refers to a region of Jambūdvīpa: the first continent of the Madhya-loka (middle-word), according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 3.10. It is named after supreme lord (cakravarti) Bharata. The Bharata region is surrounded by Himavāna Mount in the north, and an ocean in the south, east and west directions. Bhāratakṣetra is divided in six subcontinents by the Vijayārdha Mountain range in the middle and the rivers Ganga and Sindhu flowing from north to south. The mountain chain Himavana separates the Bharata and Haimavata regions. Gaṅga and Sindhu rivers divide Bharata-kṣetra.
Bharata, Airāvata and Videha except Uttarakuru and Devakuru are the regions of labour i.e. where spiritual effort is possible also. There are 15 regions of labour in the Two-and-half continents (dhāi-dvīpa) namely; five in Bharata, five in Airāvata and five in Videha regions. The region where the inhabitants engage themselves in the six activities /occupations are called region of labour. The Human beings living in the regions of labour are called inhabitants of the region of labour (karmabhūmija).
Jambūdvīpa (containing the Bharata region) is in the centre of all continents and oceans; all continents and oceans are concentric circles with Jambūdvīpa in the centre. Like the navel is in the centre of the body, Jambūdvīpa is in the centre of all continents and oceans. Sumeru Mount is in the centre of Jambūdvīpa. It is also called Mount Sudarśana.
context information
Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.
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Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Pali glossary
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary
Bharatā, (f.) (abstr. fr. bhara) only in cpd. dub° difficulty to support, state of being hard to maintain, synonymous with kosajja at A. IV, 280, and kuhanā at A. V, 159, 161.—opp. subharatā A. IV, 280. (Page 499)
context information
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
Discover the meaning of bharata in the context of Pali from relevant books on Exotic India
Marathi-English dictionary
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Marathi glossary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary
bharata (भरत).—n A factitious metal compounded of copper, pewter, tin &c. 2 Green carbonate of lime.
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bharata (भरत).—f Commonly bharīta in the three first senses.
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bharāṭā (भराटा).—m (bhara! Whirr! flurr!) Noisy rising or flying (of birds); noisy whisking about (as of light rubbish or articles); noisy blowing or puffing (of wind); noisy dashing (of a shower of rain); swift, impetuous, or animated action (of running, going, speaking, eating); close pressure and urgency (of matters to be done); smart and brisk despatch (of writing-matters, jobs, or businesses); noisy or lively action or movement in general. v hō, cāla, lāga, uḍa, kara, māṇḍa, cālava, lāva, uḍava. 2 Exceeding copiousness (of a harvest or any product of the earth--pikācā bha0, dhānyācā bha0, āmbyācā bha0, amadānīcā bha0; as, in English, heavy crop). 3 Used in comp. or as a ind in the general sense of Copious, overflowing, weighty, mighty; as bharāṭā pīka, bharāṭā pāūsa, bharāṭā vārā. 4 Rapid and utter consumption, exhaustion, or despatch (as of eatables or of jobs and works); smart and full clearance. v uḍa, hō, karūna ṭāka, kara.
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bhārata (भारत).—n (S) India proper. The name of the great epic poem of the Hindus. Applied figuratively to a long and tedious story, to an intricate and prolonged business &c.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English
bharata (भरत).—n A kind of metal compounded of copper, pewter, tin &c.
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bharāṭā (भराटा).—m Exceeding copiousness. a Copi- ous. Ex. bharāṭā pāūsa.
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bhārata (भारत).—n India proper. The Mahâbhârata. A long work. Ex. bhārata racaṇēṃ.
context information
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
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Sanskrit dictionary
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Sanskrit glossary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary
Bharaṭa (भरट).—[bhṛ-aṭan]
1) A potter.
2) A servant.
Derivable forms: bharaṭaḥ (भरटः).
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Bharata (भरत).—[bharaṃ tanoti tan-ḍa]
1) Name of the son of Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā, who became a universal monarch (cakravartin), India being called Bharatavarṣa after him. He was one of the remote ancestors of the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas; cf. Ś.7.33.
2) Name of a brother of Rāma, son of Kaikeyī, the youngest wife of Daśaratha. He was very pious and righteous, and was so much devoted to Rāma that when the latter prepared to go to the forest in accordance with the wicked demand of Kaikeyī, he was very much grieved to find that his own mother had sent his brother into exile, and refusing the sovereignty that was his own, ruled the kingdom in the name of Rāma (by bringing from him his two sandals and making them the 'regents' of the realm) till he returned after his fourteen years' exile. भरतो नाम कैकेय्यां जज्ञे सत्यपराक्रमः । साक्षाद्विष्णोश्चतुर्भागः सर्वैः समुदितो गुणैः (bharato nāma kaikeyyāṃ jajñe satyaparākramaḥ | sākṣādviṣṇoścaturbhāgaḥ sarvaiḥ samudito guṇaiḥ) || Rām.1.18.13.
3) Name of an ancient sage who is supposed to have been the founder of the science of music and dramaturgy.
4) An actor, a stage-player; तत्किमित्युदासते भरताः (tatkimityudāsate bharatāḥ) Māl.1.
5) A hired soldier, mercenary.
6) A barbarian, mountaineer.
7) An epithet of Agni.
8) A weaver.
9) Name of the sage Jaḍabharata.
Derivable forms: bharataḥ (भरतः).
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Bhārata (भारत).—a. (-tī f.) [भरतस्येदम्, भारतान् भरतवंश्यानधिकृत्य कृतो ग्रन्थः अण् (bharatasyedam, bhāratān bharatavaṃśyānadhikṛtya kṛto granthaḥ aṇ)] Belonging to or descended from Bharata.
-taḥ 1 A descendant of Bharata; (such as vidura; sañjātaharṣo munimāha bhārataḥ Mb.3.2.8; also dhṛtarāṣṭra, arjuna in Bg.).
2) An inhabitant of Bharatavarṣa or India.
3) An actor,
4) An epithet of the sun shining on the south of Meru.
5) Fire.
-tam 1 India, the country of Bharata; एतदूढगुरुभार भारतं वर्षमद्य मम वर्तते वशे (etadūḍhagurubhāra bhārataṃ varṣamadya mama vartate vaśe) Śi.14.5.
2) Name of the most celebrated epic poem in Sanskrit which gives the history of the descendants of Bharata with innumerable episodes. (It is attributed to Vyāsa or kṛṣṇadvaipāyana, but the work, as we have it at present, is evidently the production of many hands); श्रवणाञ्जलिपुटपेयं विरचितवान् भारताख्यममृतं यः । तमहमरागमकृष्णं कृष्णद्वैपायनं वन्दे (śravaṇāñjalipuṭapeyaṃ viracitavān bhāratākhyamamṛtaṃ yaḥ | tamahamarāgamakṛṣṇaṃ kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaṃ vande) || Ve.1.4; व्यासगिरां निर्यासं सारं विश्वस्य भारतं वन्दे । भूषणतयैव संज्ञां यदङ्कितां भारती वहति (vyāsagirāṃ niryāsaṃ sāraṃ viśvasya bhārataṃ vande | bhūṣaṇatayaiva saṃjñāṃ yadaṅkitāṃ bhāratī vahati) || Āryā. S.31.
3) The science of music and dramaturgy founded by Bharata.
-tī Speech, voice, words, eloquence; भारतीनिर्घोषः (bhāratīnirghoṣaḥ) U.3; तमर्थमिव भारत्या सुतया योक्तुमर्हसि (tamarthamiva bhāratyā sutayā yoktumarhasi) Ku.6.79; नवरसरुचिरां निर्मिति- मादधती भारती कवेर्जयति (navarasarucirāṃ nirmiti- mādadhatī bhāratī kaverjayati) K. P.1.
2) The goddess of speech, Sarasvatī; कीरानने स्फुरसि भारति का रतिस्ते (kīrānane sphurasi bhārati kā ratiste) Govindarāja.
3) Name of a particular kind of style; भारती संस्कृतप्रायो वाग्व्यापारो नटाश्रयः (bhāratī saṃskṛtaprāyo vāgvyāpāro naṭāśrayaḥ) S. D.285.
4) A quail.
5) The dramatic art in general.
6) The Sanskrit speech of an actor.
7) One of the 1 orders (daśanāma) of Gosāvins, mendicants (Mar. dasanāma gosāvī).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary
Bharata (भरत).—(1) name of a cakravartin; perhaps the one well-known in Sanskrit, perhaps = Bharata 7 of Malalasekara (Dictionary of Pali Proper Names), or one of the others of that name (5 ?) in Malalasekara (Dictionary of Pali Proper Names): Mahāvyutpatti 3581; (2) app. name of the father of Śyāmaka: Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchā 22.1.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Bharaṭa (भरट).—m.
(-ṭaḥ) 1. A potter. 2. A servant. E. bhṛ to cherish, Unadi aff. aṭan .
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Bharata (भरत).—m.
(-taḥ) 1. The younger brother of Rama. 2. The son of Dush-Yanta by Sakuntala. 3. The name of a sage or Muni. 4. The name of a celebrated writer on dramatic composition, of which he is also sometimes considered as the inventor; the term is also applied to his work, which appears to have been a body of Sutras, or rules relating to every branch of theatrical writing and exhibition; it is said to be lost, but is constantly quoted by the commentators on the Natakas or Indian dramas. 5. An actor, a dancer, a mime. 6. A barbarian, a mountaineer, a savage. 7. A weaver. 8. A descendant of Bharata. E. bhṛ to nourish, atac Unadi aff.
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Bhārata (भारत).—n.
(-taṃ) 1. Bharatavarsha or India proper, so called from Bha- Rata, the son of Dushyanta, whose patrimony it was. (E. bharata the prince and aṇ aff.) 2. The great sacred epic-poem of the Hindus. (E. bhāra weight, ta aff., bhārataḥ having been put by the Rishis in a scale and weighed against the four Vedas which it was found to outweigh; thence its usual prefix of Maha or great: a special grammatical rule, however, derived it from bharata the prince so named, because the war narrated in it occoured amongst his descendants.) m.
(-taḥ) An actor, a mime. 2. A name of fire. 3. A descendant of Bharata f. (-tī) 1. The goddess of speech. 2. Speech. 3. A quail. 4. A branch of the dramatic art, dramatic recitation or declamation, the delivery of the dialogue that is composed in elaborate Sanskrit stanzas. E. bharata the inventor of the Indian drama, aff. aṇ; or the name of a sage, whose devotions brought the goddess Saraswati from heaven; or again, bhṝ to nourish, aff. atac, fem. aff. ṅīp .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Bharaṭa (भरट).—m. A potter.
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Bharata (भरत).—i. e. bharant, ptcple. pres. of bhṛ, + a (cf. [Śākuntala, (ed. Böhtlingk.)] [distich] 192), m. 1. The name of several princes, and of a sage, the inventor of dramatic composition, [Vikramorvaśī, (ed. Bollensen.)] [distich] 36; [Uttara Rāmacarita, 2. ed. Calc., 1862.] 111, 4. 2. pl. The descendants of Bharata, Chr. 3, 1. 3. An actor, a mime.
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Bhārata (भारत).—i. e. bharata + a, I. patronym. A descendant of Bharata, [Hitopadeśa] iv. [distich] 86. Ii. m. 1. An actor. 2. A name of fire. Iii. f. tī. 1. Speech, Chr. 53, 1. 2. Dramatic recitation. 3. The goddess of speech, [Pañcatantra] ii. [distich] 16. 4. A quail. Iv. n. 1. India proper. 2. A great epic poem, also mahābhārata mahā-, n.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Bharata (भरत).—[masculine] [Epithet] of Agni (lit. to be maintained or kept alive); [Name] of [several] princes & other men, [especially] of a patriarchal hero & the mythical author of dramatic art, also = seq.; [plural] the race of the Bharatas.
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Bhārata (भारत).—[feminine] ī descended from Bharata or relating to the Bharatas, also [Epithet] of Agni (cf. bharata).
— [masculine] descendant of Bharata, [plural] the race of Bh. = bharatās. [feminine] ī [Name] of a deity, in [later language] the goddess of speech = Sarasvatī; speech, word, eloquence. [neuter] the country of Bharata i.e. India, or the story of the Bharatas, often = mahābhārata (q.v.).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus Catalogorum
1) Bharata (भरत) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—shortened from Bharatamallīka Oxf. 125^b.
2) Bharata (भरत):—Karmavipāka.
3) Bharata (भरत):—younger brother of Rāmacandra:
—[commentary] on Rāmacandra’s Samarasāra.
—[commentary] on Rāmacandra’s Samarasārasaṃgraha.
4) Bhārata (भारत):—See Mahābhārata.
5) Bhārata (भारत):—Samarasārodāharaṇa jy.
6) Bhārata (भारत):—1) In the case of Poona. and Oppert. the parvans or parts of parvans have not been marked. Jones. 401. 402. [Mackenzie Collection] 57. Cop. 99 (Virāṭaparvan). Io. 378. 465. 468. 497 -514. 546-48. W. p. 103-8. Oxf. 1. 2. 358^a ([fragmentary]). Bodl. 18 (Udyogaparvan and—[commentary] by Nīlakaṇṭha). Paris. (B 20. 213-20). Khn. 24 (and—[commentary]). B. 2, 60. 62. 64. Report. Xi. Ben. 57-63. Tu7b. 23 (Vanaparvan). Haug. 46 (Dānadharma and—[commentary]). Bik. 172 -182. Kāṭm. 1 (and—[commentary]). Pheh. 15 (Udyogaparvan). Rādh. 40 (and—[commentary]). Np. Iv, 8-22. 36, etc. Burnell. 180^a. Gu. 4 (Ādiparvan). Bh. 10-16. Bhr. 56 -67. 565. 566. Poona. 353-56. 359. 376-78. 381. 388. 468-540. 570. 614. 615. 617. 620. 630. 633. 662. Ii, 4. 11. 16. 17. 23. 34. 38. 86. 112-14. 130-40. 144. 161-68. 191-200. 221. 231. 266 -78. 280. 282-88. Jac. 697 (Virāṭaparvan). Taylor. 1, 60. 64. 167. Oppert. 5. 307. 583. 911. 1086. 1394. 1573. 1943. 2131. 2154. 2173. 2248. 2562. 2566. 2650. 2765. 2769. 2781. 2856. 2936. 2982. 3008. 3032. 3085. 3437. 3584. 3585. 3663. 3824. 4122. 4233. 4429. 4757. 4773. 4998. 5111. 5117. 5283. 5447. 5503. 5848. 5860. 5890. 6001. 6092. 6099. 6142. 6265. 6309. 6445. 6624. 6963. 7269-72. 7275. 7320. 7417. 7442. 7451. 7619. 8145. Ii, 21. 26. 29. 31. 34. 49. 52. 70. 126. 181. 201. 251. 261. 267. 268. 290. 303. 304. 307. 835. 965. 1371. 1419. 1506. 1536. 1677. 1788. 2138. 2233-36. 2252. 2272. 2302. 2457. 2490. 2506. 2507. 2531. 2538. 2556. 2570. 2577. 2610. 2789. 2845. 3038. 3041. 3043. 3044. 3072. 3079. 3228. 3453. 3458. 3464. 3465. 3481-83. 3532. 3540. 3549. 3668. 4257. 4258. 4261. 4263. 4269. 4273. 4281. 4304. 4336. 4342. 4346. 4353. 4362. 4373. 4834. 4987. 5551. 5726. 5727. 5731. 5763. 5802. 5867. 5981. 6029. 6200. 6203. 6211. 6222. 6223. 6251. 6364. 6372. 6430. 6466. 6490. 6516. 6683. 6734. 6770. 6800. 6818. 6828. 7125. 7172. 7175. 7489. 7490. 7493. 7497. 7505. 7514. 7595. 7678. 7750. 7788. 7826. 7967. 8511. 8518. 8616. 8619. 8625. 8626. 8635. 8648. 8671. 8679. 8688. 8757. 8818. 8824. 8911. 8946. 9074. 9640. 9736. 9738. 9789. 10289. 10359. Rice. 64. 66. Bp. 293 (Mokṣadharma). W. 1510-22. Proceed. Asb. 1869, 224 (Virāṭaparvan). Verses from it are given by Kṣemendra. Śp. p. 88. [Sūktikarṇāmṛta by Śrīdharadāsa] [Subhāshitāvali by Vallabhadeva] Padyāvalī.
—[commentary] Oppert. 2676. 2764. 2967. 5905. 6143. 6144. 6203. 7365. Ii, 27. 331. 351.
—[commentary] Mahābhāratatilaka. Oppert. Ii, 4794.
—[commentary] Mahābhāratanirvacana. Oppert. 6961.
—[commentary] Yakṣapraśna. Oppert. 7366.
—[commentary] Lakṣāvatāra. Oppert. 2932.
—[commentary] Bhāratārthadīpikā by Arjunamiśra. W. p. 104 -6. Oxf. 2^b. L. 2126. 2158. B. 2, 62. 64. Bh. 13. 15. Poona. 476. 483. 485.
—[commentary] Vyākhyāratnāvalī by Ānandapūrṇa Muni Vidyāsāgara. Burnell. 184. Bh. 15.
—[commentary] Vākyadīpikā by Caturbhuja Miśra. W. p. 104. 105. Bh. 13.
—[commentary] Jñānadīpikā by Devabodha. W. p. 105. L. 527. 3009. 3010. Bh. 13.
—[commentary] Gūḍhārthaprakāśikā by Nandakiśora. Sūcīpattra. 67.
—[commentary] by Nandanācārya. Burnell. 184^b (Mokṣadharma).
—[commentary] Bhāratārthaprakāśa by Nārāyaṇa Sarvajña. W. p. 105. 107. Oxf. 2^a. Burnell. 184^a. Bh. 13.
—[commentary] Bhāratabhāvadīpa by Nīlakaṇṭha Cāturdhara. Jones. 401. 402. Io. 378. 465. 468. 546-48. W. p. 106-8. 110. Oxf. 1. 2. L. 1199. B. 2, 62. Ben. 57-61. Np. Iv, 8-22. 36, etc. Bh. 10-12. Poona. 441. 477. 479. 486-91. 495. 496. 505-8. 511. 512. 519. 523-25. 538. 539. 620. 623. Ii, 34. 140. 163-68. 195. 221. 266. 270-78. 282-88. Oppert. Ii, 4335. 6786. W. 1510-22.
—[commentary] by Paramānanda Bhaṭṭācārya. Burnell. 184^a (Mokṣadharma).
—[commentary] by Yajñanārāyaṇa. [Mackenzie Collection] 60. Burnell. 184^b. Oppert. Ii, 4835.
—[commentary] by Ratnagarbha. B. 2, 64.
—[commentary] Prakāśinī or Virodhabhañjinī by Rāmakṛṣṇa. L. 2084-96. Burnell. 184^a.
—[commentary] by Lakṣmaṇabhaṭṭa. Burnell. 184^a.
—[commentary] Durbodhapadabhañjinī by Vimalabodha. L. 3011. B. 2, 64. Ben. 63. Burnell. 184^a.
—[commentary] by Vaiśampāyana. Burnell. 184^a. He quotes Devasvāmin.
—[commentary] by Śrīnivāsācārya. Burnell. 184^a. Mahābhārate Gaṅgāmāhātmya. H. 30.
—Nalopākhyāna q. v.
—Bhīṣmastavarāja q. v.
—Viṣṇusahasranāman q. v.
—Śivastotra. Burnell. 202^a. Bp. 294.
—Sāvitrī. Paris. (B 95 b). Taylor. 1, 356. Oppert. 3664. 4431. Peters. 1, 117.
—Somavatīkathā. Ben. 53.
—Hariścandropākhyāna. Oppert. Ii, 2540. 9866.
Bhārata has the following synonyms: Mahābhārata.
7) Bharata (भरत):—Kāvyaprakāśakārikāvyākhyā.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
1) Bharaṭa (भरट):—[from bhara] a m. a potter or a servant, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.] (cf. [Uṇādi-sūtra i, 104 [Scholiast or Commentator]])
2) Bharata (भरत):—[from bhara] m. ‘to be or being maintained’, Name of Agni (kept alive by the care of men), [Ṛg-veda; Brāhmaṇa; Kauśika-sūtra]
3) [v.s. ...] of a [particular] Agni (father of Bharata and Bharatī), [Mahābhārata]
4) [v.s. ...] a priest (= ṛtvij), [Naighaṇṭuka, commented on by Yāska iii, 18]
5) [v.s. ...] an actor, dancer, tumbler, [Yājñavalkya; Mālatīmādhava; Prabodha-candrodaya]
6) [v.s. ...] a weaver, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
7) [v.s. ...] a hireling, mercenary, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
8) [v.s. ...] a barbarian, mountaineer (= śabara), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
9) [v.s. ...] the fire in which the rice for Brāhmans is boiled, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
10) [v.s. ...] Name of Rudra (the Maruts are called his sons), [Ṛg-veda ii, 36, 8]
11) [v.s. ...] of an Āditya, [Nirukta, by Yāska viii, 13]
12) [v.s. ...] of a son of Agni Bharata, [Mahābhārata]
13) [v.s. ...] of a celebrated hero and monarch of India (son of Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā, the first of 12 Cakra-vartins or Sārvabhaumas id est. universal emperors), [Ṛg-veda; Brāhmaṇa; Mahābhārata] etc.
14) [v.s. ...] of a son of Dhruvasaṃdhi and father of Asita, [Rāmāyaṇa]
15) [v.s. ...] of a son of Daśaratha and Kaikeyī (and younger brother of Rāma, to whom he was very much devoted), [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.
16) [v.s. ...] of a son of Ṛṣabha, [Purāṇa]
17) [v.s. ...] of a son of Vītihotra, [Viṣṇu-purāṇa]
18) [v.s. ...] of a Manu (who gave the name to the country Bhārata), [ib.]
19) [v.s. ...] of a son of Manu Bhautya, [Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa]
20) [v.s. ...] of a king of Aśmaka, [Vāsavadattā, [Introduction]]
21) [v.s. ...] of various teachers and authors ([especially] of an ancient Muni supposed author of a manual of the dramatic art called Nāṭya-śāstra or Bharata-śāstra)
22) [v.s. ...] = Jaḍabharata (q.v.), [Apte’s The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary]
23) [v.s. ...] = Bharata-mallīka (below)
24) [v.s. ...] [plural] ‘the descendants of Bharata’, Name of a tribe, [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc.
25) Bharatā (भरता):—[from bharata > bhara] f. Name of an Apsaras, [Viṣṇu-purāṇa]
26) Bharata (भरत):—[from bhara] n. [plural] Name of a [particular] Varṣa, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
27) Bharaṭa (भरट):—b raṇa, rata etc. See p.747.
28) Bhārata (भारत):—mf(ī)n. descended from Bharata or the Bharatas (applied to Agni either ‘sprung from the priests called Bh°s’ or ‘bearer of the oblation’), [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc.
29) belonging or relating to the Bharatas (with yuddha n. saṃgrāma m. samara m. samiti f. the war or battle of the Bh°s; with or [scilicet] ākhyāna n. with itihāsa m. and kathā f. the story of the Bh°s, the history or narrative of their war; with or [scilicet] maṇḍala n. or varṣa n. ‘king Bh°s’s realm’ id est. India), [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc.
30) inhabiting Bh° id est. India, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
31) m. a descendant of Bharata (also in [plural] for bharatās), [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc.
32) (with aśva-medha), Name of the author of [Ṛg-veda v, 27]
33) (with deva-vāta and deva-śravas), Name of the authors of [Ṛg-veda iii, 23]
34) fire, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
35) an actor, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.] (cf. bharata)
36) Name of the sun shining on the south of Meru, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
37) n. the land of Bh°s id est. India (cf. above)
38) the story of the Bh°s and their wars (sometimes identified with the Mahā-bhārata, and sometimes distinguished from it), [Mahābhārata; Rājataraṅgiṇī; Indian Wisdom, by Sir M. Monier-Williams 371 n. 1 and 2]
39) (with saras), Name of a lake, [Śatruṃjaya-māhātmya]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary
1) Bharaṭa (भरट):—(ṭaḥ) 1. m. A potter; a servant.
2) Bharata (भरत):—(taḥ) 1. m. Son of Dushyanta; brother of Rāma; a sage; an actor; a barbarian; a weaver.
3) Bhārata (भारत):—(taṃ) 1. n. Bhārata-varsha or India proper; the Mahābhārata a poem. m. Descendant of Bharata. An actor; fire. f. (tī) Speech; its goddess; a quail; a dramatic recitation or declamation.
[Sanskrit to German] (Deutsch Wörterbuch)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Böhtlingk and Roth Grosses Petersburger Wörterbuch
Bharaṭa (भरट):—[Uṇādisūtra 4, 104.] m. (Iöpfer) [UJJVAL.] Diener [Scholiast] zu [Die Uṇādi-Affixe 4, 107.] — bharaṭena harati = bharaṭika gaṇa bhastrādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 4, 16.]
--- OR ---
Bharata (भरत):—
--- OR ---
Bhārata (भारत):—
--- OR ---
Bharata (भरत):—
4) [MĀLATĪM. 2, 12.]
--- OR ---
Bhārata (भारत):—
1) b) [?Z. 4 nach 23, 2] hinzuzufügen: Aśvamedha Bhārata Verfasser von [Ṛgveda 5, 27.] — i) [Sāhityadarpana 410.] —
5) m. Bez. der im Süden des Meru scheinenden Sonne [Weber’s Indische Studien 10, 268. 275.]
--- OR ---
Bharata (भरत):—
7)
8) bharato bharatādhipaḥ [Hemacandra] [Yogaśāstra 1, 10.]
--- OR ---
Bhārata (भारत):—
4) lies Name eines der zehn auf Schüler Śaṃkarācārya’s zurückgeführten Bettelorden, dessen Mitglieder das Wort bhāratī ihrem Namen beifügen.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Sanskrit-Wörterbuch in kürzerer Fassung
Bharaṭa (भरट):—m. —
1) Töpfer. —
2) Diener.
--- OR ---
Bharata (भरत):——
1) m. — a) Bez. des Agni , der durch die Pflege der Menschen lebendig erhalten wird. — b) ein best. Agni mit einem Sohne desselben Namens. — c) *Priester. — d) Schauspieler. — mātraka m. ein einfacher Sch. [Jayadeva's Prasannarāghava 2,16.] — e) *Weber. — f) Beiname — α) Rudra's. — β) eines Manu. — g) Nomen proprium — α) verschiedener Fürsten und auch anderer Manner [Ṛgveda (roth). 5,54,14,6,16,4,7,8,4.] [Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 6,8,1,14.13,5,4,21.] — β) Pl. eines Stammes , der Nachkommen eines Bharata [Taittirīya brāhmaṇa (Roth). 1,7,4,2.] [Aitareyabrāhmaṇa 2,25.] [Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 5,4,4,1.] Nach den Lexicographen auch = śabara. — h) das von einem Bharata verfasste Lehrbuch über Schauspielkunst. —
2) f. bharatā Nomen proprium einer Apsaras [Wilson's Uebersetzung des Viṣṇupurāṇa 2,82.] —
3) f. bharatī Nomen proprium — a) einer Tochter des Agni Bharata. — b) eines Flusses [Wilson's Uebersetzung des Viṣṇupurāṇa 2,199.] —
4) *n. Pl. Nomen proprium eines Varṣa.
--- OR ---
Bhārata (भारत):——
1) Adj. (f. ī) — a) als Bez. Agni’s nach [Sāyaṇa. ] vom Ṛtvij (Bharata) stammend oder (des Opfer) tragend. — b) von Bharata stammend. — c) den Bharata gehörig , ihnen zukommend. — d) yuddha n. , saṃgrāma m. , samara m. oder samiti f. der Kampf — , die Schlacht der Bharata. — e) ākhyāna n. , itihāsa m. oder kathā f. die Erzählung von den Bharata , — von ihrem Kampfe. — f) saras n. Nomen proprium eines Sees. — g) maṇḍala n. oder varṣa n. Bharata’s Bereich , so v.a. Indien. — h) Bhāratavarṣa bewohnend. — i) vṛtti f. eine best. Stilart. —
2) m. — a) ein Nachkomme Bharata's. Auch Pl. (insbes. metrisch) statt des gebräuchlicheren bharatās. — b) *Feuer. — c) *Schauspieler. — d) Bez. der im Süden des Meru scheinenden Sonne. —
3) f. ī — a) *ein weiblicher Nachkomme Bharata's. — b) eine best. vedische Gottheit (auch Pl.) ; später mit der Sarasvatī , der Gottheit der Rede ([165,32]), identificirt. — c) Rede , Worte , Stimme. — d) das Land Bharata's. Indien [Wilson's Uebersetzung des Viṣṇupurāṇa ,1,42.] — e) Wachtel. — f) Nomen proprium — α) eines der zehn auf Schüler Śaṃkarācārya’s zurückgeführten Bettelorden , dessen Mitglieder das Wort bhāratī ihrem Namen beifügen. — β) eines Flusses. Angeblich = sarasvatī [Rājan 14,21.] —
4) n. — a) das Land Bharata’s , — Indien. — b) die Erzählung von den Bharata. von ihrem Kampfe. Wird von Mahābhārate unterschieden und auch diesem Epos gleichgesetzt ([175,1.] [Rājataraṃgiṇī 7,17,740]).
context information
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Discover the meaning of bharata in the context of Sanskrit from relevant books on Exotic India
Hindi dictionary
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Hindi glossary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary
1) Bharata (भरत) [Also spelled bharat]:—(nm) capacity; loading/load; quantity; filler; the celebrated son of ancient king Dushyant and his consort Shakuntala: whose name is said to have formed the basis for this country’s name [bhārata]; the most ancient of all known Indian dramaturgists (whose celebrated work is entitled [nāṭyaśāstra]); ~[khaṃḍa] Bharat (varsha)-i.e. India; ~[bhūmi] India; ~[vākya] the concluding benedictory verse in traditional Sanskrit drama.
2) Bhārata (भारत) [Also spelled bharat]:—(nm) India; ~[mātā] mother India: ~[mūlaka] of Indian origin; ~[ratna] the highest national honour awarded by the Govt. of India; ~[varṣa] India; the Indian sub-continent; ~[varṣīya] Indian; ~[vāsī] an Indian, a native of India; ~[vid] an Indologist; ~[vighā] Indology; -[saṃtāna] a son of mother India.
by Wisdom Library
Accessed: 6/3/21
Introduction:
Bharata means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Hinduism
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Natyashastra glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Nāṭya-śāstra
1) Bharata (भरत) refers to an “actor” and represents a member of a theatrical part according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 35. Accordingly, “as he alone conducts as the leader the performance of a play by acting in many roles and playing many instruments and by providing many accessories, he is called Bharata”.
Note: The term “Bharata” seems to have originally meant those who sang ballads connected with the heroic exploits of the Bharata race. The term ‘Bharthari’ meaning singers on the exploits of Bhartṛhari a prince who renounced the world and attained spiritual eminence, is analogous to Bharata. The Bharata ballads were the nucleus of the Mahābhārata. According to the hypothesis of Winternitz, such ballads gave rise to drama. See in this connexion the author’s Contributions to the History of Hindu Drama, Calcutta, 1957, pp. 15ff.
2) Bhārata (भारत) refers to one of the four “ways of using weapons” (releasing missiles); it is a Sanskrit technical defined in the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 11. These ‘ways’ are known as nyāya and arise out of the various cārīs (‘dance-steps’).
(Instructions of Bhārata): “Putting forward the shield with the left hand and taking the weapon the actor should walk about on the stage. Stretching the hand forward fully and then drawing it back he should move the shield at his back from side to side and flourish the weapon around his head, and it should also be turned round [about the wrist] near the cheek. And again the hands holding the weapon and the shield should be flourished gracefully around the head”.
Source: archive.org: The mirror of gesture (abhinaya-darpana)
One of the Hands of Famous Emperors.—For Bharata, the Śikhara hand held on the right shoulder.
context information
Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (śāstra) of performing arts, (nāṭya, e.g., theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing dramatic plays (nataka) and poetic works (kavya).
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Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Purana glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Bhagavata Purana
1) Bharata (भरत):—Son of Daśaratha (son of Aja). He was an incarnation who appeared to his father in the form of a son. (see Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.10.2)
2) Bharata (भरत):—Son of Duṣmanta (son of Rebhi). After performing a sacrifice called the marut-stoma, he was granted a son by the Maruts (demigods). He was named Bharadvāja. (see Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.20.24)
Source: Wisdom Library: Varāha-purāṇa
1) Bharata (भरत).—Son of Ṛṣabha, who was the son of Nābhi, according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 74. Nābhi was a son of Medhātithi, a grandson of Svāyambhuva Manu, who was created by Brahmā, who was in turn created by Nārāyaṇa, the unknowable all-pervasive primordial being. Bharata obtained from Ṛṣabha the region called Bhārata (which lies south of Hemādri). Bharata had a son named Sumati who inherited his kingdom when Bharata retired to the forest.
2) Bhārata (भारत) is the name of a region situated on the southern side of mount Meru, according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 75. Meru is one of the seven mountains located in Jambūdvīpa, which is ruled over by Āgnīdhra, a grandson of Svāyambhuva Manu, who was created by Brahmā, who was in turn created by Nārāyaṇa, the unknowable all-pervasive primordial being.
Bhārata is divided in nine regions:
1. Indra,
2. Kaseru,
3. Tāmravarṇa,
4. Gabhasti,
5. Nāgadvīpa,
6. Saumya,
7. Gandharva,
8. Vāruṇa,
9. Bhārata.
Each is surrounded by an ocean (sāgara) and is one thousand yojanas in extent.
There are also seven major mountains (kulaparvata) found in Bhārata:
1. Mahendra,
2. Malaya,
3. Sahya,
4. Śuktimān,
5. Ṛkṣa,
6. Vindhya,
7. Pāriyātra.
The Varāhapurāṇa is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, and was originally composed of 24,000 metrical verses, possibly originating from before the 10th century. It is composed of two parts and Sūta is the main narrator.
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia
1) Bharata (भरत).—Son of Duṣyanta born of Śakuntalā. Genealogy. Descending in order from Viṣṇu-Brahmā-Atri-Candra-Budha-Purūravas-Āyus-Nahuṣa-Yayāti-Pūru-Janamejaya-Prācinvā-Pravira-Namasyu-Vītabhaya-Śuṇḍu-Bahuvidha-Saṃyāti-Rahovādī-Raudrāśva-Matināra-Santurodha-Duṣyanta-Bharata. (See full article at Story of Bharata from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)
2) Bharata (भरत).—Son of Daśaratha. Genealogy. Descending in order from Viṣṇu-Brahmā-Marīci-Kaśyapa-Vivasvān-Vaivasvatamanu-Ikṣvāku-Vikukṣi-Śaśāda-Kakutstha-Anenas-Pṛthulāśva-Prasenajit-Yuvanāśva-Māndhātā-Purukutsa-Trasadasyu-Anaraṇya-Haryaśva-Vasumanas-Sudhanvā-Trayyāruṇa-Satyavrta-(Triśaṅku)-Hariścandra-Rohitāśva-Harita-Cuñcu-Sudeva-Bharuka-Bāhuka-Sagara-Asamañjas-Aṃśumān-Bhagīratha-Śrutanābha-Sindhudvīpa-Ayutāyus-Ṛtuparṇa-Sarvakāma-Sudās-Mitrasaha (Kalmāṣapāda)-Aśmaka-Mūlaka-Khaṭvāṅga (Dilīpa, Dīrghabāhu)-Raghu-Aja-Daśaratha-Bharata.
3) Bharata (भरत).—A son of Ṛṣabha. Genealogy and birth. Descending in order from Viṣṇu-Brahmā-Svāyambhuvamanu-Priyavrata-Agnīdhra-Nābhi-Ṛṣabha-Bharata.
4) Bharata (भरत).—A sage and the famous author of Nāṭyaśāstra. He was a critic who lived around the year 400 B.C. His book on Nāṭyaśāstra (Histrionics) is world famous. Kālidāsa in the second act of his drama, Vikramorvaśīya states that this Bharata used to coach the devas in the art of acting. Nāṭyaśāstra is a book comprising thirty-seven chapters dealing with the art of dance and music. He has written in detail about the four Alaṃkāras, Upamā, Dīpaka, Rūpaka and Yamaka and also about the ten requisites of a Kāvya. He has not forgotten to write about the defects and demerits of Kāvya also. Commentaries on Nāṭyaśāstra have been written by lions in the profession: Mitragupta, Harṣavardhana, Śaṅkuka, Udbhaṭa, Bhaṭṭanāyaka and Abhinavagupta. Of these 'Abhinavabhāratī' the commentary written by Abhinavagupta is the only one freely available now.
5) Bharata (भरत).—The Mahābhārata speaks about a few other Bharatas who were sons of Agni. Śamyu is a son of Agni known as Bharata. This Bharata has got another name, Ūrjja. (Śloka 6, Chapter 219, Vana Parva, Mahābhārata). There is an Agni of name Bharata with a son named Bhārata. When this Agni is propitiated one gets healthy and strong and so this Agni is called Puṣṭimān also. (Śloka 7, Chapter 219, Vana Parva, Mahābhārata). There is another Bharata son of an Agni called Adbhuta. It is this Agni that burns dead bodies. As this Agni lives permanently in Agniṣṭoma Yajñas; it gets the name of Niyata also. (Śloka 6, Chapter 222, Vana Parva, Mahābhārata).
6) Bhārata (भारत).—(MAHĀBHĀRATA). An epic written by Vyāsa. General information. The Mahābhārata is an epic. Bharata is acclaimed as the first emperor of Bhārata. The theme of this great epic is the fight between the two lines of princes belonging to the dynasty of Bharata. That is why the book is called Mahābhārata. The great size of the volume and the greatness of the wisdom contained therein have contributed much to its getting the name, Mahābhārata. Once the devas put the Mahābhārata in one pan of a balance and the Vedas in the other pan. Then the devas were convinced that the Mahābhārata weighed more than all the Vedas put together. (Ślokas 269-271, Chapter 1, Ādi Parva, Mahābhārata).* This book contains over a lakh of verses. There is no subject on earth which is not dealt with in the Mahābhārata. None of the world’s epics is so big as Mahābhārata. In size the Mahābhārata is double that of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey put together. The following poem about it is worth mentioning now:
7) Bhārata (भारत).—(Bhāratavarṣa. India).
The purāṇas describe the Earth to be constituted of seven continents: Jambūdvīpa, Plakṣadvīpa, Śālmalīdvīpa, Kuśadvīpa, Krauñcadvīpa, Śākadvīpa and Puṣkaradvīpa. Of these India is Jambūdvīpa.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index
1a) Bharata (भरत).—(Jaḍa): the eldest of the hundred sons of Ṛṣabha (Nābhi) and Jayantī; was devoted to Nārāyaṇa;1 a Mahābhāgavata; married Pāñcajanī, daughter of Viśvarūpa and she gave birth to five sons; was installed on the throne; protected his subjects righteously and performed yajñas by the method of Cāturhotra; having spent a million years thus he divided his property among his sons and placed Sumati on his throne; he left for the hermitage of Pulastya as a hermit and became constant in the worship of Hari; gave up his kingdom and sought refuge in Hari;2 a sage;3
1b) A son of Daśaratha;1 had two sons Takṣa and Puṣkala who had Gāndhāra for their kingdom;2 wore bark of wood and ate food dressed with gomūtra, took bed on the bare earth during Rāma's exile, when he was at Nandigrāma meditating on the pādukā of Rāma he took his place on the śilā; his āśrama, where holy men congregated; returned to Ayodhyā with all royal paraphernalia on hearing of Rāma's arrival; embraced by Rāma;3 was present at Rāma's coronation;4 killed a number of Gandharvas.5
1c) A son of Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā; announced to Duṣyanta as such by a voice from the air; an aṃśa of Hari; brought up in his early age by the sage Kaṇva; became cakravarti after his father; anointed Adhirāṭ; performed 55 horse sacrifices on the banks of the Ganges and the Yamunā with the aid of Purodha Māmatiya; he tied to the sacrificial post 3300 horses and distributed liberally cows and elephants to priests; he brought under his subjection the Kirātas, Hūṇas, Yavanas, Āndhras, and all the Mlecchas; he recovered the celestial women from Rasātala; he ruled righteously for 27000 years; he had three wives of Vidarbha origin; as they did not resemble their father the nine sons born to these were killed by their mothers who feared that they might be set aside; to perpetuate his line, Bharata performed Marutsoma when the Maruts presented him Bharadvāja, son of Bṛhaspati whom he adopted as his son;1 made the 16 gifts;2 again performed Marutsoma for getting a son; Bharadvāja was born as Vitatha to Bharata when Bharata died.3
1d) A name of Brahmandanāgni*
1e) Also Bhāratavarṣa—a country adjacent to Meru: north of the sea and south of the Himālayas: nine divisions of; S. to N. 1000 Yojanas, from Kumarī to the Ganges' source: E. to W. 9000 Yojanas: the Kirātas were on the East and the Yavanas on the West: slowly the four castes grew; seven Kulaparvatas; was peopled by the Aryas and the Mlecchas and fed by a number of rivers of ever flowing waters like the Ganges, Sindhu: contains a number of kingdoms and tribes: four Yugas in.*
1f) A kingdom in the east, watered by the Ganges.*
1g) Born from the middle of the hand of Brahmā.*
1h) The famous author of the Nāṭyaśāstra; got Menakā, Ūrvaśī and Rambhā to enact Lakṣmīsvayamvara before Indra and Purūravas when Ūrvaśī fell in love with the latter and forgot her abhinaya, for which Bharata cursed her.*
1i) A son of Karandhama.*
1j) A son of Tālajangha and father of Vṛṣa.*
1k) A tribe.*
2) Bharatā (भरता).—An Apsarasa [celestial maiden] and a daughter of Suyaśā.*
3a) Bhārata (भारत).—An ākhyāna by Vyāsa; the essentials of the Vedas are introduced for the use of women, Śūdras and others.*
3b) Belonging to the line of Pūru; after the name of Bharata son of Duṣyanta;1 kingdom of the.2
Source: JatLand: List of Mahabharata people and places
Bhārata (भारत) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. I.70.1) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Bhārata) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.
Source: Shodhganga: The saurapurana - a critical study
Bharata (भरत) refers to one of the four sons of Daśaratha who is the grandson of Raghu, according to the Vaṃśānucarita section of the 10th century Saurapurāṇa: one of the various Upapurāṇas depicting Śaivism.—Accordingly, [...] Raghu was the son of Dīrghabāhu. The son of Raghu was very famous from whom Daśaratha was born. Daśaratha had four sons who were religious and famous in the world. They were Rāma, Bharata, Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna. All of them were devoted to Lord Mahādeva. [...] When Rāma was about to be consecrated, his step mother Kaikeyī asked for two boons to Daśaratha to grant which he promised earlier. As a result Bharata became the king, Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa were sent to the forest along with Sītā.
context information
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Discover the meaning of bharata in the context of Purana from relevant books on Exotic India
Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Vaishnavism glossary
Source: VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 9.20.24-26
Mahārāja Bharata, the son of Duṣmanta, had the mark of Lord Kṛṣṇa's disc on the palm of his right hand, and he had the mark of a lotus whorl on the soles of his feet. By worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead with a grand ritualistic ceremony, he became the emperor and master of the entire world. Then, under the priesthood of Māmateya, Bhṛgu Muni, he performed fifty-five horse sacrifices on the bank of the Ganges, beginning from its mouth and ending at its source, and seventy-eight horse sacrifices on the bank of the Yamunā, beginning from the confluence at Prayāga and ending at the source.
Source: Pure Bhakti: Brhad Bhagavatamrtam
1) Bharata (भरत) refers to:—Brother of Śrī Rāmacandra. (cf. Glossary page from Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta).
context information
Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).
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Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Shaivism glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Śaivism
Bhārata (भारत) refers to one of the seven regions (navakhaṇḍa) situated within Jambūdvīpa, according to Parākhyatantra 5.61. It is also known as Bhāratakhaṇḍa. Jambūdvīpa is one of the seven continents situated within the world of the earth (pṛthivī). These continents are located above the seven pātālas and may contain even more sub-continents within them, are round in shape, and are encircled within seven concentric oceans.
According to the Parākhyatantra, “to the south of that is the landmass Bhārata, like the landmass Hari. Here the suffering was borne (bhṛta) by Bharata because of his sons, who followed bad paths”.
In the middle of these nine regions (e.g., Bhārata) is situated the golden mountain named Meru which rises above the surface of the earth by 84,000 yojanas while it penetrates the circle of the earth to a depth of sixteen yojanas.
The Parākhyatantra is an old Śaiva-siddhānta tantra dating from before the 10th century.
Source: Shodhganga: Iconographical representations of Śiva
Bharata (भरत) or Bharatāgama refers to one of upāgamas (supplementary scriptures) of the Prodgītāgama which is one of the twenty-eight Siddhāntāgama: a classification of the Śaiva division of Śaivāgamas. The Śaivāgamas represent the wisdom that has come down from lord Śiva, received by Pārvatī and accepted by Viṣṇu. The purpose of revealing upāgamas (e.g., Bharata Āgama) is to explain more elaborately than that of mūlāgamas (e.g., Prodgīta-āgama) and to include any new idea if not dealt in mūlāgamas.
context information
Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.
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Kavya (poetry)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Kavya glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara
Bharata (भरत) is the younger brother of Rāma, both sons of Daśaratha, the king of Ayodhyā, according to in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 51. Accordingly, “... long ago king Daśaratha, the sovereign of Ayodhyā, had a son named Rāma, the elder brother of Bharata, Śatrughna and Lakṣmaṇa. He was a partial incarnation of Viṣṇu for the overthrow of Rāvaṇa, and he had a wife named Sītā, the daughter of Janaka, the lady of his life. As fate would have it, his father handed over the kingdom to Bharata, and sent Rāma to the forest with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa”.
The story of Bharata was narrated by the Vidyādharī Kāñcanaprabhā to Naravāhanadatta while in a Svayambhū temple of Śiva, in order to demonstrate that “people who possess firmness endure for a long time mutual separation to which no termination is assigned”, in other words, that “heroic souls endure separation for so long a time”.
The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Bharata, is a famous Sanskrit epic story revolving around prince Naravāhanadatta and his quest to become the emperor of the vidyādharas (celestial beings). The work is said to have been an adaptation of Guṇāḍhya’s Bṛhatkathā consisting of 100,000 verses, which in turn is part of a larger work containing 700,000 verses.
Source: Shodhganga: The Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara
Bharata (भरत) is the name of an important person (viz., an Ācārya or Kavi) mentioned in Rājaśekhara’s 10th-century Kāvyamīmāṃsā.—Bharatamuni, is a well-known composer of NS, which is a treatise on Dramaturgy. His also the one of the eighteen apprentices of Kāvya-puruṣa. Rājaśekhara posits him as the founder of Nātaka or Rūpaka by saying ‘rupakinarupaṇīyaṃ bharatiḥ’ (Kāvyamīmāṃsā. Ch-2). However Rājaśekhara does not quoted his opinion anywhere from Bharata, but some of matters he was influenced by Bharata.
context information
Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.
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Nirukta (Sanskrit etymology)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Nirukta glossary
Source: Shodhganga: The significance of the mūla-beras (nirukta)
Bharata is commonly explained as an acronym composed of the first letters of bhāva, rāga, and tāla; and the suffix nāṭyam in Tamil means dance. The two terms, “nāṭya” and “bharata” were combined to make the term Bharatanatyam. This classical dance tradition found a new form and structure in Tamilnadu in the 16th and 17th centuries. Bhagavati is of the opinion that the word bharata generally refers to a class of dancers. Siva, the lord of dance, taught abhinaya to one of his disciples, Tandu, who taught this art to sage Bharata.
context information
Nirukta (निरुक्त) or “etymology” refers to the linguistic analysis of the Sanskrit language. This branch studies the interpretation of common and ancient words and explains them in their proper context. Nirukta is one of the six additional sciences (vedanga) to be studied along with the Vedas.
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Shilpashastra (iconography)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Shilpashastra glossary
Source: Shodhganga: The significance of the mūla-beras (śilpa)
Bharata is the name of a deity depicted at Ramaswamy Temple in Kumbakonam (Kumbhakonam), representing a sacred place for the worship of Viṣṇu.—In the sannidhi for Rāma, there are icons of Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān. [...] In front of the stone images are the utsava-mūrti of Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata, Satrukguṇa and Hanumān. Satrukguṇa is found to the left of Lakṣmaṇa and Bharata is found to the right of Rāma. Satrukguṇa and Bharata are found in standing posture with hands in añjali-hasta.
context information
Shilpashastra (शिल्पशास्त्र, śilpaśāstra) represents the ancient Indian science (shastra) of creative arts (shilpa) such as sculpture, iconography and painting. Closely related to Vastushastra (architecture), they often share the same literature.
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Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Shaktism glossary
Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram
Bhārata (भारत) refers to the land of India, according to Tantric texts such as the Kubjikāmata-tantra, the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Accordingly, “[...] The Virgin (goddess) (kumārikā) established her fame in the land of Bhārata (in this way) and so the meritorious and holy Region of the Virgin (kaumārikākhaṇḍa) came into being”.
Note: The Svacchandabhairavatantra also refers to the Land of Bhārata i.e. India as that of the Virgin, although it is not associated with her Yoni. According to the cosmology of the Svacchandabhairavatantra (cf. Tantrāloka chapter eight) there are eight continents. Each of them lies beyond one of eight mountain chains that surround mount Meru in the centre. Bhārata is to the south of the Himalayan chain, which is itself south of Meru and is shaped like a bow. It differs from the other continents because the beings who inhabit most of it can only experience pleasure and pain (bhoga) and not produce Karma. Bhārata is divided into nine islands, separated from one another by seas. The island closest to the Himalayas is called Kumārikā. This is India. Of all the parts of the continent of Bhārata, this is where Karma is created and destroyed.
context information
Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.
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General definition (in Hinduism)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Hinduism glossary
Source: Apam Napat: Indian Mythology
1) Bharata was one of the most illustrious kings of the Chandra dynasty, which was also referred to as the Bharata dynasty from his time. He was the son of Dushyanta and Shakuntala. He showed an aptitude for war from an early age and even defeated his father when he was still a boy. That story is told here. He had many sons but he did not find any of them worthy of succeeding him. Therefore, he performed a great Yagna and a son named Bhumanyu was born to him. Bhumanyu was the successor to Bharata.
2) Bharata is the son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya and his second queen Kaikeyi. His father wanted to crown Rama, his eldest son (by his first wife Kausalya), but Kaikeyi intervened and got him to make Bharata his heir-apparent. Rama was also sent on an exile for fourteen years to the forest, accompanied by his wife Sita and his brother Laxmana. Dasharatha died of grief.
3) Bharata was a King of the Solar dynasty, the son of Dhruvasandhi and an ancestor of Rama. His son is Asita.
Source: WikiPedia: Hinduism
1) In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Bharata was the second brother of the main protagonist Rama, and the son of Dasaratha and Kaikeyi. Dasaratha was the emperor of Ayodhya and belonged to the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty. It is said that after Rama, he was the symbol of dharma and idealism. A few commentators, however, deem Bharata to be even greater than Rama himself in virtue. He is considered to be born in the aspect of the Sudarshana Chakra, the most famous of Vishnu's Panchayudhas.
etymology: Bharata (Sanskrit: भरत, Indonesian: Barata, Chinese: Poloto, Burmese: Bhadra, Malay: Baradan, Tamil: Paratan, Thai: Phra Phrot)
2) Bharata (भरत): Means "to be or being maintained"). Bharat may be
1. a name of Agni
2. a name of Rudra
3. one of the Adityas
4. Emperor Bharata, son of Dushyanta and Shakuntalā
5. Bharata (Ramayana), a son of Dasharatha, younger brother of Rama
6. Bharata Muni, the author of the Natyashastra
7. Bharata (Bhagavata), the eldest of a hundred sons of a saintly king by name Rishabha Deva according to the Bhagavata purana.
3) Bhārata (भारत): Meaning ("descended from Bharata"). Bhārata may refer to
1. The Bhāratas, an Aryan tribe of the Rigveda
2. an early epic forming the core of the Mahabharata (allegedly comprising about a quarter of the extended epic)
3. the Republic of India (properly, Bhārata GaNarājya, भारत गणराज्य).
Source: Vaniquotes: Hinduism
Bharata is the incarnation of Pradyumna.
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Theravada glossary
Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper Names
1. Bharata. A sage of old who, as a result of living the holy life, was born in the Brahma world. J.vi.99.
2. Bharata. The Bodhisatta born as the king of Roruva and husband of Samuddavijaya. For his story see the Aditta Jataka. J.iii.470 ff.
3. Bharata. A hunter who brought from the Himalaya the chief of a herd of monkeys whose cry was one of the noises mentioned in the Atthasadda Jataka (q.v.). J.iii.432.
4. Bharata Thera. He was a householder of Campa, and, having heard that Sona Kolivisa had left the world, he, too, with his brother, Nandaka, entered the Order, soon afterwards becoming an arahant. Later, he helped his more slow witted brother to obtain insight.
In the past Bharata gave to Anomadassi Buddha a pair of comfortable and very beautiful sandals. Thag.vss.175, 176; ThagA.i.300f.
5. Bharata. King of the Soviras in the time of Renu. His capital was in Roruva. D.ii.235f.
6. Bharata. A king of Benares, belonging to the dynasty of Okkaka. He was the father of Dasaratha (q.v.). MT. 130.
7. Bharata. A scion of the Mahasammata race and son of Sagaradeva. He was the father of Angirasa. Mhv.ii.4; Dpv.iii.6.
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A title by which Pancala, king of Uttarapancala, is addressed in the Sattigumba Jataka (J.iv.435); also the king of Benares, in the Sankhapala Jataka (J.v.170) and Manoja, king of Benares, in the Sona Nanda Jataka (J.v.317, 326).
The scholiast explains (J.v.317) the word by ratthabharadharitaya.
context information
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
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Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Tibetan Buddhism glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Tibetan Buddhism
Bharata (भरत) is the name of a Tathāgata (Buddha) mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Bharata).
context information
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
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General definition (in Buddhism)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Buddhism glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Buddhism
Bharata (भरत) (son of Sāgaradeva and father of Aṅgira) is the name of an ancient king from the Solar dynasty (sūryavaṃśa) and a descendant of Mahāsaṃmata, according to the Mahābuddhavaṃsa or Maha Buddhavamsa (the great chronicle of Buddhas) Anudīpanī chapter 1, compiled by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw. These twenty-eight kings were of long lives of asaṅkhyeyya (asaṃkhyeya) years. The twenty-seven kings [viz., Bharata] after Mahāsammata were his descendants. Some of these twenty-eight kings reigned in Kusavatī City, others in Rājagaha and still others in Mithilā.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Jainism glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Jainism
Bhārata (भारत).—One of the seven regions (kṣetra) of Jambūdvīpa according to Jaina cosmology. Jambūdvīpa sits at the centre of madhyaloka (‘middle world’) is the most important of all continents and it is here where human beings reside. In Bhārata flows the twin rivers Gaṅgā and Sindhu.
Source: archive.org: Trisastisalakapurusacaritra
1) Bharata (भरत) and Brāhmī were born as twins from Sunandā (one of Ṛṣabha’s wifes), according to chapter 1.2 [ādīśvara-caritra] of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra (“lives of the 63 illustrious persons”): a Sanskrit epic poem narrating the history and legends of sixty-three important persons in Jainism.
Accordingly, “[...] when a little less than six pūrvas had passed after the wedding, while the Lord enjoyed himself with them, the Jīvas of Bāhu and Pīṭha fell from Sarvārthasiddhi and entered Sumaṅgalā’s womb as twins. Likewise the jīvas of Subāhu and Mahāpīṭha fell from Sarvārthasiddhi and entered Sunandā’s womb. [...] Sumaṅgalā bore children, Bharata and Brāhmī, as the east bears the sun and (morning) twilight lighting up the quarter of the sky”.
2) Bharata (भरत) (or Bhāratakṣetra, Bhāratavarṣa) refers to one of the seven zones of Jambūdvīpa which is situated in the “middle world” (madhyaloka), according to chapter 2.2.
Accordingly:—“Now, there are 7 zones here in Jambūdvīpa: Bhārata, Haimavata, Harivarṣa, Videha, Ramyaka, Hairaṇyavata, and Airāvata from south to north. Making the division between these there are 7 mountain-ranges, bounding the zones: Himavat, Mahāhimavat, Niṣadha, Nīla, Rukmin, and Śikharin with equal diameter at the base and top. [...] In the zone named Bhārata there are the great rivers, Gaṅgā and Sindhu; [...] The first of each pair flows to the east and the second to the west. [...]”.
Source: Encyclopedia of Jainism: Tattvartha Sutra 3: The Lower and middle worlds
Bharata (भरत) or Bhāratavarṣa refers to a region of Jambūdvīpa: the first continent of the Madhya-loka (middle-word), according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 3.10. It is named after supreme lord (cakravarti) Bharata. The Bharata region is surrounded by Himavāna Mount in the north, and an ocean in the south, east and west directions. Bhāratakṣetra is divided in six subcontinents by the Vijayārdha Mountain range in the middle and the rivers Ganga and Sindhu flowing from north to south. The mountain chain Himavana separates the Bharata and Haimavata regions. Gaṅga and Sindhu rivers divide Bharata-kṣetra.
Bharata, Airāvata and Videha except Uttarakuru and Devakuru are the regions of labour i.e. where spiritual effort is possible also. There are 15 regions of labour in the Two-and-half continents (dhāi-dvīpa) namely; five in Bharata, five in Airāvata and five in Videha regions. The region where the inhabitants engage themselves in the six activities /occupations are called region of labour. The Human beings living in the regions of labour are called inhabitants of the region of labour (karmabhūmija).
Jambūdvīpa (containing the Bharata region) is in the centre of all continents and oceans; all continents and oceans are concentric circles with Jambūdvīpa in the centre. Like the navel is in the centre of the body, Jambūdvīpa is in the centre of all continents and oceans. Sumeru Mount is in the centre of Jambūdvīpa. It is also called Mount Sudarśana.
context information
Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.
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Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Pali glossary
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary
Bharatā, (f.) (abstr. fr. bhara) only in cpd. dub° difficulty to support, state of being hard to maintain, synonymous with kosajja at A. IV, 280, and kuhanā at A. V, 159, 161.—opp. subharatā A. IV, 280. (Page 499)
context information
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
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Marathi-English dictionary
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Marathi glossary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary
bharata (भरत).—n A factitious metal compounded of copper, pewter, tin &c. 2 Green carbonate of lime.
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bharata (भरत).—f Commonly bharīta in the three first senses.
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bharāṭā (भराटा).—m (bhara! Whirr! flurr!) Noisy rising or flying (of birds); noisy whisking about (as of light rubbish or articles); noisy blowing or puffing (of wind); noisy dashing (of a shower of rain); swift, impetuous, or animated action (of running, going, speaking, eating); close pressure and urgency (of matters to be done); smart and brisk despatch (of writing-matters, jobs, or businesses); noisy or lively action or movement in general. v hō, cāla, lāga, uḍa, kara, māṇḍa, cālava, lāva, uḍava. 2 Exceeding copiousness (of a harvest or any product of the earth--pikācā bha0, dhānyācā bha0, āmbyācā bha0, amadānīcā bha0; as, in English, heavy crop). 3 Used in comp. or as a ind in the general sense of Copious, overflowing, weighty, mighty; as bharāṭā pīka, bharāṭā pāūsa, bharāṭā vārā. 4 Rapid and utter consumption, exhaustion, or despatch (as of eatables or of jobs and works); smart and full clearance. v uḍa, hō, karūna ṭāka, kara.
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bhārata (भारत).—n (S) India proper. The name of the great epic poem of the Hindus. Applied figuratively to a long and tedious story, to an intricate and prolonged business &c.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English
bharata (भरत).—n A kind of metal compounded of copper, pewter, tin &c.
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bharāṭā (भराटा).—m Exceeding copiousness. a Copi- ous. Ex. bharāṭā pāūsa.
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bhārata (भारत).—n India proper. The Mahâbhârata. A long work. Ex. bhārata racaṇēṃ.
context information
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
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Sanskrit dictionary
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Sanskrit glossary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary
Bharaṭa (भरट).—[bhṛ-aṭan]
1) A potter.
2) A servant.
Derivable forms: bharaṭaḥ (भरटः).
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Bharata (भरत).—[bharaṃ tanoti tan-ḍa]
1) Name of the son of Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā, who became a universal monarch (cakravartin), India being called Bharatavarṣa after him. He was one of the remote ancestors of the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas; cf. Ś.7.33.
2) Name of a brother of Rāma, son of Kaikeyī, the youngest wife of Daśaratha. He was very pious and righteous, and was so much devoted to Rāma that when the latter prepared to go to the forest in accordance with the wicked demand of Kaikeyī, he was very much grieved to find that his own mother had sent his brother into exile, and refusing the sovereignty that was his own, ruled the kingdom in the name of Rāma (by bringing from him his two sandals and making them the 'regents' of the realm) till he returned after his fourteen years' exile. भरतो नाम कैकेय्यां जज्ञे सत्यपराक्रमः । साक्षाद्विष्णोश्चतुर्भागः सर्वैः समुदितो गुणैः (bharato nāma kaikeyyāṃ jajñe satyaparākramaḥ | sākṣādviṣṇoścaturbhāgaḥ sarvaiḥ samudito guṇaiḥ) || Rām.1.18.13.
3) Name of an ancient sage who is supposed to have been the founder of the science of music and dramaturgy.
4) An actor, a stage-player; तत्किमित्युदासते भरताः (tatkimityudāsate bharatāḥ) Māl.1.
5) A hired soldier, mercenary.
6) A barbarian, mountaineer.
7) An epithet of Agni.
8) A weaver.
9) Name of the sage Jaḍabharata.
Derivable forms: bharataḥ (भरतः).
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Bhārata (भारत).—a. (-tī f.) [भरतस्येदम्, भारतान् भरतवंश्यानधिकृत्य कृतो ग्रन्थः अण् (bharatasyedam, bhāratān bharatavaṃśyānadhikṛtya kṛto granthaḥ aṇ)] Belonging to or descended from Bharata.
-taḥ 1 A descendant of Bharata; (such as vidura; sañjātaharṣo munimāha bhārataḥ Mb.3.2.8; also dhṛtarāṣṭra, arjuna in Bg.).
2) An inhabitant of Bharatavarṣa or India.
3) An actor,
4) An epithet of the sun shining on the south of Meru.
5) Fire.
-tam 1 India, the country of Bharata; एतदूढगुरुभार भारतं वर्षमद्य मम वर्तते वशे (etadūḍhagurubhāra bhārataṃ varṣamadya mama vartate vaśe) Śi.14.5.
2) Name of the most celebrated epic poem in Sanskrit which gives the history of the descendants of Bharata with innumerable episodes. (It is attributed to Vyāsa or kṛṣṇadvaipāyana, but the work, as we have it at present, is evidently the production of many hands); श्रवणाञ्जलिपुटपेयं विरचितवान् भारताख्यममृतं यः । तमहमरागमकृष्णं कृष्णद्वैपायनं वन्दे (śravaṇāñjalipuṭapeyaṃ viracitavān bhāratākhyamamṛtaṃ yaḥ | tamahamarāgamakṛṣṇaṃ kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaṃ vande) || Ve.1.4; व्यासगिरां निर्यासं सारं विश्वस्य भारतं वन्दे । भूषणतयैव संज्ञां यदङ्कितां भारती वहति (vyāsagirāṃ niryāsaṃ sāraṃ viśvasya bhārataṃ vande | bhūṣaṇatayaiva saṃjñāṃ yadaṅkitāṃ bhāratī vahati) || Āryā. S.31.
3) The science of music and dramaturgy founded by Bharata.
-tī Speech, voice, words, eloquence; भारतीनिर्घोषः (bhāratīnirghoṣaḥ) U.3; तमर्थमिव भारत्या सुतया योक्तुमर्हसि (tamarthamiva bhāratyā sutayā yoktumarhasi) Ku.6.79; नवरसरुचिरां निर्मिति- मादधती भारती कवेर्जयति (navarasarucirāṃ nirmiti- mādadhatī bhāratī kaverjayati) K. P.1.
2) The goddess of speech, Sarasvatī; कीरानने स्फुरसि भारति का रतिस्ते (kīrānane sphurasi bhārati kā ratiste) Govindarāja.
3) Name of a particular kind of style; भारती संस्कृतप्रायो वाग्व्यापारो नटाश्रयः (bhāratī saṃskṛtaprāyo vāgvyāpāro naṭāśrayaḥ) S. D.285.
4) A quail.
5) The dramatic art in general.
6) The Sanskrit speech of an actor.
7) One of the 1 orders (daśanāma) of Gosāvins, mendicants (Mar. dasanāma gosāvī).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary
Bharata (भरत).—(1) name of a cakravartin; perhaps the one well-known in Sanskrit, perhaps = Bharata 7 of Malalasekara (Dictionary of Pali Proper Names), or one of the others of that name (5 ?) in Malalasekara (Dictionary of Pali Proper Names): Mahāvyutpatti 3581; (2) app. name of the father of Śyāmaka: Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchā 22.1.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Bharaṭa (भरट).—m.
(-ṭaḥ) 1. A potter. 2. A servant. E. bhṛ to cherish, Unadi aff. aṭan .
--- OR ---
Bharata (भरत).—m.
(-taḥ) 1. The younger brother of Rama. 2. The son of Dush-Yanta by Sakuntala. 3. The name of a sage or Muni. 4. The name of a celebrated writer on dramatic composition, of which he is also sometimes considered as the inventor; the term is also applied to his work, which appears to have been a body of Sutras, or rules relating to every branch of theatrical writing and exhibition; it is said to be lost, but is constantly quoted by the commentators on the Natakas or Indian dramas. 5. An actor, a dancer, a mime. 6. A barbarian, a mountaineer, a savage. 7. A weaver. 8. A descendant of Bharata. E. bhṛ to nourish, atac Unadi aff.
--- OR ---
Bhārata (भारत).—n.
(-taṃ) 1. Bharatavarsha or India proper, so called from Bha- Rata, the son of Dushyanta, whose patrimony it was. (E. bharata the prince and aṇ aff.) 2. The great sacred epic-poem of the Hindus. (E. bhāra weight, ta aff., bhārataḥ having been put by the Rishis in a scale and weighed against the four Vedas which it was found to outweigh; thence its usual prefix of Maha or great: a special grammatical rule, however, derived it from bharata the prince so named, because the war narrated in it occoured amongst his descendants.) m.
(-taḥ) An actor, a mime. 2. A name of fire. 3. A descendant of Bharata f. (-tī) 1. The goddess of speech. 2. Speech. 3. A quail. 4. A branch of the dramatic art, dramatic recitation or declamation, the delivery of the dialogue that is composed in elaborate Sanskrit stanzas. E. bharata the inventor of the Indian drama, aff. aṇ; or the name of a sage, whose devotions brought the goddess Saraswati from heaven; or again, bhṝ to nourish, aff. atac, fem. aff. ṅīp .
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Bharaṭa (भरट).—m. A potter.
--- OR ---
Bharata (भरत).—i. e. bharant, ptcple. pres. of bhṛ, + a (cf. [Śākuntala, (ed. Böhtlingk.)] [distich] 192), m. 1. The name of several princes, and of a sage, the inventor of dramatic composition, [Vikramorvaśī, (ed. Bollensen.)] [distich] 36; [Uttara Rāmacarita, 2. ed. Calc., 1862.] 111, 4. 2. pl. The descendants of Bharata, Chr. 3, 1. 3. An actor, a mime.
--- OR ---
Bhārata (भारत).—i. e. bharata + a, I. patronym. A descendant of Bharata, [Hitopadeśa] iv. [distich] 86. Ii. m. 1. An actor. 2. A name of fire. Iii. f. tī. 1. Speech, Chr. 53, 1. 2. Dramatic recitation. 3. The goddess of speech, [Pañcatantra] ii. [distich] 16. 4. A quail. Iv. n. 1. India proper. 2. A great epic poem, also mahābhārata mahā-, n.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Bharata (भरत).—[masculine] [Epithet] of Agni (lit. to be maintained or kept alive); [Name] of [several] princes & other men, [especially] of a patriarchal hero & the mythical author of dramatic art, also = seq.; [plural] the race of the Bharatas.
--- OR ---
Bhārata (भारत).—[feminine] ī descended from Bharata or relating to the Bharatas, also [Epithet] of Agni (cf. bharata).
— [masculine] descendant of Bharata, [plural] the race of Bh. = bharatās. [feminine] ī [Name] of a deity, in [later language] the goddess of speech = Sarasvatī; speech, word, eloquence. [neuter] the country of Bharata i.e. India, or the story of the Bharatas, often = mahābhārata (q.v.).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus Catalogorum
1) Bharata (भरत) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—shortened from Bharatamallīka Oxf. 125^b.
2) Bharata (भरत):—Karmavipāka.
3) Bharata (भरत):—younger brother of Rāmacandra:
—[commentary] on Rāmacandra’s Samarasāra.
—[commentary] on Rāmacandra’s Samarasārasaṃgraha.
4) Bhārata (भारत):—See Mahābhārata.
5) Bhārata (भारत):—Samarasārodāharaṇa jy.
6) Bhārata (भारत):—1) In the case of Poona. and Oppert. the parvans or parts of parvans have not been marked. Jones. 401. 402. [Mackenzie Collection] 57. Cop. 99 (Virāṭaparvan). Io. 378. 465. 468. 497 -514. 546-48. W. p. 103-8. Oxf. 1. 2. 358^a ([fragmentary]). Bodl. 18 (Udyogaparvan and—[commentary] by Nīlakaṇṭha). Paris. (B 20. 213-20). Khn. 24 (and—[commentary]). B. 2, 60. 62. 64. Report. Xi. Ben. 57-63. Tu7b. 23 (Vanaparvan). Haug. 46 (Dānadharma and—[commentary]). Bik. 172 -182. Kāṭm. 1 (and—[commentary]). Pheh. 15 (Udyogaparvan). Rādh. 40 (and—[commentary]). Np. Iv, 8-22. 36, etc. Burnell. 180^a. Gu. 4 (Ādiparvan). Bh. 10-16. Bhr. 56 -67. 565. 566. Poona. 353-56. 359. 376-78. 381. 388. 468-540. 570. 614. 615. 617. 620. 630. 633. 662. Ii, 4. 11. 16. 17. 23. 34. 38. 86. 112-14. 130-40. 144. 161-68. 191-200. 221. 231. 266 -78. 280. 282-88. Jac. 697 (Virāṭaparvan). Taylor. 1, 60. 64. 167. Oppert. 5. 307. 583. 911. 1086. 1394. 1573. 1943. 2131. 2154. 2173. 2248. 2562. 2566. 2650. 2765. 2769. 2781. 2856. 2936. 2982. 3008. 3032. 3085. 3437. 3584. 3585. 3663. 3824. 4122. 4233. 4429. 4757. 4773. 4998. 5111. 5117. 5283. 5447. 5503. 5848. 5860. 5890. 6001. 6092. 6099. 6142. 6265. 6309. 6445. 6624. 6963. 7269-72. 7275. 7320. 7417. 7442. 7451. 7619. 8145. Ii, 21. 26. 29. 31. 34. 49. 52. 70. 126. 181. 201. 251. 261. 267. 268. 290. 303. 304. 307. 835. 965. 1371. 1419. 1506. 1536. 1677. 1788. 2138. 2233-36. 2252. 2272. 2302. 2457. 2490. 2506. 2507. 2531. 2538. 2556. 2570. 2577. 2610. 2789. 2845. 3038. 3041. 3043. 3044. 3072. 3079. 3228. 3453. 3458. 3464. 3465. 3481-83. 3532. 3540. 3549. 3668. 4257. 4258. 4261. 4263. 4269. 4273. 4281. 4304. 4336. 4342. 4346. 4353. 4362. 4373. 4834. 4987. 5551. 5726. 5727. 5731. 5763. 5802. 5867. 5981. 6029. 6200. 6203. 6211. 6222. 6223. 6251. 6364. 6372. 6430. 6466. 6490. 6516. 6683. 6734. 6770. 6800. 6818. 6828. 7125. 7172. 7175. 7489. 7490. 7493. 7497. 7505. 7514. 7595. 7678. 7750. 7788. 7826. 7967. 8511. 8518. 8616. 8619. 8625. 8626. 8635. 8648. 8671. 8679. 8688. 8757. 8818. 8824. 8911. 8946. 9074. 9640. 9736. 9738. 9789. 10289. 10359. Rice. 64. 66. Bp. 293 (Mokṣadharma). W. 1510-22. Proceed. Asb. 1869, 224 (Virāṭaparvan). Verses from it are given by Kṣemendra. Śp. p. 88. [Sūktikarṇāmṛta by Śrīdharadāsa] [Subhāshitāvali by Vallabhadeva] Padyāvalī.
—[commentary] Oppert. 2676. 2764. 2967. 5905. 6143. 6144. 6203. 7365. Ii, 27. 331. 351.
—[commentary] Mahābhāratatilaka. Oppert. Ii, 4794.
—[commentary] Mahābhāratanirvacana. Oppert. 6961.
—[commentary] Yakṣapraśna. Oppert. 7366.
—[commentary] Lakṣāvatāra. Oppert. 2932.
—[commentary] Bhāratārthadīpikā by Arjunamiśra. W. p. 104 -6. Oxf. 2^b. L. 2126. 2158. B. 2, 62. 64. Bh. 13. 15. Poona. 476. 483. 485.
—[commentary] Vyākhyāratnāvalī by Ānandapūrṇa Muni Vidyāsāgara. Burnell. 184. Bh. 15.
—[commentary] Vākyadīpikā by Caturbhuja Miśra. W. p. 104. 105. Bh. 13.
—[commentary] Jñānadīpikā by Devabodha. W. p. 105. L. 527. 3009. 3010. Bh. 13.
—[commentary] Gūḍhārthaprakāśikā by Nandakiśora. Sūcīpattra. 67.
—[commentary] by Nandanācārya. Burnell. 184^b (Mokṣadharma).
—[commentary] Bhāratārthaprakāśa by Nārāyaṇa Sarvajña. W. p. 105. 107. Oxf. 2^a. Burnell. 184^a. Bh. 13.
—[commentary] Bhāratabhāvadīpa by Nīlakaṇṭha Cāturdhara. Jones. 401. 402. Io. 378. 465. 468. 546-48. W. p. 106-8. 110. Oxf. 1. 2. L. 1199. B. 2, 62. Ben. 57-61. Np. Iv, 8-22. 36, etc. Bh. 10-12. Poona. 441. 477. 479. 486-91. 495. 496. 505-8. 511. 512. 519. 523-25. 538. 539. 620. 623. Ii, 34. 140. 163-68. 195. 221. 266. 270-78. 282-88. Oppert. Ii, 4335. 6786. W. 1510-22.
—[commentary] by Paramānanda Bhaṭṭācārya. Burnell. 184^a (Mokṣadharma).
—[commentary] by Yajñanārāyaṇa. [Mackenzie Collection] 60. Burnell. 184^b. Oppert. Ii, 4835.
—[commentary] by Ratnagarbha. B. 2, 64.
—[commentary] Prakāśinī or Virodhabhañjinī by Rāmakṛṣṇa. L. 2084-96. Burnell. 184^a.
—[commentary] by Lakṣmaṇabhaṭṭa. Burnell. 184^a.
—[commentary] Durbodhapadabhañjinī by Vimalabodha. L. 3011. B. 2, 64. Ben. 63. Burnell. 184^a.
—[commentary] by Vaiśampāyana. Burnell. 184^a. He quotes Devasvāmin.
—[commentary] by Śrīnivāsācārya. Burnell. 184^a. Mahābhārate Gaṅgāmāhātmya. H. 30.
—Nalopākhyāna q. v.
—Bhīṣmastavarāja q. v.
—Viṣṇusahasranāman q. v.
—Śivastotra. Burnell. 202^a. Bp. 294.
—Sāvitrī. Paris. (B 95 b). Taylor. 1, 356. Oppert. 3664. 4431. Peters. 1, 117.
—Somavatīkathā. Ben. 53.
—Hariścandropākhyāna. Oppert. Ii, 2540. 9866.
Bhārata has the following synonyms: Mahābhārata.
7) Bharata (भरत):—Kāvyaprakāśakārikāvyākhyā.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
1) Bharaṭa (भरट):—[from bhara] a m. a potter or a servant, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.] (cf. [Uṇādi-sūtra i, 104 [Scholiast or Commentator]])
2) Bharata (भरत):—[from bhara] m. ‘to be or being maintained’, Name of Agni (kept alive by the care of men), [Ṛg-veda; Brāhmaṇa; Kauśika-sūtra]
3) [v.s. ...] of a [particular] Agni (father of Bharata and Bharatī), [Mahābhārata]
4) [v.s. ...] a priest (= ṛtvij), [Naighaṇṭuka, commented on by Yāska iii, 18]
5) [v.s. ...] an actor, dancer, tumbler, [Yājñavalkya; Mālatīmādhava; Prabodha-candrodaya]
6) [v.s. ...] a weaver, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
7) [v.s. ...] a hireling, mercenary, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
8) [v.s. ...] a barbarian, mountaineer (= śabara), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
9) [v.s. ...] the fire in which the rice for Brāhmans is boiled, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
10) [v.s. ...] Name of Rudra (the Maruts are called his sons), [Ṛg-veda ii, 36, 8]
11) [v.s. ...] of an Āditya, [Nirukta, by Yāska viii, 13]
12) [v.s. ...] of a son of Agni Bharata, [Mahābhārata]
13) [v.s. ...] of a celebrated hero and monarch of India (son of Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā, the first of 12 Cakra-vartins or Sārvabhaumas id est. universal emperors), [Ṛg-veda; Brāhmaṇa; Mahābhārata] etc.
14) [v.s. ...] of a son of Dhruvasaṃdhi and father of Asita, [Rāmāyaṇa]
15) [v.s. ...] of a son of Daśaratha and Kaikeyī (and younger brother of Rāma, to whom he was very much devoted), [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.
16) [v.s. ...] of a son of Ṛṣabha, [Purāṇa]
17) [v.s. ...] of a son of Vītihotra, [Viṣṇu-purāṇa]
18) [v.s. ...] of a Manu (who gave the name to the country Bhārata), [ib.]
19) [v.s. ...] of a son of Manu Bhautya, [Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa]
20) [v.s. ...] of a king of Aśmaka, [Vāsavadattā, [Introduction]]
21) [v.s. ...] of various teachers and authors ([especially] of an ancient Muni supposed author of a manual of the dramatic art called Nāṭya-śāstra or Bharata-śāstra)
22) [v.s. ...] = Jaḍabharata (q.v.), [Apte’s The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary]
23) [v.s. ...] = Bharata-mallīka (below)
24) [v.s. ...] [plural] ‘the descendants of Bharata’, Name of a tribe, [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc.
25) Bharatā (भरता):—[from bharata > bhara] f. Name of an Apsaras, [Viṣṇu-purāṇa]
26) Bharata (भरत):—[from bhara] n. [plural] Name of a [particular] Varṣa, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
27) Bharaṭa (भरट):—b raṇa, rata etc. See p.747.
28) Bhārata (भारत):—mf(ī)n. descended from Bharata or the Bharatas (applied to Agni either ‘sprung from the priests called Bh°s’ or ‘bearer of the oblation’), [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc.
29) belonging or relating to the Bharatas (with yuddha n. saṃgrāma m. samara m. samiti f. the war or battle of the Bh°s; with or [scilicet] ākhyāna n. with itihāsa m. and kathā f. the story of the Bh°s, the history or narrative of their war; with or [scilicet] maṇḍala n. or varṣa n. ‘king Bh°s’s realm’ id est. India), [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature] etc.
30) inhabiting Bh° id est. India, [Bhāgavata-purāṇa]
31) m. a descendant of Bharata (also in [plural] for bharatās), [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc.
32) (with aśva-medha), Name of the author of [Ṛg-veda v, 27]
33) (with deva-vāta and deva-śravas), Name of the authors of [Ṛg-veda iii, 23]
34) fire, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
35) an actor, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.] (cf. bharata)
36) Name of the sun shining on the south of Meru, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
37) n. the land of Bh°s id est. India (cf. above)
38) the story of the Bh°s and their wars (sometimes identified with the Mahā-bhārata, and sometimes distinguished from it), [Mahābhārata; Rājataraṅgiṇī; Indian Wisdom, by Sir M. Monier-Williams 371 n. 1 and 2]
39) (with saras), Name of a lake, [Śatruṃjaya-māhātmya]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary
1) Bharaṭa (भरट):—(ṭaḥ) 1. m. A potter; a servant.
2) Bharata (भरत):—(taḥ) 1. m. Son of Dushyanta; brother of Rāma; a sage; an actor; a barbarian; a weaver.
3) Bhārata (भारत):—(taṃ) 1. n. Bhārata-varsha or India proper; the Mahābhārata a poem. m. Descendant of Bharata. An actor; fire. f. (tī) Speech; its goddess; a quail; a dramatic recitation or declamation.
[Sanskrit to German] (Deutsch Wörterbuch)
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Böhtlingk and Roth Grosses Petersburger Wörterbuch
Bharaṭa (भरट):—[Uṇādisūtra 4, 104.] m. (Iöpfer) [UJJVAL.] Diener [Scholiast] zu [Die Uṇādi-Affixe 4, 107.] — bharaṭena harati = bharaṭika gaṇa bhastrādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 4, 4, 16.]
--- OR ---
Bharata (भरत):—
--- OR ---
Bhārata (भारत):—
--- OR ---
Bharata (भरत):—
4) [MĀLATĪM. 2, 12.]
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Bhārata (भारत):—
1) b) [?Z. 4 nach 23, 2] hinzuzufügen: Aśvamedha Bhārata Verfasser von [Ṛgveda 5, 27.] — i) [Sāhityadarpana 410.] —
5) m. Bez. der im Süden des Meru scheinenden Sonne [Weber’s Indische Studien 10, 268. 275.]
--- OR ---
Bharata (भरत):—
7)
8) bharato bharatādhipaḥ [Hemacandra] [Yogaśāstra 1, 10.]
--- OR ---
Bhārata (भारत):—
4) lies Name eines der zehn auf Schüler Śaṃkarācārya’s zurückgeführten Bettelorden, dessen Mitglieder das Wort bhāratī ihrem Namen beifügen.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Sanskrit-Wörterbuch in kürzerer Fassung
Bharaṭa (भरट):—m. —
1) Töpfer. —
2) Diener.
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Bharata (भरत):——
1) m. — a) Bez. des Agni , der durch die Pflege der Menschen lebendig erhalten wird. — b) ein best. Agni mit einem Sohne desselben Namens. — c) *Priester. — d) Schauspieler. — mātraka m. ein einfacher Sch. [Jayadeva's Prasannarāghava 2,16.] — e) *Weber. — f) Beiname — α) Rudra's. — β) eines Manu. — g) Nomen proprium — α) verschiedener Fürsten und auch anderer Manner [Ṛgveda (roth). 5,54,14,6,16,4,7,8,4.] [Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 6,8,1,14.13,5,4,21.] — β) Pl. eines Stammes , der Nachkommen eines Bharata [Taittirīya brāhmaṇa (Roth). 1,7,4,2.] [Aitareyabrāhmaṇa 2,25.] [Śatapathabrāhmaṇa 5,4,4,1.] Nach den Lexicographen auch = śabara. — h) das von einem Bharata verfasste Lehrbuch über Schauspielkunst. —
2) f. bharatā Nomen proprium einer Apsaras [Wilson's Uebersetzung des Viṣṇupurāṇa 2,82.] —
3) f. bharatī Nomen proprium — a) einer Tochter des Agni Bharata. — b) eines Flusses [Wilson's Uebersetzung des Viṣṇupurāṇa 2,199.] —
4) *n. Pl. Nomen proprium eines Varṣa.
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Bhārata (भारत):——
1) Adj. (f. ī) — a) als Bez. Agni’s nach [Sāyaṇa. ] vom Ṛtvij (Bharata) stammend oder (des Opfer) tragend. — b) von Bharata stammend. — c) den Bharata gehörig , ihnen zukommend. — d) yuddha n. , saṃgrāma m. , samara m. oder samiti f. der Kampf — , die Schlacht der Bharata. — e) ākhyāna n. , itihāsa m. oder kathā f. die Erzählung von den Bharata , — von ihrem Kampfe. — f) saras n. Nomen proprium eines Sees. — g) maṇḍala n. oder varṣa n. Bharata’s Bereich , so v.a. Indien. — h) Bhāratavarṣa bewohnend. — i) vṛtti f. eine best. Stilart. —
2) m. — a) ein Nachkomme Bharata's. Auch Pl. (insbes. metrisch) statt des gebräuchlicheren bharatās. — b) *Feuer. — c) *Schauspieler. — d) Bez. der im Süden des Meru scheinenden Sonne. —
3) f. ī — a) *ein weiblicher Nachkomme Bharata's. — b) eine best. vedische Gottheit (auch Pl.) ; später mit der Sarasvatī , der Gottheit der Rede ([165,32]), identificirt. — c) Rede , Worte , Stimme. — d) das Land Bharata's. Indien [Wilson's Uebersetzung des Viṣṇupurāṇa ,1,42.] — e) Wachtel. — f) Nomen proprium — α) eines der zehn auf Schüler Śaṃkarācārya’s zurückgeführten Bettelorden , dessen Mitglieder das Wort bhāratī ihrem Namen beifügen. — β) eines Flusses. Angeblich = sarasvatī [Rājan 14,21.] —
4) n. — a) das Land Bharata’s , — Indien. — b) die Erzählung von den Bharata. von ihrem Kampfe. Wird von Mahābhārate unterschieden und auch diesem Epos gleichgesetzt ([175,1.] [Rājataraṃgiṇī 7,17,740]).
context information
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Discover the meaning of bharata in the context of Sanskrit from relevant books on Exotic India
Hindi dictionary
[«previous (B) next»] — Bharata in Hindi glossary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary
1) Bharata (भरत) [Also spelled bharat]:—(nm) capacity; loading/load; quantity; filler; the celebrated son of ancient king Dushyant and his consort Shakuntala: whose name is said to have formed the basis for this country’s name [bhārata]; the most ancient of all known Indian dramaturgists (whose celebrated work is entitled [nāṭyaśāstra]); ~[khaṃḍa] Bharat (varsha)-i.e. India; ~[bhūmi] India; ~[vākya] the concluding benedictory verse in traditional Sanskrit drama.
2) Bhārata (भारत) [Also spelled bharat]:—(nm) India; ~[mātā] mother India: ~[mūlaka] of Indian origin; ~[ratna] the highest national honour awarded by the Govt. of India; ~[varṣa] India; the Indian sub-continent; ~[varṣīya] Indian; ~[vāsī] an Indian, a native of India; ~[vid] an Indologist; ~[vighā] Indology; -[saṃtāna] a son of mother India.
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Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 6/4/21
Not to be confused with his father and Buddhist scholar Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi.
D. D. Kosambi
Born: 31 July 1907, Kosben, Goa, India
Died: 29 June 1966 (aged 58), Pune, India
Occupation: Mathematician and Marxist historian
Relative:s Dharmanand Kosambi (father); Meera Kosambi (daughter)
Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi (31 July 1907 – 29 June 1966) was an Indian polymath with interests in mathematics, statistics, philology, history, and genetics. He contributed to genetics by introducing the Kosambi map function.[1] In statistics, he was the first person to develop orthogonal infinite series expressions for stochastic processes via the Kosambi–Karhunen–Loève theorem.[2][3] He is also well known for his work in numismatics and for compiling critical editions of ancient Sanskrit texts. His father, Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi, had studied ancient Indian texts with a particular emphasis on Buddhism and its literature in the Pali language. Damodar Kosambi emulated him by developing a keen interest in his country's ancient history. He was also a Marxist historian specialising in ancient India who employed the historical materialist approach in his work.[4] He is particularly known for his classic work An Introduction to the Study of Indian History.
He is described as "the patriarch of the Marxist school of Indian historiography".[4] Kosambi was critical of the policies of then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which, according to him, promoted capitalism in the guise of democratic socialism. He was an enthusiast of the Chinese revolution and its ideals, and, in addition, a leading activist in the World Peace Movement.
Early life
Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi was born at Kosben in Portuguese Goa to the Buddhist scholar Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi. After a few years of schooling in India, in 1918, Damodar and his elder sister, Manik travelled to Cambridge, Massachusetts with their father, who had taken up a teaching position at the Cambridge Latin School.[5] Their father was tasked by Professor Charles Rockwell Lanman of Harvard University to complete compiling a critical edition of Visuddhimagga, a book on Buddhist philosophy, which was originally started by Henry Clarke Warren. There, the young Damodar spent a year in a Grammar school and then was admitted to the Cambridge High and Latin School in 1920. He became a member of the Cambridge branch of American Boy Scouts.
It was in Cambridge that he befriended another prodigy of the time, Norbert Wiener, whose father Leo Wiener was the elder Kosambi's colleague at Harvard University. Kosambi excelled in his final school examination and was one of the few candidates who was exempt on the basis of merit from necessarily passing an entrance examination essential at the time to gain admission to Harvard University. He enrolled in Harvard in 1924, but eventually postponed his studies, and returned to India. He stayed with his father who was now working in the Gujarat University, and was in the close circles of Mahatma Gandhi.
In January 1926, Kosambi returned to the US with his father, who once again studied at Harvard University for a year and half. Kosambi studied mathematics under George David Birkhoff, who wanted him to concentrate on mathematics, but the ambitious Kosambi instead took many diverse courses excelling in each of them. In 1929, Harvard awarded him the Bachelor of Arts degree with a summa cum laude. He was also granted membership to the esteemed Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest undergraduate honours organisation in the United States. He returned to India soon after.
Banaras and Aligarh
He obtained the post of professor at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), teaching German alongside mathematics. He struggled to pursue his research on his own, and published his first research paper, "Precessions of an Elliptic Orbit" in the Indian Journal of Physics in 1930.
In 1931, Kosambi married Nalini from the wealthy Madgaonkar family. It was in this year that he was hired by mathematician André Weil, then Professor of Mathematics at Aligarh Muslim University, to the post of lecturership in mathematics at Aligarh.[6] His other colleagues at Aligarh included Vijayraghavan. During his two years stay in Aligarh, he produced eight research papers in the general area of Differential Geometry and Path Spaces. His fluency in several European languages allowed him to publish some of his early papers in French, Italian and German journals in their respective languages.
Fergusson College, Pune
Mathematics
In 1932, he joined the Deccan Education Society's Fergusson College in Pune, where he taught mathematics for 14 years.[7] In 1935, his eldest daughter, Maya was born, while in 1939, the youngest, Meera.
In 1944 he published a small article of 4 pages titled The Estimation of Map Distance from Recombination Values in Annals of Eugenics, in which he introduced what later came to be known as Kosambi map function. According to his equation, genetic map distance (w) is related to recombination fraction (θ) in the following way:
or, put in another way,
Kosambi's mapping function adjusts the map distance based on interference which changes the proportion of double crossovers.(To know more about this you can explore the given website https://www.academia.edu/665254/Kosambi ... g_function (edit: Bhaskarlal Datta)
One of the most important contributions of Kosambi to statistics is the widely known technique called proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). Although it was originally developed by Kosambi in 1943, it is now referred to as the Karhunen–Loève expansion. In the 1943 paper entitled 'Statistics in Function Space' presented in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, Kosambi presented the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition some years before Karhunen (1945) and Loeve (1948). This tool has found application to such diverse fields as image processing, signal processing, data compression, oceanography, chemical engineering and fluid mechanics. Unfortunately this most important contribution of his is barely acknowledged in most papers that utilise the POD method. In recent years though, some authors have indeed referred to it as the Kosambi-Karhunen-Loeve decomposition.[8]
Historical studies
Until 1939, Kosambi was almost exclusively focused on mathematical research, but later, he gradually started foraying into social sciences.[7] It was his studies in numismatics that initiated him into the field of historical research. He did extensive research in difficult science of numismatics. His evaluation of data was by modern statistical methods.[9] For example, he statistically analyzed the weight of thousands of punch-marked coins from different Indian museums to establish their chronological sequence and put forward his theories about the economic conditions under which these coins could have been minted.[7]
Sanskrit
He made a thorough study of Sanskrit and ancient literature, and he started his classic work on the ancient poet Bhartṛhari. He published exemplary critical editions of Bhartrihari's Śatakatraya and Subhashitas during 1945–1948.
Activism
It was during this period that he started his political activism, coming close to the radical streams in the ongoing Independence movement, especially the Communist Party of India. He became an outspoken Marxist and wrote some political articles.
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
In the 1940s, Homi J. Bhabha invited Kosambi to join the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Kosambi joined TIFR as Chair for Mathematics in 1946, and held the position for the next 16 years. He continued to live in his own house in Pune, and commute to Mumbai every day by the Deccan Queen train.[10]
After independence, in 1948–49 he was sent to England and to the US as a UNESCO Fellow to study the theoretical and technical aspects of computing machines. In London, he started his long-lasting friendship with Indologist and historian A.L. Basham. In the spring semester of 1949, he was a visiting professor of geometry in the Mathematics Department at the University of Chicago, where his colleague from his Harvard days, Marshall Harvey Stone, was the chair. In April–May 1949, he spent nearly two months at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, discussing with such illustrious physicists and mathematicians as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Hermann Weyl, John von Neumann, Marston Morse, Oswald Veblen and Carl Ludwig Siegel amongst others.
After his return to India, in the Cold War circumstances, he was increasingly drawn into the World Peace Movement and served as a Member of the World Peace Council. He became a tireless crusader for peace, campaigning against the nuclearisation of the world. Kosambi's solution to India's energy needs was in sharp conflict with the ambitions of the Indian ruling class. He proposed alternative energy sources, like solar power. His activism in the peace movement took him to Beijing, Helsinki and Moscow. However, during this period he relentlessly pursued his diverse research interests, too. Most importantly, he worked on his Marxist rewriting of ancient Indian history, which culminated in his book, An Introduction to the Study of Indian History (1956).
He visited China many times during 1952–62 and was able to watch the Chinese revolution very closely, making him critical of the way modernisation and development were envisaged and pursued by the Indian ruling classes. All these contributed to straining his relationship with the Indian government and Bhabha, eventually leading to Kosambi's exit from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1962.
Post-TIFR days
His exit from the TIFR gave Kosambi the opportunity to concentrate on his research in ancient Indian history culminating in his book, The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India, which was published in 1965 by Routledge, Kegan & Paul. The book was translated into German, French and Japanese and was widely acclaimed. He also utilised his time in archaeological studies, and contributed in the field of statistics and number theory. His article on numismatics was published in February 1965 in Scientific American.
Due to the efforts of his friends and colleagues, in June 1964, Kosambi was appointed as a Scientist Emeritus of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) affiliated with the Maharashtra Vidnyanvardhini in Pune. He pursued many historical, scientific and archaeological projects (even writing stories for children). But most works he produced in this period could not be published during his lifetime.
Kosambi died of myocardial infarction in the early hours of 29 June 1966, after being declared generally fit by his family doctor on the previous day.[5]
He was posthumously decorated with the Hari Om Ashram Award by the government of India's University Grant Commission in 1980.
His friend A.L. Basham, a well-known indologist, wrote in his obituary:
Kosambi's historiography
Although Kosambi was not a practising historian, he wrote four books and sixty articles on history: these works had a significant impact on the field of Indian historiography.[12] He understood history in terms of the dynamics of socio-economic formations rather than just a chronological narration of "episodes" or the feats of a few great men – kings, warriors or saints. In the very first paragraph of his classic work, An Introduction to the Study of Indian History, he gives an insight into his methodology as a prelude to his life work on ancient Indian history:
According to A. L. Basham, "An Introduction to the Study of Indian History is in many respects an epoch making work, containing brilliantly original ideas on almost every page; if it contains errors and misrepresentations, if now and then its author attempts to force his data into a rather doctrinaire pattern, this does not appreciably lessen the significance of this very exciting book, which has stimulated the thought of thousands of students throughout the world."[11]
Professor Sumit Sarkar says: "Indian Historiography, starting with D.D. Kosambi in the 1950s, is acknowledged the world over – wherever South Asian history is taught or studied – as quite on a par with or even superior to all that is produced abroad. And that is why Irfan Habib or Romila Thapar or R.S. Sharma are figures respected even in the most diehard anti-Communist American universities. They cannot be ignored if you are studying South Asian history."[14]
In his obituary of Kosambi published in Nature, J. D. Bernal had summed up Kosambi's talent as follows: "Kosambi introduced a new method into historical scholarship, essentially by application of modern mathematics. By statistical study of the weights of the coins, Kosambi was able to establish the amount of time that had elapsed while they were in circulation and so set them in order to give some idea of their respective ages."
Legacy
Kosambi on a 2008 stamp of India
Kosambi is an inspiration to many across the world, especially to Sanskrit philologists[15] and Marxist scholars. He deeply influenced Indian historiography.[16] The Government of Goa has instituted the annual D.D. Kosambi Festival of Ideas since February 2008 to commemorate his birth centenary.[17]
Historian Irfan Habib said, "D. D. Kosambi and R.S. Sharma, together with Daniel Thorner, brought peasants into the study of Indian history for the first time."[18]
Kosambi was an atheist.[19]
India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp on 31 July 2008 to honour Kosambi.[20][21]
Books by D.D. Kosambi
Works on history and society
• 1956 An Introduction to the Study of Indian History (Popular Book Depot, Bombay)
• 1957 Exasperating Essays: Exercise in the Dialectical Method (People's Book House, Poona)
• 1962 Myth and Reality: Studies in the Formation of Indian Culture (Popular Prakashail, Bombay)
• 1965 The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London)
• 1981 Indian Numismatics (Orient Blackswan, New Delhi)
• 2002 D.D. Kosambi: Combined Methods in Indology and Other Writings – Compiled, edited and introduced by Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya (Oxford University Press, New Delhi). Pdf on archive.org
• 2009 The Oxford India Kosambi – Compiled, edited and introduced by Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya (Oxford University Press, New Delhi)
• 2014 Unsettling The Past, edited by Meera Kosambi (Permanent Black, Ranikhet)
• 2016 Adventures into the Unknown: Essays, edited by Ram Ramaswamy (Three Essays Collective, New Delhi)
Edited works
• 1945 The Satakatrayam of Bhartrhari with the Comm. of Ramarsi, edited in collaboration with Pt. K. V. Krishnamoorthi Sharma (Anandasrama Sanskrit Series, No.127, Poona)
• 1946 The Southern Archetype of Epigrams Ascribed to Bhartrhari (Bharatiya Vidya Series 9, Bombay) (First critical edition of a Bhartrhari recension.)
• 1948 The Epigrams Attributed to Bhartrhari (Singhi Jain Series 23, Bombay) (Comprehensive edition of the poet's work remarkable for rigorous standards of text criticism.)
• 1952 The Cintamani-saranika of Dasabala; Supplement to Journal of Oriental Research, xix, pt, II (Madras) (A Sanskrit astronomical work which shows that King Bhoja of Dhara died in 1055–56.)
• 1957 The Subhasitaratnakosa of Vidyakara, edited in collaboration with V.V. Gokhale (Harvard Oriental Series 42)
Mathematical and scientific publications
In addition to the papers listed below, Kosambi wrote two books in mathematics, the manuscripts of which have not been traced. The first was a book on path geometry that was submitted to Marston Morse in the mid-1940s and the second was on prime numbers, submitted shortly before his death. Unfortunately, neither book was published. The list of articles below is complete but does not include his essays on science and scientists, some of which have appeared in the collection Science, Society, and Peace (People's Publishing House, 1995). Four articles (between 1962 and 1965) are written under the pseudonym S. Ducray.
• 1930 Precessions of an elliptical orbit, Indian Journal of Physics, 5, 359–364
• 1931 On a generalization of the second theorem of Bourbaki, Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences, U. P., 1, 145–147
• 1932 Modern differential geometries, Indian Journal of Physics, 7, 159–164
• 1932 On differential equations with the group property, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 19, 215–219
• 1932 Geometrie differentielle et calcul des variations, Rendiconti della Reale Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 16, 410–415 (in French)
• 1932 On the existence of a metric and the inverse variational problem, Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences, U. P., 2, 17–28
• 1932 Affin-geometrische Grundlagen der Einheitlichen Feld–theorie, Sitzungsberichten der Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Physikalisch-mathematische klasse, 28, 342–345 (in German)
• 1933 Parallelism and path-spaces, Mathematische Zeitschrift, 37, 608–618
• 1933 Observations sur le memoire precedent, Mathematische Zeitschrift, 37, 619–622 (in French)
• 1933 The problem of differential invariants, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 20, 185–188
• 1933 The classification of integers, Journal of the University of Bombay, 2, 18–20
• 1934 Collineations in path-space, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 1, 68–72
• 1934 Continuous groups and two theorems of Euler, The Mathematics Student, 2, 94–100
• 1934 The maximum modulus theorem, Journal of the University of Bombay, 3, 11–12
• 1935 Homogeneous metrics, Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 1, 952–954
• 1935 An affine calculus of variations, Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 2, 333–335
• 1935 Systems of differential equations of the second order, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford), 6, 1–12
• 1936 Differential geometry of the Laplace equation, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 2, 141–143
• 1936 Path-spaces of higher order, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford), 7, 97–104
• 1936 Path-geometry and cosmogony, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford), 7, 290–293
• 1938 Les metriques homogenes dans les espaces cosmogoniques, Comptes rendus de l’Acad ́emie des Sciences, 206, 1086–1088 (in French)
• 1938 Les espaces des paths generalises qu’on peut associer avec un espace de Finsler, Comptes rendus de l’Acad ́emie des Sciences, 206, 1538–1541 (in French)
• 1939 The tensor analysis of partial differential equations, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 3, 249–253 (1939); Japanese version of this article in Tensor, 2, 36–39
• 1940 A statistical study of the weights of the old Indian punch-marked coins, Current Science, 9, 312–314
• 1940 On the weights of old Indian punch-marked coins, Current Science, 9, 410–411
• 1940 Path-equations admitting the Lorentz group, Journal of the London Mathematical Society, 15, 86–91
• 1940 The concept of isotropy in generalized path-spaces, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 4, 80–88
• 1940 A note on frequency distribution in series, The Mathematics Student, 8, 151–155
• 1941 A bivariate extension of Fisher's Z–test, Current Science, 10, 191–192
• 1941 Correlation and time series, Current Science, 10, 372–374
• 1941 Path-equations admitting the Lorentz group–II, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 5, 62–72
• 1941 On the origin and development of silver coinage in India, Current Science, 10, 395–400
• 1942 On the zeros and closure of orthogonal functions, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 6, 16–24
• 1942 The effect of circulation upon the weight of metallic currency, Current Science, 11, 227–231
• 1942 A test of significance for multiple observations, Current Science, 11, 271–274
• 1942 On valid tests of linguistic hypotheses, New Indian Antiquary, 5, 21–24
• 1943 Statistics in function space, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 7, 76–88
• 1944 The estimation of map distance from recombination values, Annals of Eugenics, 12, 172–175
• 1944 Direct derivation of Balmer spectra, Current Science, 13, 71–72
• 1944 The geometric method in mathematical statistics, American Mathematical Monthly, 51, 382–389
• 1945 Parallelism in the tensor analysis of partial differential equations, Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 51, 293–296
• 1946 The law of large numbers, The Mathematics Student, 14, 14–19
• 1946 Sur la differentiation covariante, Comptes rendus de l’Acad ́emie des Sciences, 222, 211–213 (in French)
• 1947 An extension of the least–squares method for statistical estimation, Annals of Eugenics, 18, 257–261
• 1947 Possible Applications of the Functional Calculus, Proceedings of the 34th Indian Science Congress. Part II: Presidential Addresses, 1–13
• 1947 Les invariants differentiels d’un tenseur covariant a deux indices, Comptes rendus de l’Acad ́emie des Sciences, 225, 790–92 (in French)
• 1948 Systems of partial differential equations of the second order, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford), 19, 204–219
• 1949 Characteristic properties of series distributions, Proceedings of the National Institute of Science of India, 15, 109–113
• 1949 Lie rings in path-space, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 35, 389–394
• 1949 The differential invariants of a two-index tensor, Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 55, 90–94
• 1951 Series expansions of continuous groups, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford, Series 2), 2, 244–257
• 1951 Seasonal variations in the Indian birth–rate, Annals of Eugenics, 16, 165–192 (with S. Raghavachari)
• 1952 Path-spaces admitting collineations, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford, Series 2), 3, 1–11
• 1952 Path-geometry and continuous groups, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford, Series 2), 3, 307–320
• 1954 Seasonal variations in the Indian death–rate, Annals of Human Genetics, 19, 100–119 (with S. Raghavachari)
• 1954 The metric in path-space, Tensor (New Series), 3, 67–74
• 1957 The method of least–squares, Advancement in Mathematics, 3, 485–491 (in Chinese)
• 1958 Classical Tauberian theorems, Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics, 10, 141–149
• 1958 The efficiency of randomization by card–shuffling, Journal of the Royal Statistics Society, 121, 223–233 (with U. V. R. Rao)
• 1959 The method of least–squares, Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics, 11, 49–57
• 1959 An application of stochastic convergence, Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics, 11, 58–72
• 1962 A note on prime numbers, Journal of the University of Bombay, 31, 1–4 (as S. Ducray)
• 1963 The sampling distribution of primes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 49, 20–23
• 1963 Normal Sequences, Journal of the University of Bombay, 32, 49–53 (as S. Ducray)
• 1964 Statistical methods in number theory, Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics, 16, 126–135
• 1964 Probability and prime numbers, Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 60, 159–164 (as S. Ducray)
• 1965 The sequence of primes, Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 62, 145–149 (as S. Ducray)
• 1966 Numismatics as a Science, Scientific American, February 1966, pages 102–111
• 2016 Selected Works in Mathematics and Statistics, ed. Ramakrishna Ramaswamy, Springer. (Posthumous publication)
See also
• Marxist historiography
References
1. Vinod, K.K. (June 2011). "Kosambi and the genetic mapping function". Resonance. 16 (6): 540–550. doi:10.1007/s12045-011-0060-x. S2CID 84289582.
2. Raju, C.K. (2009), "Kosambi the Mathematician", Economic and Political Weekly, 44 (20): 33–45
3. Kosambi, D. D. (1943), "Statistics in Function Space", Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 7: 76–88, MR 0009816
4. Sreedharan, E. (2004). A Textbook of Historiography: 500 BC to AD 2000. Orient Blackswan. p. 469. ISBN 978-81-250-2657-0.
5. V. V. Gokhale 1974, p. 1.
6. Weil, André; Gage, Jennifer C (1992). The apprenticeship of a mathematician. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser Verlag. ISBN 9783764326500. OCLC 24791768.
7. V. V. Gokhale 1974, p. 2.
8. Steward, Jeff (20 May 2009). The Solution of a Burgers' Equation Inverse Problem with Reduced-Order Modeling Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (Master's thesis). Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
9. Sreedharan, E. (2007). A Manual of Historical Research Methodology. Thiruvananthapuram, India: Centre for South Indian Studies. ISBN 9788190592802. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
10. V. V. Gokhale 1974, p. 3.
11. Basham, A. L.; et al. (1974). "'Baba': A Personal Tribute". In Sharma, Ram Sharan (ed.). Indian society: historical probings, in memory of D. D. Kosambi. New Delhi, India: People's Publishing House. pp. 16–19. OCLC 3206457.
12. R. S. Sharma (1974) [1958]. "Preface". Indian Society: Historical Probings in memory of D. D. Kosambi. Indian Council of Historical Research / People's Publishing House. p. vii. ISBN 978-81-7007-176-1.
13. Kosambi, Damodar Dharmanand (1975) [1956]. An introduction to the study of Indian history(Second ed.). Mumbai, India: Popular Prakashan. p. 1.
14. "Not a question of bias". 17 – Issue 05. Frontline. 4–17 March 2000. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
15. Pollock, Sheldon (26 July 2008). "Towards a Political Philology" (PDF). Economic & Political Weekly. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
16. Sreedharan, E. (2004). A Textbook of Historiography: 500 BC to AD 2000. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-250-2657-0.
17. "D.D. Kosambi festival from February 5". The Hindu. 20 January 2011. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
18. Habib, Irfan (2007). Essays in Indian History (Seventh reprint). Tulika. p. 381 (at p 109). ISBN 978-81-85229-00-3.
19. Padgaonkar, Dileep (8 February 2013). "Kosambi's uplifting idea Of India". Times of India Blog. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017. Both were pious — his mother a Hindu, his father a Buddhist — while he himself remained an atheist.
20. Vaidya, Abhay (11 December 2008). "Finally, a stamp in DD Kosambi's honour". Syndication DNA. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
21. "Stamps 2008". Indian Postage Stamps. Ministry of Communication, Government of India. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
Bibliography
• V. V. Gokhale (1974) [1958]. "Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi". In R. S. Sharma (ed.). Indian Society: Historical Probings in memory of D. D. Kosambi. Indian Council of Historical Research / People's Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7007-176-1.
A collection entitled "Science, Society And Peace" of Prof DD Kosambi's essays has been published in the 1980's [exact year to be mentioned...] by Academy of Political & Social Studies, Akshay, 216, Narayan Peth,Pune 411030. Republished by People's Publishing House, New Delhi in 1995]
Further reading
• The Many Careers of D.D. Kosambi edited by D.N. Jha, 2011 Leftword Books. Full text on archive.org
• Towards a Political Philology: D.D. Kosambi and Sanskrit (2008) by Sheldon Pollock, EPW.
• Early Indian History and the Legacy of D.D. Kosambi by Romila Thapar. Resonance, June 2011.
• Kosambi, Marxism and Indian History by Irfan Habib. EPW, 26 July 2008. Pdf.
• R.S. Sharma and Vivekanand Jha, Indian Society, Historical Probings (in memory of D. D. Kosambi), People's Publishing House, New Delhi, 1974.
• J.D.Bernal: obituary D.D.Kosambi. Nature, 1966 Sept.3; 211: 1024.
External links
• Steps in Science. Essay by D.D. Kosambi
• "Baba": A Personal Tribute by A.L. Basham
• My Friendship with D. D. Kosambi by Daniel H. H. Ingalls
• D.D. Kosambi: Father of Scientific Indian History by Dale Riepe
• Video. Romila Thapar at D. D. Kosambi Festival of Ideas 2008, Goa, Part-1, Part-2
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 6/4/21
Not to be confused with his father and Buddhist scholar Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi.
D. D. Kosambi
Born: 31 July 1907, Kosben, Goa, India
Died: 29 June 1966 (aged 58), Pune, India
Occupation: Mathematician and Marxist historian
Relative:s Dharmanand Kosambi (father); Meera Kosambi (daughter)
Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi (31 July 1907 – 29 June 1966) was an Indian polymath with interests in mathematics, statistics, philology, history, and genetics. He contributed to genetics by introducing the Kosambi map function.[1] In statistics, he was the first person to develop orthogonal infinite series expressions for stochastic processes via the Kosambi–Karhunen–Loève theorem.[2][3] He is also well known for his work in numismatics and for compiling critical editions of ancient Sanskrit texts. His father, Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi, had studied ancient Indian texts with a particular emphasis on Buddhism and its literature in the Pali language. Damodar Kosambi emulated him by developing a keen interest in his country's ancient history. He was also a Marxist historian specialising in ancient India who employed the historical materialist approach in his work.[4] He is particularly known for his classic work An Introduction to the Study of Indian History.
He is described as "the patriarch of the Marxist school of Indian historiography".[4] Kosambi was critical of the policies of then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which, according to him, promoted capitalism in the guise of democratic socialism. He was an enthusiast of the Chinese revolution and its ideals, and, in addition, a leading activist in the World Peace Movement.
Early life
Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi was born at Kosben in Portuguese Goa to the Buddhist scholar Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi. After a few years of schooling in India, in 1918, Damodar and his elder sister, Manik travelled to Cambridge, Massachusetts with their father, who had taken up a teaching position at the Cambridge Latin School.[5] Their father was tasked by Professor Charles Rockwell Lanman of Harvard University to complete compiling a critical edition of Visuddhimagga, a book on Buddhist philosophy, which was originally started by Henry Clarke Warren. There, the young Damodar spent a year in a Grammar school and then was admitted to the Cambridge High and Latin School in 1920. He became a member of the Cambridge branch of American Boy Scouts.
It was in Cambridge that he befriended another prodigy of the time, Norbert Wiener, whose father Leo Wiener was the elder Kosambi's colleague at Harvard University. Kosambi excelled in his final school examination and was one of the few candidates who was exempt on the basis of merit from necessarily passing an entrance examination essential at the time to gain admission to Harvard University. He enrolled in Harvard in 1924, but eventually postponed his studies, and returned to India. He stayed with his father who was now working in the Gujarat University, and was in the close circles of Mahatma Gandhi.
In January 1926, Kosambi returned to the US with his father, who once again studied at Harvard University for a year and half. Kosambi studied mathematics under George David Birkhoff, who wanted him to concentrate on mathematics, but the ambitious Kosambi instead took many diverse courses excelling in each of them. In 1929, Harvard awarded him the Bachelor of Arts degree with a summa cum laude. He was also granted membership to the esteemed Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest undergraduate honours organisation in the United States. He returned to India soon after.
Banaras and Aligarh
He obtained the post of professor at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), teaching German alongside mathematics. He struggled to pursue his research on his own, and published his first research paper, "Precessions of an Elliptic Orbit" in the Indian Journal of Physics in 1930.
In 1931, Kosambi married Nalini from the wealthy Madgaonkar family. It was in this year that he was hired by mathematician André Weil, then Professor of Mathematics at Aligarh Muslim University, to the post of lecturership in mathematics at Aligarh.[6] His other colleagues at Aligarh included Vijayraghavan. During his two years stay in Aligarh, he produced eight research papers in the general area of Differential Geometry and Path Spaces. His fluency in several European languages allowed him to publish some of his early papers in French, Italian and German journals in their respective languages.
Fergusson College, Pune
Marxism cannot, even on the grounds of political expediency or party solidarity, be reduced to a rigid formalism like mathematics. Nor can it be treated as a standard technique such as work on an automatic lathe. The material, when it is present in human society, has endless variations; the observer is himself part of the observed population, with which he interacts strongly and reciprocally. This means that the successful application of the theory needs the development of analytical power, the ability to pick out the essential factors in a given situation. This cannot be learned from books alone. The one way to learn it is by constant contact with the major sections of the people. For an intellectual, this means at least a few months spent in manual labour, to earn his livelihood as a member of the working class; not as a superior being, nor as a reformist, nor as a sentimental "progressive" visitor to the slums. The experience gained from living with worker and peasant, as one of them, has then to be consistently refreshed and regularly evaluated in the light of one's reading. For those who are prepared to do this, these essays might provide some encouragement, and food for thought.
— From Exasperating Essays: Exercises in Dialectical Method (1957)
Mathematics
In 1932, he joined the Deccan Education Society's Fergusson College in Pune, where he taught mathematics for 14 years.[7] In 1935, his eldest daughter, Maya was born, while in 1939, the youngest, Meera.
In 1944 he published a small article of 4 pages titled The Estimation of Map Distance from Recombination Values in Annals of Eugenics, in which he introduced what later came to be known as Kosambi map function. According to his equation, genetic map distance (w) is related to recombination fraction (θ) in the following way:
or, put in another way,
Kosambi's mapping function adjusts the map distance based on interference which changes the proportion of double crossovers.(To know more about this you can explore the given website https://www.academia.edu/665254/Kosambi ... g_function (edit: Bhaskarlal Datta)
One of the most important contributions of Kosambi to statistics is the widely known technique called proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). Although it was originally developed by Kosambi in 1943, it is now referred to as the Karhunen–Loève expansion. In the 1943 paper entitled 'Statistics in Function Space' presented in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, Kosambi presented the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition some years before Karhunen (1945) and Loeve (1948). This tool has found application to such diverse fields as image processing, signal processing, data compression, oceanography, chemical engineering and fluid mechanics. Unfortunately this most important contribution of his is barely acknowledged in most papers that utilise the POD method. In recent years though, some authors have indeed referred to it as the Kosambi-Karhunen-Loeve decomposition.[8]
Historical studies
Until 1939, Kosambi was almost exclusively focused on mathematical research, but later, he gradually started foraying into social sciences.[7] It was his studies in numismatics that initiated him into the field of historical research. He did extensive research in difficult science of numismatics. His evaluation of data was by modern statistical methods.[9] For example, he statistically analyzed the weight of thousands of punch-marked coins from different Indian museums to establish their chronological sequence and put forward his theories about the economic conditions under which these coins could have been minted.[7]
Sanskrit
He made a thorough study of Sanskrit and ancient literature, and he started his classic work on the ancient poet Bhartṛhari. He published exemplary critical editions of Bhartrihari's Śatakatraya and Subhashitas during 1945–1948.
Activism
It was during this period that he started his political activism, coming close to the radical streams in the ongoing Independence movement, especially the Communist Party of India. He became an outspoken Marxist and wrote some political articles.
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
In the 1940s, Homi J. Bhabha invited Kosambi to join the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Kosambi joined TIFR as Chair for Mathematics in 1946, and held the position for the next 16 years. He continued to live in his own house in Pune, and commute to Mumbai every day by the Deccan Queen train.[10]
After independence, in 1948–49 he was sent to England and to the US as a UNESCO Fellow to study the theoretical and technical aspects of computing machines. In London, he started his long-lasting friendship with Indologist and historian A.L. Basham. In the spring semester of 1949, he was a visiting professor of geometry in the Mathematics Department at the University of Chicago, where his colleague from his Harvard days, Marshall Harvey Stone, was the chair. In April–May 1949, he spent nearly two months at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, discussing with such illustrious physicists and mathematicians as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Hermann Weyl, John von Neumann, Marston Morse, Oswald Veblen and Carl Ludwig Siegel amongst others.
After his return to India, in the Cold War circumstances, he was increasingly drawn into the World Peace Movement and served as a Member of the World Peace Council. He became a tireless crusader for peace, campaigning against the nuclearisation of the world. Kosambi's solution to India's energy needs was in sharp conflict with the ambitions of the Indian ruling class. He proposed alternative energy sources, like solar power. His activism in the peace movement took him to Beijing, Helsinki and Moscow. However, during this period he relentlessly pursued his diverse research interests, too. Most importantly, he worked on his Marxist rewriting of ancient Indian history, which culminated in his book, An Introduction to the Study of Indian History (1956).
He visited China many times during 1952–62 and was able to watch the Chinese revolution very closely, making him critical of the way modernisation and development were envisaged and pursued by the Indian ruling classes. All these contributed to straining his relationship with the Indian government and Bhabha, eventually leading to Kosambi's exit from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1962.
Post-TIFR days
His exit from the TIFR gave Kosambi the opportunity to concentrate on his research in ancient Indian history culminating in his book, The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India, which was published in 1965 by Routledge, Kegan & Paul. The book was translated into German, French and Japanese and was widely acclaimed. He also utilised his time in archaeological studies, and contributed in the field of statistics and number theory. His article on numismatics was published in February 1965 in Scientific American.
Due to the efforts of his friends and colleagues, in June 1964, Kosambi was appointed as a Scientist Emeritus of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) affiliated with the Maharashtra Vidnyanvardhini in Pune. He pursued many historical, scientific and archaeological projects (even writing stories for children). But most works he produced in this period could not be published during his lifetime.
Kosambi died of myocardial infarction in the early hours of 29 June 1966, after being declared generally fit by his family doctor on the previous day.[5]
He was posthumously decorated with the Hari Om Ashram Award by the government of India's University Grant Commission in 1980.
His friend A.L. Basham, a well-known indologist, wrote in his obituary:
At first it seemed that he had only three interests, which filled his life to the exclusion of all others — ancient India, in all its aspects, mathematics and the preservation of peace. For the last, as well as for his two intellectual interests, he worked hard and with devotion, according to his deep convictions. Yet as one grew to know him better one realized that the range of his heart and mind was very wide...In the later years of his life, when his attention turned increasingly to anthropology as a means of reconstructing the past, it became more than ever clear that he had a very deep feeling for the lives of the simple people of Maharashtra.[11]
Kosambi's historiography
Certain opponents of Marxism dismiss it as an outworn economic dogma based upon 19th century prejudices. Marxism never was a dogma. There is no reason why its formulation in the 19th century should make it obsolete and wrong, any more than the discoveries of Gauss, Faraday and Darwin, which have passed into the body of science... The defense generally given is that the Gita and the Upanishads are Indian; that foreign ideas like Marxism are objectionable. This is generally argued in English the foreign language common to educated Indians; and by persons who live under a mode of production (the bourgeois system forcibly introduced by the foreigner into India.) The objection, therefore seems less to the foreign origin than to the ideas themselves which might endanger class privilege. Marxism is said to be based upon violence, upon the class-war in which the very best people do not believe nowadays. They might as well proclaim that meteorology encourages storms by predicting them. No Marxist work contains incitement to war and specious arguments for senseless killing remotely comparable to those in the divine Gita.
— From Exasperating Essays: Exercises in Dialectical Method (1957)
Although Kosambi was not a practising historian, he wrote four books and sixty articles on history: these works had a significant impact on the field of Indian historiography.[12] He understood history in terms of the dynamics of socio-economic formations rather than just a chronological narration of "episodes" or the feats of a few great men – kings, warriors or saints. In the very first paragraph of his classic work, An Introduction to the Study of Indian History, he gives an insight into his methodology as a prelude to his life work on ancient Indian history:
"The light-hearted sneer “India has had some episodes, but no history“ is used to justify lack of study, grasp, intelligence on the part of foreign writers about India’s past. The considerations that follow will prove that it is precisely the episodes — lists of dynasties and kings, tales of war and battle spiced with anecdote, which fill school texts — that are missing from Indian records. Here, for the first time, we have to reconstruct a history without episodes, which means that it cannot be the same type of history as in the European tradition."[13]
According to A. L. Basham, "An Introduction to the Study of Indian History is in many respects an epoch making work, containing brilliantly original ideas on almost every page; if it contains errors and misrepresentations, if now and then its author attempts to force his data into a rather doctrinaire pattern, this does not appreciably lessen the significance of this very exciting book, which has stimulated the thought of thousands of students throughout the world."[11]
Professor Sumit Sarkar says: "Indian Historiography, starting with D.D. Kosambi in the 1950s, is acknowledged the world over – wherever South Asian history is taught or studied – as quite on a par with or even superior to all that is produced abroad. And that is why Irfan Habib or Romila Thapar or R.S. Sharma are figures respected even in the most diehard anti-Communist American universities. They cannot be ignored if you are studying South Asian history."[14]
In his obituary of Kosambi published in Nature, J. D. Bernal had summed up Kosambi's talent as follows: "Kosambi introduced a new method into historical scholarship, essentially by application of modern mathematics. By statistical study of the weights of the coins, Kosambi was able to establish the amount of time that had elapsed while they were in circulation and so set them in order to give some idea of their respective ages."
Legacy
Kosambi on a 2008 stamp of India
Kosambi is an inspiration to many across the world, especially to Sanskrit philologists[15] and Marxist scholars. He deeply influenced Indian historiography.[16] The Government of Goa has instituted the annual D.D. Kosambi Festival of Ideas since February 2008 to commemorate his birth centenary.[17]
Historian Irfan Habib said, "D. D. Kosambi and R.S. Sharma, together with Daniel Thorner, brought peasants into the study of Indian history for the first time."[18]
Kosambi was an atheist.[19]
India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp on 31 July 2008 to honour Kosambi.[20][21]
Books by D.D. Kosambi
Works on history and society
• 1956 An Introduction to the Study of Indian History (Popular Book Depot, Bombay)
• 1957 Exasperating Essays: Exercise in the Dialectical Method (People's Book House, Poona)
• 1962 Myth and Reality: Studies in the Formation of Indian Culture (Popular Prakashail, Bombay)
• 1965 The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London)
• 1981 Indian Numismatics (Orient Blackswan, New Delhi)
• 2002 D.D. Kosambi: Combined Methods in Indology and Other Writings – Compiled, edited and introduced by Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya (Oxford University Press, New Delhi). Pdf on archive.org
• 2009 The Oxford India Kosambi – Compiled, edited and introduced by Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya (Oxford University Press, New Delhi)
• 2014 Unsettling The Past, edited by Meera Kosambi (Permanent Black, Ranikhet)
• 2016 Adventures into the Unknown: Essays, edited by Ram Ramaswamy (Three Essays Collective, New Delhi)
Edited works
• 1945 The Satakatrayam of Bhartrhari with the Comm. of Ramarsi, edited in collaboration with Pt. K. V. Krishnamoorthi Sharma (Anandasrama Sanskrit Series, No.127, Poona)
• 1946 The Southern Archetype of Epigrams Ascribed to Bhartrhari (Bharatiya Vidya Series 9, Bombay) (First critical edition of a Bhartrhari recension.)
• 1948 The Epigrams Attributed to Bhartrhari (Singhi Jain Series 23, Bombay) (Comprehensive edition of the poet's work remarkable for rigorous standards of text criticism.)
• 1952 The Cintamani-saranika of Dasabala; Supplement to Journal of Oriental Research, xix, pt, II (Madras) (A Sanskrit astronomical work which shows that King Bhoja of Dhara died in 1055–56.)
• 1957 The Subhasitaratnakosa of Vidyakara, edited in collaboration with V.V. Gokhale (Harvard Oriental Series 42)
Mathematical and scientific publications
In addition to the papers listed below, Kosambi wrote two books in mathematics, the manuscripts of which have not been traced. The first was a book on path geometry that was submitted to Marston Morse in the mid-1940s and the second was on prime numbers, submitted shortly before his death. Unfortunately, neither book was published. The list of articles below is complete but does not include his essays on science and scientists, some of which have appeared in the collection Science, Society, and Peace (People's Publishing House, 1995). Four articles (between 1962 and 1965) are written under the pseudonym S. Ducray.
• 1930 Precessions of an elliptical orbit, Indian Journal of Physics, 5, 359–364
• 1931 On a generalization of the second theorem of Bourbaki, Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences, U. P., 1, 145–147
• 1932 Modern differential geometries, Indian Journal of Physics, 7, 159–164
• 1932 On differential equations with the group property, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 19, 215–219
• 1932 Geometrie differentielle et calcul des variations, Rendiconti della Reale Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 16, 410–415 (in French)
• 1932 On the existence of a metric and the inverse variational problem, Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences, U. P., 2, 17–28
• 1932 Affin-geometrische Grundlagen der Einheitlichen Feld–theorie, Sitzungsberichten der Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Physikalisch-mathematische klasse, 28, 342–345 (in German)
• 1933 Parallelism and path-spaces, Mathematische Zeitschrift, 37, 608–618
• 1933 Observations sur le memoire precedent, Mathematische Zeitschrift, 37, 619–622 (in French)
• 1933 The problem of differential invariants, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 20, 185–188
• 1933 The classification of integers, Journal of the University of Bombay, 2, 18–20
• 1934 Collineations in path-space, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 1, 68–72
• 1934 Continuous groups and two theorems of Euler, The Mathematics Student, 2, 94–100
• 1934 The maximum modulus theorem, Journal of the University of Bombay, 3, 11–12
• 1935 Homogeneous metrics, Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 1, 952–954
• 1935 An affine calculus of variations, Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 2, 333–335
• 1935 Systems of differential equations of the second order, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford), 6, 1–12
• 1936 Differential geometry of the Laplace equation, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 2, 141–143
• 1936 Path-spaces of higher order, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford), 7, 97–104
• 1936 Path-geometry and cosmogony, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford), 7, 290–293
• 1938 Les metriques homogenes dans les espaces cosmogoniques, Comptes rendus de l’Acad ́emie des Sciences, 206, 1086–1088 (in French)
• 1938 Les espaces des paths generalises qu’on peut associer avec un espace de Finsler, Comptes rendus de l’Acad ́emie des Sciences, 206, 1538–1541 (in French)
• 1939 The tensor analysis of partial differential equations, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 3, 249–253 (1939); Japanese version of this article in Tensor, 2, 36–39
• 1940 A statistical study of the weights of the old Indian punch-marked coins, Current Science, 9, 312–314
• 1940 On the weights of old Indian punch-marked coins, Current Science, 9, 410–411
• 1940 Path-equations admitting the Lorentz group, Journal of the London Mathematical Society, 15, 86–91
• 1940 The concept of isotropy in generalized path-spaces, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 4, 80–88
• 1940 A note on frequency distribution in series, The Mathematics Student, 8, 151–155
• 1941 A bivariate extension of Fisher's Z–test, Current Science, 10, 191–192
• 1941 Correlation and time series, Current Science, 10, 372–374
• 1941 Path-equations admitting the Lorentz group–II, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 5, 62–72
• 1941 On the origin and development of silver coinage in India, Current Science, 10, 395–400
• 1942 On the zeros and closure of orthogonal functions, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 6, 16–24
• 1942 The effect of circulation upon the weight of metallic currency, Current Science, 11, 227–231
• 1942 A test of significance for multiple observations, Current Science, 11, 271–274
• 1942 On valid tests of linguistic hypotheses, New Indian Antiquary, 5, 21–24
• 1943 Statistics in function space, Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 7, 76–88
• 1944 The estimation of map distance from recombination values, Annals of Eugenics, 12, 172–175
• 1944 Direct derivation of Balmer spectra, Current Science, 13, 71–72
• 1944 The geometric method in mathematical statistics, American Mathematical Monthly, 51, 382–389
• 1945 Parallelism in the tensor analysis of partial differential equations, Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 51, 293–296
• 1946 The law of large numbers, The Mathematics Student, 14, 14–19
• 1946 Sur la differentiation covariante, Comptes rendus de l’Acad ́emie des Sciences, 222, 211–213 (in French)
• 1947 An extension of the least–squares method for statistical estimation, Annals of Eugenics, 18, 257–261
• 1947 Possible Applications of the Functional Calculus, Proceedings of the 34th Indian Science Congress. Part II: Presidential Addresses, 1–13
• 1947 Les invariants differentiels d’un tenseur covariant a deux indices, Comptes rendus de l’Acad ́emie des Sciences, 225, 790–92 (in French)
• 1948 Systems of partial differential equations of the second order, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford), 19, 204–219
• 1949 Characteristic properties of series distributions, Proceedings of the National Institute of Science of India, 15, 109–113
• 1949 Lie rings in path-space, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 35, 389–394
• 1949 The differential invariants of a two-index tensor, Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 55, 90–94
• 1951 Series expansions of continuous groups, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford, Series 2), 2, 244–257
• 1951 Seasonal variations in the Indian birth–rate, Annals of Eugenics, 16, 165–192 (with S. Raghavachari)
• 1952 Path-spaces admitting collineations, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford, Series 2), 3, 1–11
• 1952 Path-geometry and continuous groups, Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Oxford, Series 2), 3, 307–320
• 1954 Seasonal variations in the Indian death–rate, Annals of Human Genetics, 19, 100–119 (with S. Raghavachari)
• 1954 The metric in path-space, Tensor (New Series), 3, 67–74
• 1957 The method of least–squares, Advancement in Mathematics, 3, 485–491 (in Chinese)
• 1958 Classical Tauberian theorems, Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics, 10, 141–149
• 1958 The efficiency of randomization by card–shuffling, Journal of the Royal Statistics Society, 121, 223–233 (with U. V. R. Rao)
• 1959 The method of least–squares, Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics, 11, 49–57
• 1959 An application of stochastic convergence, Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics, 11, 58–72
• 1962 A note on prime numbers, Journal of the University of Bombay, 31, 1–4 (as S. Ducray)
• 1963 The sampling distribution of primes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 49, 20–23
• 1963 Normal Sequences, Journal of the University of Bombay, 32, 49–53 (as S. Ducray)
• 1964 Statistical methods in number theory, Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics, 16, 126–135
• 1964 Probability and prime numbers, Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 60, 159–164 (as S. Ducray)
• 1965 The sequence of primes, Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 62, 145–149 (as S. Ducray)
• 1966 Numismatics as a Science, Scientific American, February 1966, pages 102–111
• 2016 Selected Works in Mathematics and Statistics, ed. Ramakrishna Ramaswamy, Springer. (Posthumous publication)
See also
• Marxist historiography
References
1. Vinod, K.K. (June 2011). "Kosambi and the genetic mapping function". Resonance. 16 (6): 540–550. doi:10.1007/s12045-011-0060-x. S2CID 84289582.
2. Raju, C.K. (2009), "Kosambi the Mathematician", Economic and Political Weekly, 44 (20): 33–45
3. Kosambi, D. D. (1943), "Statistics in Function Space", Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, 7: 76–88, MR 0009816
4. Sreedharan, E. (2004). A Textbook of Historiography: 500 BC to AD 2000. Orient Blackswan. p. 469. ISBN 978-81-250-2657-0.
5. V. V. Gokhale 1974, p. 1.
6. Weil, André; Gage, Jennifer C (1992). The apprenticeship of a mathematician. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser Verlag. ISBN 9783764326500. OCLC 24791768.
7. V. V. Gokhale 1974, p. 2.
8. Steward, Jeff (20 May 2009). The Solution of a Burgers' Equation Inverse Problem with Reduced-Order Modeling Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (Master's thesis). Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
9. Sreedharan, E. (2007). A Manual of Historical Research Methodology. Thiruvananthapuram, India: Centre for South Indian Studies. ISBN 9788190592802. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
10. V. V. Gokhale 1974, p. 3.
11. Basham, A. L.; et al. (1974). "'Baba': A Personal Tribute". In Sharma, Ram Sharan (ed.). Indian society: historical probings, in memory of D. D. Kosambi. New Delhi, India: People's Publishing House. pp. 16–19. OCLC 3206457.
12. R. S. Sharma (1974) [1958]. "Preface". Indian Society: Historical Probings in memory of D. D. Kosambi. Indian Council of Historical Research / People's Publishing House. p. vii. ISBN 978-81-7007-176-1.
13. Kosambi, Damodar Dharmanand (1975) [1956]. An introduction to the study of Indian history(Second ed.). Mumbai, India: Popular Prakashan. p. 1.
14. "Not a question of bias". 17 – Issue 05. Frontline. 4–17 March 2000. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
15. Pollock, Sheldon (26 July 2008). "Towards a Political Philology" (PDF). Economic & Political Weekly. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
16. Sreedharan, E. (2004). A Textbook of Historiography: 500 BC to AD 2000. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-250-2657-0.
17. "D.D. Kosambi festival from February 5". The Hindu. 20 January 2011. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
18. Habib, Irfan (2007). Essays in Indian History (Seventh reprint). Tulika. p. 381 (at p 109). ISBN 978-81-85229-00-3.
19. Padgaonkar, Dileep (8 February 2013). "Kosambi's uplifting idea Of India". Times of India Blog. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017. Both were pious — his mother a Hindu, his father a Buddhist — while he himself remained an atheist.
20. Vaidya, Abhay (11 December 2008). "Finally, a stamp in DD Kosambi's honour". Syndication DNA. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
21. "Stamps 2008". Indian Postage Stamps. Ministry of Communication, Government of India. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
Bibliography
• V. V. Gokhale (1974) [1958]. "Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi". In R. S. Sharma (ed.). Indian Society: Historical Probings in memory of D. D. Kosambi. Indian Council of Historical Research / People's Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7007-176-1.
A collection entitled "Science, Society And Peace" of Prof DD Kosambi's essays has been published in the 1980's [exact year to be mentioned...] by Academy of Political & Social Studies, Akshay, 216, Narayan Peth,Pune 411030. Republished by People's Publishing House, New Delhi in 1995]
Further reading
• The Many Careers of D.D. Kosambi edited by D.N. Jha, 2011 Leftword Books. Full text on archive.org
• Towards a Political Philology: D.D. Kosambi and Sanskrit (2008) by Sheldon Pollock, EPW.
• Early Indian History and the Legacy of D.D. Kosambi by Romila Thapar. Resonance, June 2011.
• Kosambi, Marxism and Indian History by Irfan Habib. EPW, 26 July 2008. Pdf.
• R.S. Sharma and Vivekanand Jha, Indian Society, Historical Probings (in memory of D. D. Kosambi), People's Publishing House, New Delhi, 1974.
• J.D.Bernal: obituary D.D.Kosambi. Nature, 1966 Sept.3; 211: 1024.
External links
• Steps in Science. Essay by D.D. Kosambi
• "Baba": A Personal Tribute by A.L. Basham
• My Friendship with D. D. Kosambi by Daniel H. H. Ingalls
• D.D. Kosambi: Father of Scientific Indian History by Dale Riepe
• Video. Romila Thapar at D. D. Kosambi Festival of Ideas 2008, Goa, Part-1, Part-2
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Raghunandana [Raghunandan Bhattacharyya] [Raghunandana Bhaṭṭācāryya ]
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 6/5/21
Raghunandana
Born: c. 16th century CE, Nabadwip
Other names: Raghunandan Bhattacharyya, Raghunandana Bhaṭṭācāryya
Occupation Sanskrit writer
Raghunandana (c. 16th century CE) was an Indian Sanskrit scholar from the Bengal region. His writings include 28 Smriti digests on Hindu law and a commentary on Dayabhaga.[1]
Life
Raghunandana was born at Nabadwip, to Harihara Bhattacharya. He was a pupil of Srinatha Acharya Chudamani.[1] His writings mention Rayamukuta (1431 CE), and are mentioned by Viramitrodaya of Mitramisra (early 17th century). Thus, it can be inferred that Raghunandana lived around 16th century CE.[2]
The various estimates of his lifespan include:[3]
• Rajendra Chandra Hazra: 1520-1570
• Monmohan Chakravarti: born 1490 or 1500, literary activity during 1520-1575
• Pandurang Vaman Kane: 1510-1580
Bani Chakravarti wrote a book on him, titled Samaj-samskarak Raghunandan (1964), in Bengali language.[1]
Works
Astavimsati-tattva
Raghunandana authored 28 Smriti digests on civil law and rituals, collectively known as Astavimsati-tattva.[4] The English scholars compared Raghunandana's digests to the Comyns' Digest, and called him the "Comyns of India".[3]
The titles of these digests end in the word tattva (literally "essence"). 27 of these works are mentioned at the beginning of Malamasa-tattva.[2]
The 28 digests include:[4][2]
1. Ahnika-tattva
2. Chandoga-vrsotsarga-tattva
3. Daya-tattva
4. Deva-pratishtha-tattva
5. Diksha-tattva
6. Divya-tattva
7. Durgotsava-tattva
8. Ekadashi-tattva
9. Janmashtami-tattva
10. Jyotisha-tattva
11. Krtya-tattva
12. Malamasa-tattva (or Malimluca-tattva)
13. Matha-pratishtha-tattva
14. Prayashchitta-tattva
15. Purushottama-kshetra-tattva
16. Rg-vrsotsarga-tattva
17. Sama-shraddha-tattva
18. Samskara-tattva
19. Shuddhi-tattva
20. Sudra-krtya-tattva
21. Taddga-bhavanotsarga-tattva
22. Tithi-tattva
23. Vastuydga-tattva
24. Vivaha-tattva (or Udvaha-tattva)
25. Vrata-tattva
26. Vyavahara-tattva
27. Yajuh-shraddha-tattva
28. Yajur-vrsotsarga-tattva
Chandoga-vrsotsarga-tattva, Rgvrsotsarga-tattva and Yajur-vrsotsarga-tattva are collectively known as Vrsotsarga-tattva. Deva-pratishtha-tattva and Matha-pratishtha-tattva are collectively known as Pratishtha-tattva.[2]
Commentary on Dayabhaga
Raghunandana's Dayabhaga-tika, also known as Dayabhaga-vyakhya[na], is a commentary on Jimutavahana's Hindu law treatise Dayabhaga. During the British Raj, when Hindu law was used in the courts, the Calcutta High Court termed Raghunandana's Dayabhaga-tika as the best commentary on Dayabhaga.[4] William Jones, a puisne judge at the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William, mentioned that the local Hindu scholars often referred to Jimutavahana's treatise, but it was Raghunandana's work that was "more generally approved" in Bengal.[3]
The commentary quotes several other scholars and writings, including Medhatithi, Kulluka Bhatta, Mitakshara, Vivada-Ratnakara of Chandeshvara Thakura, Shulapani and Vivada-Chintamani of Vachaspati Mishra (often critically).[3]
There have been some doubts about the authorship of this commentary. Both Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1810) and Julius Eggeling (1891) suspected that it was not authored by the writer of Divya-tattva (that is, Raghunandana). However, Monmohan Chakravarti (1915) and Rajendra Chandra Hazra (1950) both attribute the work to Raghunandana. Pandurang Vaman Kane also ascribes the commentary to him, but not without hesitation.[3]
Other works
His other works include:[2]
• Gaya-shraddha paddhati
• Graha-yaga-tattva (or Graha-pramana-tattva)
• Tirtha-yatra-tattva (or Tirtha-tattva)
• Tripuskara-santi-tattva
• Dvadasa-yatra-tattva (or Yatra-tattva)
• Rasa-yatra tattva (or Rasa-yatra paddhati)
References
1. Sures Chandra Banerji (1989). A Companion to Sanskrit Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-81-208-0063-2.
2. Sures Chandra Banerji (1999). A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra. Abhinav Publications. p. 45. ISBN 978-81-7017-370-0.
3. Ludo Rocher (2002). Jimutavahana's Dayabhaga: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal. Oxford University Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-19-803160-4.
4. Ganga Ram Garg, ed. (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World. Concept Publishing Company. p. 739. ISBN 978-81-7022-376-4.
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 6/5/21
Raghunandana
Born: c. 16th century CE, Nabadwip
Other names: Raghunandan Bhattacharyya, Raghunandana Bhaṭṭācāryya
Occupation Sanskrit writer
Raghunandana (c. 16th century CE) was an Indian Sanskrit scholar from the Bengal region. His writings include 28 Smriti digests on Hindu law and a commentary on Dayabhaga.[1]
Life
Raghunandana was born at Nabadwip, to Harihara Bhattacharya. He was a pupil of Srinatha Acharya Chudamani.[1] His writings mention Rayamukuta (1431 CE), and are mentioned by Viramitrodaya of Mitramisra (early 17th century). Thus, it can be inferred that Raghunandana lived around 16th century CE.[2]
The various estimates of his lifespan include:[3]
• Rajendra Chandra Hazra: 1520-1570
• Monmohan Chakravarti: born 1490 or 1500, literary activity during 1520-1575
• Pandurang Vaman Kane: 1510-1580
Bani Chakravarti wrote a book on him, titled Samaj-samskarak Raghunandan (1964), in Bengali language.[1]
Works
Astavimsati-tattva
Raghunandana authored 28 Smriti digests on civil law and rituals, collectively known as Astavimsati-tattva.[4] The English scholars compared Raghunandana's digests to the Comyns' Digest, and called him the "Comyns of India".[3]
The titles of these digests end in the word tattva (literally "essence"). 27 of these works are mentioned at the beginning of Malamasa-tattva.[2]
The 28 digests include:[4][2]
1. Ahnika-tattva
2. Chandoga-vrsotsarga-tattva
3. Daya-tattva
4. Deva-pratishtha-tattva
5. Diksha-tattva
6. Divya-tattva
7. Durgotsava-tattva
8. Ekadashi-tattva
9. Janmashtami-tattva
10. Jyotisha-tattva
11. Krtya-tattva
12. Malamasa-tattva (or Malimluca-tattva)
13. Matha-pratishtha-tattva
14. Prayashchitta-tattva
15. Purushottama-kshetra-tattva
16. Rg-vrsotsarga-tattva
17. Sama-shraddha-tattva
18. Samskara-tattva
19. Shuddhi-tattva
20. Sudra-krtya-tattva
21. Taddga-bhavanotsarga-tattva
22. Tithi-tattva
23. Vastuydga-tattva
24. Vivaha-tattva (or Udvaha-tattva)
25. Vrata-tattva
26. Vyavahara-tattva
27. Yajuh-shraddha-tattva
28. Yajur-vrsotsarga-tattva
Chandoga-vrsotsarga-tattva, Rgvrsotsarga-tattva and Yajur-vrsotsarga-tattva are collectively known as Vrsotsarga-tattva. Deva-pratishtha-tattva and Matha-pratishtha-tattva are collectively known as Pratishtha-tattva.[2]
Commentary on Dayabhaga
Raghunandana's Dayabhaga-tika, also known as Dayabhaga-vyakhya[na], is a commentary on Jimutavahana's Hindu law treatise Dayabhaga. During the British Raj, when Hindu law was used in the courts, the Calcutta High Court termed Raghunandana's Dayabhaga-tika as the best commentary on Dayabhaga.[4] William Jones, a puisne judge at the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William, mentioned that the local Hindu scholars often referred to Jimutavahana's treatise, but it was Raghunandana's work that was "more generally approved" in Bengal.[3]
The commentary quotes several other scholars and writings, including Medhatithi, Kulluka Bhatta, Mitakshara, Vivada-Ratnakara of Chandeshvara Thakura, Shulapani and Vivada-Chintamani of Vachaspati Mishra (often critically).[3]
There have been some doubts about the authorship of this commentary. Both Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1810) and Julius Eggeling (1891) suspected that it was not authored by the writer of Divya-tattva (that is, Raghunandana). However, Monmohan Chakravarti (1915) and Rajendra Chandra Hazra (1950) both attribute the work to Raghunandana. Pandurang Vaman Kane also ascribes the commentary to him, but not without hesitation.[3]
Equally revealing for the existence of different texts with identical titles are certain statements in the dharmanibandhas. Besides the puranas with these names which he did consult (pp. 2-3) Ballalasena refers in the Danasagara to "another" (apara) Brahmaº, Agniº, Visnuº, and Lingaº which he did not use (p. 7). Inasmuch as the contents of these "other" puranas, as indicated in the Danasagara, do not correspond to those of the extant puranas, the conclusion was drawn that in addition to the latter -- which are spurious by definition (see 1.3) -- there was for each of them at least one other spurious text.15 [15 E. g., HAZRA 1940: 95 n. 40 (Lingaº), 151 n. 168 (Brahmaº).] Similarly, Narasimha Vajapeyin's Nityacarapradipa distinguishes between two different Brahmaºs, one of which is quoted in Laksmidhara's Krtyakalpataru, the other in the works of Hemadri; the text labels the latter an upapurana.16 [16 BI work 160, 1903-28, 1.19.] Ballalasena (p. 7) also refers to a few puranas which were useless for his purpose, since they do not contain rules on gifts (danavidhisunya); one of these is the Brahmandaº. Not only does the extant Brahmandaº contain such rules; Hemadri's Caturvargacintamani, attributes to it many other verses on the subject which do not appear in our editions. This shows "that the text of the 'Brahmanda', used by Hemadri, was in many ways different from that of our present edition as well as from that of the Brahmanda known to Ballalasena."17 [17 HAZRA 1940: 19.]The Kalikaº is a title which has created problems for several scholars. Raghavan was the first one to suggest the existence of at least three versions: the one represented by most manuscripts and editions, comprising from 90 to 93 chapters; L. 370 of Aufrecht's Catalogus Catalogorum, which Rajendralala Mitra himself calls Candiº; and the India Office manuscript, a later and different text.18 [18 RAGHAVAN Kalikaº 1938: 331.] The editor of Laksmidhara's Krtyakalpataru, K. V. Rangaswami Aiyangar, came to the conclusion that "it has been ... difficult to find any of the quotations from Kalikapurana in any of the printed editions of it. The existence of Kalikapurana in more than one recension, and the radical differences between rival versions of it, might justify the suspicion that we do not now possess it in the form in which it existed in the 11th and 12th centuries."19 [19 RANGASWAMI AIYANGAR Nandiº 1941-42.: 159.] On the basis of the India Office catalogue19a [19a EGGELING 1899: 1193-1198, no. 3344.] Hazra accepts the existence of another Kalikaº, also called Kaliº and Satiº, which is quite different from "the present" Kalikaº.20 [20 HAZRA 1963: 259.] Elsewhere Hazra mentions that Raghunandana's Durgapujatattva (pp. 8-9) quotes ten verses which are introduced as dusprapakalikapuranantare 'pi. It shows "that Raghunandana knew another Kalika-p. which was different from the present one profusely drawn upon by him in his Tattvas."21 [21 HAZRA 1963: 236.] Notice also that Nilakantha's [Mimamasakabhatta's] Vyavaharamayukha, after quoting three stanzas from the Kalikaº, says that they do not deserve absolute confidence, "for they are absent from two or three manuscripts of the text."22 [22 Ed. P. V. KANE, Bombay: NSP, 1926, p. 114.]
-- The Puranas, by Ludo Rocher
Foreword
Dharmasastra has been a discipline comprising the vast range of subjects related to regulations on ethics, social and moral behavior, administration, laws of inheritance and various other issues related to diplomacy and polity. The tradition of Dharmasastra developed through the hundreds of texts like Dharmasutras and Smrtis. Yajnavalkya in his Smrti has noted ten major authors of Smrtis, but Vtramitramisra, the author of Vtramitrodaya has enlarged the list by citing many other Smrtis. Apart from the authors of Dharmasutras and smrtis, commentators like Visvarupa, Medhatithi, Vijfianesvara, Kulu kabhatta and a host of other also have made original contributions to Dharmasastra.
Vyavaharamayukha is a part of Bhagavantabhaskara, one of the most voluminous encyclopedic works on Dharmasastra. Nilakantha Bhatta, its author was great Mimamsaka. He was protege of Bhagavantadeva, a ruler of Bhareha (presently in Etawa Dist. of U.P.). Mahamahopadhyaya Purushottam Vaman Kane has placed him around 1610-45 AD. Nilakantha Bhatta compiled this voluminous text at his instance.Mimamsaka (Skt. Mīmāṃsaka) — an eternalist tradition of ancient India. The Mimamsaka, or Analysts, are followers of Jaimini. Their school is based on an explanation of the Vedas. They say that only the Vedas are valid, and they practise sacrifice as taught in the Vedas.
There were two distinct systems of this name, both basing themselves on the interpretation of the Vedic texts, the Purva Mimamsaka, the 'Investigation of the Primary' (Skt. Pūrva-Mīmāṃsaka), who are just referred to as Mimamsaka, and the Uttara Mimamsaka, the 'Investigation of the Latter' (Skt. Uttara-Mīmāṃsaka). The latter is better known as the Vedanta school. The Vedas are sometimes said to cover two topics: action (relating to Vedic ritual) and knowledge. The Mimamsaka are said to deal with action and the Vedanta with knowledge. The Mimamsakas deal mainly with the beginning parts of the Vedas, and their foundational text is Jaimini's Purva Mimamsa Sutra (Skt. Purvā Mīmāṃsā Sūtra), dated around the 2nd century BCE.[1] [See Hillary Rodrigues, Introducing Hinduism (New York: Routledge, 2006), 209.]
-- Mimamsaka, by Rigpa WikiBhagavantadeva (भगवन्तदेव) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—king of Bhareha, son of Sāhideva, son of Rājāsiṃha, son of Cakrasena, son of Tārācandra, son of Yaśodeva, son of Rāmacandra, son of Karmasena, son of Rolicandra, son of Śivagaṇa, son of Candrapāla, son of Manyudeva, son of Narabrahmadeva, son of Vīḍharāja, son of Vairāṭarāja, son of Raya, son of Astaśatru, son of Viśoka, son of Karṇa. They were of the Seṅgara, or in Saṃskṛt, Śṛṅgivara [śṛṅgivara, vara m. N. of a man ib. -- Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary] tribe. Bhagavantadeva was the patron of Nīlakaṇṭha, the author of the following work.
-- Bhagavantadeva: 4 definitions, by Wisdom LibrarySome of the Mayukhas such as the printed editions of the S'anti, Prayas'citta, S'raddha and Acara Mayukhas contain the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva. The genealogy is more or less mythical, but there are no weighty reasons to suppose that the verses are spurious and not from the pen of Nilakantha himself1 [The verses are: -- [x]. Vide also Aufrecht's Bod. Cat., p. 280. No. 656 and I.O. Cat. part III, p. 429, No. 1444 and Mandlik's Introduction LXXVII.]. The genealogy is: from Brahma was born Kas'yapa, whose son was Vibhandaka, whose son was Rsyas'rnga. In the family of the latter was born S'rngivara, after whom the family came to be known as Sengara. King Karna was born in that family. Then follows a line of eighteen kings, the last being Bhagavantadeva.
-- The Vyavaharamayukha of Bhatta Nilakantha, With an Introduction, Notes and Appendices, by P.V. KaneKarna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: Karṇa), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the major characters of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. He is the spiritual son of the Vedic deity- Surya ("sun god") and princess Kunti (mother of the Pandavas), and thus a demigod of royal birth. Kunti was granted the boon to bear a child with desired divine qualities from the gods and without much knowledge, Kunti invoked the sun god to confirm it if it was true indeed. Karna was secretly born to an unmarried Kunti in her teenage, fearing outrage and backlash from society over her premarital pregnancy, Kunti had no choice but to abandon the newly born Karna adrift in a basket on the Ganges, in the hope that he finds foster parents. The basket discovered and Karna is adopted and raised by foster Suta parents named Radha and Adhiratha Nandana of the charioteer and poet profession working for king Dhritarashtra.
Karna grows up to be an accomplished warrior of extraordinary abilities, a gifted speaker and becomes a loyal friend of Duryodhana. He was appointed the king of Anga (Bihar-Bengal) by Duryodhana. Karna joined the Duryodhana's side in the Kurukshetra war. He was a key warrior who aimed to kill 3rd Pandava Arjuna but dies in a battle with him during the war.
He is a tragic hero in the Mahabharata, in a manner similar to Aristotle's literary category of "flawed good man". He meets his biological mother late in the epic, and then discovers that he is the older half-brother of those he is fighting against. Karna is a symbol of someone who is rejected by those who should love him but do not given the circumstances, yet becomes a man of exceptional abilities willing to give his love and life as a loyal friend. His character is developed in the epic to raise and discuss major emotional and dharma (duty, ethics, moral) dilemmas. His story has inspired many secondary works, poetry and dramatic plays in the Hindu arts tradition, both in India and in southeast Asia.
A regional tradition believes that Karna founded the city of Karnal, in contemporary Haryana.
-- Karna, by Wikipedia
There are twelve Mayukhas (chapters) in Bhagavanta-bhaskara, They deal with various topics related to Dharmasastra viz. - the Samskaras, Acara, Samaya (calendar), Sraddha, Niti (Polity and administration), Dana, Utsarga (Public welfare activeities), devapratistha, Prayascitta, Suddhi and Santi. Out of these twelve Mayukhas in Bhagavantabhaskara, the Vyavaharamayukha is the sixth one. It is a valuable treatise on legal issues, covering important facets of Ancient Indian Economy, administration and rules for inheritance. Nilakantha Bhatta is not only an authority on Dharmasastra, he has culled the essence from hundreds of ancient Smrti texts, to make his work a valuable compendium. It is thus not only an essential reading for the students of Sanskrit -- particularly that of Dharmasastra, it is also very useful for legal practitioners, sociologists and researchers in Ancient Indian History and Culture. Also, Nilkantha Bhatta is not just a compiler. He has given his original views and interpretations on a number of debatable issues.
The text has been printed a number of times, but it has not been published with English translation. Mahamahopadhyaya Purushottam Vaman Kane recognized the importance of this work for the first time and he translated it into English. His translation published in 1993 is not easily available now. We are happy to bring out the text and translation together for the first time.
It is his translation of Vyavaharamayukha that led Mahamahopadhyaya Purushottam Vaman Kane to take up one of the most promising and gigantic project in Indological studies, i.e., writing the ‘History of Dharmashastra.’ sub-titled as ‘Ancient and Medieval Religions and Civil Law in India,’ Kane intended to give a survey of Dharmasastra literature in the preface of Vyavaharamayukha, which developed into his magnum opus to be completed in more than three decades. In about 7000 pages. Kane could provide first hand knowledge because of his command on Sanskrit. Professor R.S. Sharma, one of the most eminent historians of the country, writes about his achievements in the following words -- “Pandurang Vaman Kane, a great Sanskritist wedded to social reform, continued earlier tradition of scholarship. His monumental work entitled the ‘History of Dharmashatra,’ published in five volumes in the twentieth century, is an encyclopedia of ancient social laws and customs. This enables us to study the social processes in ancient India.”
We hope that this new edition of Vyavaharamayukha will be useful for [the] academic world.
Preface
The Vyavaharamayukha of Nilakantha is a work of paramount authority on Hindu Law in Gujerat, the town and island of Bombay and in northern Konkan. Even where, as in the Maratha country and in the District of Ratnagiri, the Mitaksara is the paramount authority, it occupies a very important, though a subordinate place. The first English translation of the Vyavaharamayukha was published in 1827 by Borradarle. Considering the state of Sanskrit scholarship among Westerners more than a hundred years ago, the translation was a creditable performance. But, as has been judicially noticed, Borradaile’s translation is in many places infelicitous, obscure -- or positively wrong. Besides, Borradaile’s method of dividing the translation into chapters, sections, and placita, though convenient to judges and lawyers for purposes of reference, conveyed to those unacquainted with the Sanksrit language or the original work the wrong impression that the original was similarly divided. About fifty years ago the late Rao Saheb V. N. Mandlik brought out a scholarly translation of the Vyavaharamayukha, that was a great improvement on Borradaile’s work, both in the accuracy of the translation and the method of its presentation. That work is not now available in the market. It omitted the section on ordeals, it did not refer to decided cases, and was also inaccurate in some places, as a reference to the pages indicated in the Index to this translation will show. In 1924 Mr. J.R. Gharpure of Bombay, the indefatigable editor of the ‘Collection of Hindu Law Texts,’ brought out a translation of the Vyavaharamayukha. In this translation he generally follows the late Rao Saheb Y.N. Mandlik, though here and there improvements are made; but he does not translate the section of the work on ordeals, nor does he cite even a considerable body of decisions of the High Courts that have a direct bearing on the text of the Vyavaharamayukha.
In the translation here presented, the whole of the Vyavaharamayukha has been rendered into English. The text chosen for translation is that contained in the edition of the Vyavaharamyukha published by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute at Poona in 1926. The pages of the text have been indicated at the bottom of the pages of the translation. In this translation, explanatory notes have been added in order to elucidate the meaning of the author. References to the pages of the notes in the Poona edition where the Vyavaharamayukha has been exhaustively annotated, have also been given in appropriate places for those who want to make a deeper study of the original and the translation. The Vyavaharamayukha is written in continuous prose, except where quotations in verse (which are numerous) are cited from ancient works and sages. In the present translation, quotations in verse have been clearly indicated by the method of beginning them in a separate line, and by lessening the size of the lines of the translation of verses by a few letter spaces, as compared with the rest of the work. Another feature of this translation is that exhaustive citations of decided cases have been made, wherein the Mayukha has either been quoted, explained. criticised, referred to, or which have an important bearing on the law as laid down in the Vyavaharamayukha. The decisions of courts have in a few places been also criticized. It has however to be borne in mind that this work does not profess to be a treatise on Hindu Law and that, therefore, no one should expect that all possible cases on Hindu Law would be found digested herein.
As judges and the legal profession have been accustomed for decades to use the translations by Borradaile and Mandlik, and as decided cases cite quotations from and give references to these translations, in the corner of each page of this translation corresponding portions of Borradaile’s translation contained in Stokes collection of Hindu Law-books and Mandlik’s translation have been indicated with the letters S and M respectively.
The Introduction to the edition of the text of the Vyavaharamayukha deals exhaustively with the family and personal history of Nilakantha, the works of Nilakantha, the period of his literary activity, the contents of his twelve Mayukhas which together constitute his digest called Bhagavantabhaskara, his position in Dharmasastra Literature, and the position of the Vyavaharamayukha in modern Hindu Law. Those who want to make a detailed study of these matters must refer to that Introduction. But for the benefit of those who do not know Sanskrit, a brief treatment of the matters detailed above is given here.
An exhaustive synopsis of contents, an index of cases and Law Reports, and a general index which also contains in italics important Sanskrit words will, it is hoped, add to the usefulness of this edition of the translation of the Vyvaharamayukha.
-- Vyavaharamayukha of Nilakantha, Translated into English, With Explanatory Notes and References to Decided Cases, by P.V. Kane, Introduced by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan [Central Sanskrit University
The introductory verses in the mss. of all the Mayukhas present a perplexing problem. Hardly any two mss. of the same Mayukha contain the same introductory verses. For example, one of the three mss. of the Samayamayukha in the Bhau Daji collection of the Bombay Royal Asiatic Society has only one introductory verse2 [[x].]; while in the other two that verse does not occur at all. In one of these two latter there are four introductory verses and in the other there are five, the Benares edition agreeing with the last. The Benares edition of the S'antimayukha (of 1879) contains fourteen introductory verses, nine of which (from the second) give the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva; while one ms. of the S'antimayukha in the Bhau Daji collection has only one introductory verse which is not found in the Benares edition; and another ms. of the same in the same collection has three verses, only one of which is found in the Benares edition. In the same way the printed editions of the Prayas'cittamayukha and the Acaramayukha (Benares, 1879) contain fourteen introductory verses each; while mss. of these two Mayukhas in the Gattulalji collection in Bombay have only two and three verses respectively. This perplexing variance in the number of introductory verses cannot be satisfactorily explained by supposing that in all cases of such differences the scribes of the mss. and others introduced unauthorised interpolations. The hypothesis which, after a careful consideration of all the introductions, seems most probable is that Nilakantha himself (or probably his son) from time to time revised his works, recast the introductory verses, added to them and also made slight alterations and additions in the body of the works.
Some of the Mayukhas such as the printed editions of the S'anti, Prayas'citta, S'raddha and Acara Mayukhas contain the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva. The genealogy is more or less mythical, but there are no weighty reasons to suppose that the verses are spurious and not from the pen of Nilakantha himself1 [The verses are: -- [x]. Vide also Aufrecht's Bod. Cat., p. 280. No. 656 and I.O. Cat. part III, p. 429, No. 1444 and Mandlik's Introduction LXXVII.]. The genealogy is: from Brahma was born Kas'yapa, whose son was Vibhandaka, whose son was Rsyas'rnga. In the family of the latter was born S'rngivara, after whom the family came to be known as Sengara. King Karna was born in that family. Then follows a line of eighteen kings, the last being Bhagavantadeva.
-- The Vyavaharamayukha or Bhatta Nilakantha, With an Introduction, Notes and Appendices, by P.V. Kane
Other works
His other works include:[2]
• Gaya-shraddha paddhati
• Graha-yaga-tattva (or Graha-pramana-tattva)
• Tirtha-yatra-tattva (or Tirtha-tattva)
• Tripuskara-santi-tattva
• Dvadasa-yatra-tattva (or Yatra-tattva)
• Rasa-yatra tattva (or Rasa-yatra paddhati)
References
1. Sures Chandra Banerji (1989). A Companion to Sanskrit Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-81-208-0063-2.
2. Sures Chandra Banerji (1999). A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra. Abhinav Publications. p. 45. ISBN 978-81-7017-370-0.
3. Ludo Rocher (2002). Jimutavahana's Dayabhaga: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal: The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal. Oxford University Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-19-803160-4.
4. Ganga Ram Garg, ed. (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World. Concept Publishing Company. p. 739. ISBN 978-81-7022-376-4.
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Part 1 of 2
Nilankantha [Bhatta Nilakantha]
Excerpt from The Vyavaharamayukha of Bhatta Nilakantha, With an Introduction, Notes and Appendices
by P.V. Kane
INTRODUCTION
I. Critical Apparatus
The present edition of the Vyavaharamayukha of Nilakantha is based on the following editions and manuscripts: —
(A.) The oblong lithographed edition of 1826 published at Bombay by ‘Shreeorustna Jagannathjee’ under the patronage of the Government of Bombay and printed at the Courier Press. This edition is, for the time when it was published, a very accurate one. There are a few misprints and mistakes. It does not say what mss. were consulted and no various readings are given. It gives references to editions of the Manusmrti and Yajnavalkyasmrti that were published before it. At the end there is a table of contents and a list of errata is given at the beginning. This edition contains 244 pages with eight lines on each page.
(B.) This is a paper ms. belonging to the Deccan College Collection, No. 67 of 1879-80, written on 73 folios, having 16 lines on each page up to folio 32 and 12-15 thereafter. There is no date at the beginning or at the end. It looks to be about 100 years old. The handwriting is not good. Red vertical double lines are used to indicate quotations.
(C.) This ms. is No. 120 of the Vis'rambag collection (i) written on 85 folios. There are generally eleven lines on each page. It is written very carelessly, though in a good hand. There is no date at the beginning or at the end. The ms. appears to be a hundred years old. There are many omissions of words and lines through oversight.
(D.) This ms. is No. 121 of the Vis'rambag collection (i). There are 100 leaves with 10 or 11 lines on each page. It is written in a clear, bold hand, but rather carelessly. The copyist was probably altogether ignorant of Sanskrit and wrote to dictation. The colophon at the end shows that it was copied in samvat 1820 i.e. 1764 A. D.
(E.) This ms. is No 296 of the Vis'rambag collection (ii). It is incomplete and contains 98 folios, out of which 1, 5-34, 48 and 85-94 are wanting. The writer was an illiterate and careless scribe, though he wrote a good hand. This ms. omits very frequently words and sentences through oversight.
(F.) This is a ms. belonging to the Bhau Daji collection of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic society. It contains 91 folios with 9 or 10 lines on each page. It is well written and is tolerably correct, but frequently omits words and even lines. Corrections are made in a smaller and more beautiful hand, probably by another scribe. The original readings of F agree remarkably with B and D, but the corrections make it differ from them. In a few cases whole pages are omitted, though the ms. itself presents consecutively numbered pages.
(G.) A ms. from the Library of the Calcutta Sanskrit College, containing 95 folios with 12 lines (sometimes only 8 or 10) On each page. It is written in a bold and beautiful hand. Corrections are made in another ink but probably by the same hand. Two folios, 44-45, are missing, though on the first page it is described as complete. From folio 80 there is confusion. Probably the leaves of the original were carried off by the wind when the scribe was copying. He collected the leaves together but changed their order and copied down the leaves so shuffled up. The ms. looks modern and must not be more than 100 years old.
(H.) A ms. from the Library of the Calcutta Sanskrit College in Bengali characters containing 78 folios with 8 or 9 lines on each page. Though described as complete on the title page, it stops at the title called [x]. This ms. is very incorrect and full of lacuna, very often due to the fact that the scribe's eye ran from one word to the same word occurring a few lines later. The ms is modern, about 50 years old.
(K.) This is the Benares lithographed edition of 1879 printed at the Kas'i-Sanskrta Yantralaya. This edition often confounds the letters [x] and [x], [x] and [x], [x] and [x]. There are numerous mistakes arising from the inability to read correctly the original from which this edition was printed. This edition does not give various readings and was probably based upon a single ms. This edition agrees remarkably with A, C and G, particularly with C even in the matter of omissions.
(M.) This is the edition of the late Raosaheb V. N. Mandlik published in 1879 containing the text, translation and critical notes. This is a scholarly edition. It is based on six mss. and two printed editions. This edition is not now available in the market. It gives in the footnotes various readings and also references to some of the works quoted or referred to in the text.
(N.) This is a ms. belonging to the library of Srimant Raje Lakshmanrao Saheb Bhonsle of Nagpur (junior). It is well written and is tolerably correct. It has 136 folios with fourteen lines on each page. It is about a hundred years old. It is full of omissions. From the section on [x], a great confusion is visible. Probably the leaves of the original were blown away by the wind when the scribe was copying. The leaves were collected without any attempt at arranging them in consecutive order.
It will be seen from the above that mss. belonging to different parts of India have been utilised in preparing this edition. Among the mss. B, D, E, and F agree very closely, even in their mistakes and are probably copies of the same codex archetypus. C sometimes agrees with B D F and sometimes with G. C G and K show a remarkable agreement even in omissions. H is akin to G. M very often follows A. N seems to be an independent ms., though it generally presents the same readings as C and K and sometimes agrees with A and M. In the footnotes all important readings have been collected, only very palpable mistakes of copyists being generally omitted. Even such mistakes will sometimes be found in the footnotes purposely given for the sake of comparison.
The Vyavaharamayukha quotes very largely from the Manusmrti, the Yajnavalkya-smrti, the Narada-smrti and other smrti works. In the footnotes important variations from the printed editions of these works have been pointed out.
II. The family and personal history of Nilakantha
For several generations the family of which Nilakantha was a worthy scion held the first place among learned men in that ancient and far-famed seat of Sanskrit learning, the city of Benares. The Purvamimansa system and religions and ceremonial lore were the special forte of this family. Although biographies of learned men are very rare in India, as regards this family the case is somewhat different. Mahamahopadhyaya Haraprasad Sastri has brought to light a biography of this family written by a distinguished member of the family, Samkarabhtta, son of Narayanabhatta and father of Nilakantha (vide Indian Antiquary for 1912 vol. 41. pp 7-13).
Unfortunately the copy supplied to the Mahamahopadhyaya does not contain the first folio and the work, which is full of inaccuracies and omissions, comes abruptly to an end. The last chapter shows that Samkarabhatta, who was a very old man then, was weighed down with grief for the loss of a promising nephew. The work is styled Gadhivams'anucarita from the fact that the gotra of the family was Vis'vamitra.
The family migrated to Benares from the Deccan. According to tradition the home of the family was in the ancient and famous town of Paithan. The first member of the family, of whom some notices are preserved in works that were beyond doubt composed by the members of the family, was Govinda1. [[x]. Introduction to [x] of [x] But it has to be noted that in the commentary on the [x] composed by [x], two more ancestors are mentioned. [x] I.O. Cat. part II p. 303. I take [x] as the name and not [x] as some do. [x] was a famous name in Maharastra.] As the first folio of the Gadhivams'anucarita is not available, information about the founder of the family and its early fortunes is not forthcoming from that work. In the Tristhalisetu of Narayanabhatta, the author refers to his ancestor Govinda and informs us that the gotra of the family was Vis'vamitra1. [[x] (mss. Deccan College No. 104 of 1892-95 and Vis'rambag i. No. 149).] Rames'vava was the son of Govinda. The copy of the Gadhivams'anucarita opens (on its second page) with a panegyric of Rames'varabhatta. He is said to have been very strong in Mimansa, grammar, logic and in philosophy. He wrote a poem styled Ramakutuhala in order to eclipse the fame of the Naisadhiya of S'riharsa. Numerous pupils flocked to him at Paithan on the Godavari. He is said to have cured of leprosy the son of an influential Mahomedan officer of the Ahmednagar state. He went to Kolhapur and thence to Vijayanagar, which was then ruled over by the famous Krsnaraya. He then started on a pilgrimage to Dvaraka. On his way to Dvaraka a son was born to him in s'ake 1435 caitra i.e. March 1513 A. D. This son later on became famous as Narayanabhatta. Rames'vara, after staying for four years at Dvaraka, came back to Paithan. After spending four more years at Paithan, Rames'varabhatta left for Benares2 [The Introduction to the [x] bears this out, [x].]. A second son named S'ridhara was born on the way and a third named Madhava at Kas'i3 [[x] vide I.O. Cat p. 531, Nos 1667-68 [x], son of [x]]. Rames'vara was advanced in age when his first son Narayana-bhatta was born. So he must have been quite an old man when he came to Benares. For some of his famous pupils, vide Indian Antiquary for 1912, p 9. Students from all parts of India came in crowds to Benares to learn at his feet and spread his fame throughout the length and breadth of India. Rames'vara died at a very advanced age and his wife became a sati.
Narayanabhatta learnt all the s'astras at the feet of his father1 [ ]. He is said to have engaged in constant disputations with the pandits of Eastern India, He vanquished Maithila and Gauda pandits at the house of Todarmal. It was he who raised Daksinatya pandits to that position of high eminence which they hold even now at Benares. He was the most illustrious member of his family and shod lustre on it by his giant intellect, his holiness and his ceaseless efforts in the cause of Sanskrit literature. Pandits all over India looked upon him as their patron and he spared neither money nor pains to help them. He was very fond of collecting and copying manuscripts. It is related that, when the Mussalmans razed the temple of Vis'ves'vara at Benares to the ground from religious bigotry and hatred, there was severe drought for a long time and that the Mahomedan ruler implored Narayanabhatta to propitiate Vis'ves'vara. Narayanabhatta propitiated Vis'ves'vara and copious rain fell in a day. Thereupon Nararyanabhatta induced the Mahomedan ruler to allow him to rebuild the temple of Vis'ves'vara. For his piety and learning Narayanabhatta was given the title of ‘Jagadguru’ and his family was given the first place of honour in the assembly of learned Brahmanas and at the recitations of the Vedas (mantrajagaras). The latter distinction continues in the family, it is said, even now. That Narayanabhatta was concerned with the rebuilding of the temple of Vis'ves'vara is vouched for by Divakarabhatta, a daughter’s son of Nilakantha, who was the grand-son of Narayanabhatta1 [[x] Introductory verse 4 to the [x]. Vide I.O. Cat. part III p. 547, No. 1708.]. But it is rather strange that the Gadhivams'anucarita is silent on this point (I. A. vol. 41 at p. 10). In the colophons to the several works of his descendants, Narayanabhatta is frequently styled ‘Jagadguru’.2 [e.g. [x] &c. Aufrecht's cat. of Sanskrit mss. in the Bodleian Library p. 277, No. 654.] Narayanabhatta wrote the Prayogaratna, the Tristhalisetu, the Antyestipaddhati, Rudrapaddhati, Divyanusthanapaddhati,3 [It is probably to this work that [x] in his [x] refers in the words [x] p. 457.] and numerous other works. He wrote a commentary on the Vrttaratnakara in the year 1602 of Vikramarka i.e. 1546 A. D.4 [[x] I.O. Cat. part II p. 304.] His works are even now used all over India and regulate the performance of religious ceremonial in modern times. His descendants speak of him as almost an avatara5 [[x] Introductory 3rd verse to the [x] of [x] (Nirn. ed).] of the Deity and as a profound Mimansaka.6 [[x] Intro. 4th verse to the [x] of [x] (No. 109 of the Deccan College collection of 1895-1902).] He appears to have composed a commentary on the S'astradipika of Parthasarathimis'ra, as his son S'amkarabhatta informs us.1 [My friend, Pandit Bakres'astri of Bombay, has a copy of the comment of [x] on the [x]. While commenting on the first [x], says [x]. At the end of the 6th [x] we have these words [x]. This shows that [x] commented on the first pada of the first [x] and the first two padas of the sixth [x] (of the [x]).] As he was born in 1513 and wrote a work in 1546 A. D, the literary activity of Narayanabhatta must be ascribed to the period between 1540 A. D. and 1680 A.D.
Narayanbhatta had three sons, Ramakrsnabhatta, S'amkarabhatta and Govindabhatta, the first being the eldest2 [In the [x] (Nirn. ed.) we read in one place [x].]. Ramakrsna also was a very learned man. He is spoken of as a helmsman in the deep ocean of the philosophy of the Bhatta (Kumarilabhatta) school and as unravelling the knotty points in other s'astras also and as having made his opponents look like glow-worms in the brilliance of his lore.3 [[x] Introductory verse to the [x].] He wrote a commentary on the Tantravartika, the Jivatpitrka-kartavya-nirnaya, the Jyotistomanaddhati, the Masikas'raddhanirnaya and other works. The Gadhivams'anucarita says that he died at the age of 52.
S'amkarabhatta, the second son of Narayanabhatta, was a profound Mimansaka. He wrote a commentary on the S'astradipika, to which frequent reference is made in his own work called the Dvaitanirnaya and in the Samskaramayukha, where it is styled S'astradipikaprakas'a. For an account of his Dvaitanirpaya, the Annals of the Bhandarkar Institute (vol. Ill, part 2, pp. 67-72) may be consulted. In this latter work, he distinctly states that he will conform to the views of southern writers.1 [[x] 8th intro. verse in the ms. of the [x] (No. 109 of 1895-1902 of the Deccan College Collection).] He wrote a work called Mimansabalaprakas'a (printed at Benares), in which he summarises the conclusions established in the twelve chapters of the Purvamimansasutra. Another work of his is the Dharmaprakas'a or Sarvadharmaprakas'a, in which his mother’s name is given as Parvati2 [[x] I.O. Cat part III, p. 482 No. 1564.] and in which he refers to his S'astradipikaprakas'a. Some of his other works are Vidhirasayanadusana, in which he refutes the Vidhirasayana of Appayyadiksita, the Nirnayacandrika, Vratamayukha. Bhattoji Diksita, author of the Siddhanta-kaumudi, was the most famous of his pupils.
The third son of Narayanabhatta was Govinda who died at the age of 48, leaving four sons (vide I. A. vol. 41 at p. 11).
Ramakrsna, the son of Narayana, had three sons, Dinakara alias Divakara, Kamalakara and Laksmana. The eldest of these was Dinakara3 [[x] 6th intro. verse to the [x]. 6th intro. verse to the [x] of [x].] and Laksmana was the youngest.4 [[x] 7th intro. verse, [x].] Their mother’s name was Uma and she seems to have immolated herself on the funeral pyre of her husband. The sons offer most touching reverence to their mother in their works.1 [[x] 5th intro. verse to the [x]. Intro. to the [x] and [x].] Dinakara alias Divakara wrote the Bhattadinakari or Bhattadinakaramimansa which is a commentary on the S'astradipika, the S'antisara, the Dinakaroddyota. This latter was a comprehensive digest, commenced by Dinakara and completed by his son Vis'ves'vara or Gagabhatta.2 [[x] vide Dr. Mitra's Bikaner cat. pp. 386-387; vide also I.O. Cat. part III, p. 505.] Kamalakarabhatta wrote no less than twenty-two works. Next to Narayanabhatta, Kamalakara and his cousin Nilakantha stand out as the most prominent and far-famed scions of this family of Bhattas. In some of Kamalakara’s works such as the S'antikamalakara and the commentary on the Kavyaprakas'a verses occur highly eulogising his proficience in all the s'astras.3 [[x] No. 433 of 1895-1902 of the Deccan College Collection and a ms. of the S'antiratna in the Bau Daji collection of the B.B.R.A.S.] He tells us that he composed his commentary on the Kavyaprakas'a for the diversion of his son Ananta. He composed his Nirnayasindhu in the year 1668 of the Vikrama era. i.e. in 1612 A. D.4 [[x] 6th verse at the end.] We learn from another source that this was his first work. Therefore his literary activity must have fallen between 1610 A. D. and 1640 A. D. Some of his important works are the Nirnayasindhu, the S'udrakamalakara, the Vivadatandava, the S'antikamalakara, the Vratakamalakara, the Purtakamalakara and the commentary on the Kavyaprakas'a. For a complete list vide the foot-note.1 [In the [x] he says at the end (I.O. Cat part III, p. 455 No. 1502) [x]; at the end of the [x] (also called [x] after the verse [x]: there is a list of 22 works [x].] The youngest of the three brothers, Laksmana, studied under Kamalakara and wrote the Acararatna, the Gotrapravararatna and a few other works.
S'amkarabhatta had four sons, Ranganatha, Damodara, Nrsimha and Nilakantha. Mandlik is not right in saying that S'amkarabhatta had two sons. In the Vyavaharatattva (vide appendix A) the colophon makes it clear that Nilakantha was the younger brother of the first three mentioned above. Similarly in the colophon to the Nitimayukha (Benares edition of 1880) Nilakantha is described as the younger brother of the first three mentioned above. The Dvaitanirnaya of S'amkarabhatta says that the author’s son Damodara wrote a supplement to the Dvaitanirnaya2 [[x]. Vide Annals of the Bhandarkar Institute, vol. III, part 2, p. 72.]. In the Vyavaharatattva Nilakantha refers to the work on matters forbidden in the Kali age composed by his eldest brother Damodara1 [[x]. p. 465.]. In the Acaramayukha Nilakantha refers to the Kalivarjyanirnaya of his elder brother (bhratrcaranah) and in the Prayas'cittamayukha to his eldest brother, without naming him. In the other Mayukhas also (such as those on S'raddha and Samaya) references occur to an elder brother. It is difficult to reconcile the fact that Damodara is spoken of as the eldest brother in the Vyavaharatattva with the fact that Rahganatha’s name occurs before that of Damodara in the colophon to the same work. An explanation may be hazarded that Ranganatha probably died early so that Damodara became the eldest or that Ranganatha might have been given away in adoption. It is also possible that the colophon is not exact as to the seniority among the brothers. It is significant that the Gadhivams'anucarita speaks of only Damodara, Nrsimha and Nilakantha. So it looks very probable that when S'amkarabhatta wrote the work in his old age, Ranganatha had passed away. The works of Nilakantha will be dealt with separately later on.
Dinakara alias Divakara had a son Vis'ves'vara better known as Gagabhatta. He officiated at the coronation of S'ivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire. Besides completing his father’s digest, the Uddyota, he wrote the Bhattacintamani, the Mimansakusumanjali2 [In the [x] ([x] p. 88 Chowkhamba series) he says [x].], the Kayasthadharmadipa and other works. His S'ivarkodaya is modelled on the lines of the S'lokavartika of Kumarila. In the Kayasthadharmadipa reference is made to Aurangzeb, to Rajagiri (Raigad fort) as the capital of S'iva (S'ivaji), to S'ahaji and Jija (the mother of S'ivaji) and to Balaji Kayastha, a minister of S'ivaji at whose instance the work was composed by Gagabhatta1 [I.O. Cat. vol. III, pp. 525-527, No. 1653.]. Kamalakarabhatta had three sons one of whom Ananta wrote a digest styled Ramakalpadruma on acara, samaya, s'raddha, utsarga, prayas'citta and similar matters.
Damodarabhatta had a son Siddhes'vara, who wrote a work called Samskaramayukha in samvat 1736 (i. e. 1679-80 A. D.). Nilakantha had two sons, S'amkara and Bhanu and a daughter. His wife’s name was Ganga2 [[x]. Intro. 2nd verse to the [x] of [x] (I.O. Cat. part III p. 433 No. 1464); [x] I.O. Cat. part III, p. 488 No. 1575.]. Nilakantha’s son S'amkarabhatta had a hand in editing the Samskaramayukha, as will be seen later on. He wrote the Kundoddyotadars'ana (or Kundabhaskara) in 1671 A. D.3 [I.O. Cat. part III p. 427 (foot-note). Peterson in his cat. of Ulwar mss. says that the Kundarka was printed in the [x] (p. 2), that that work was commented upon by [x], son of [x] and that [x] wrote one of his works, the [x], in 1636 (??).] Besides these he wrote the Vratarka, the Kundarka, the Karmavipaka. Bhanubhatta, another son of Nilakantha, wrote the Dvaitanirnayasiddh ntasamgraha, which is an epitome of the Dvaitanirnya, the Ekavastrasnanavidhi, and the Homanirpaya. The name of Nilakantha’s daughter was Ganga (probably in her husband’s family). She was married to Bhatta Mahadeva, of the Bharadvaja gotra, surnamed Kala (Kale in Marathi). Her son Divakarabhatta was a very learned man and compiled an extensive digest called Dharmas'astrasudhanidhi. Parts of that work are Acararka, the Danacandrika, the Ahnikacandrika, the Danahiravaliprakas'a &c. He composed his Acararka in the (Vikrama) year 1743 (i.e. 1686-87 A D.)1 [Vide I.O. Cat. part III, p. 509-510, No. 1616. The verses at the end are [x].] In that work he speaks of his maternal grandfather as the foremost among Mimansakas. In the Danahiravaliprakas'a he speaks of Nilakantha as possessed of the unclouded wisdom of Brhaspati and S'ukra2 [I.O. Cat. part III, p. 547, No. 1708, intro. verses 4-5 [x] (p. VIII, note 1) [x].]. From the introductory verses to the Danasamksepacandrika we find that his mother’s name was Ganga and father’s name Mahadeva3 [[x] I.O. Cat. part III, p. 548, No. 1709.]. In that work he distinctly says that he follows the Danoddyota, Danaratna and Danamayukha4 [Vide Cat. of the Bod. Library by Winternitz and Keith vol. II, p. 280 No. 1494 [x].]. The last is one of the twelve mayukhas of Nilakantha.
It is not necessary to pursue the pedigree of the family beyond the immediate descendants of Nilakantha.
Therefore the pedigree of the family is
For a more detailed pedigree Mandlik’s edition may be consulted. It is however to be remembered that the pedigree of the family given by Mandlik on information supplied by modern s'astris is not quite accurate. Dr. Ganganatha Jha was not able to find recently any living descendant of Nilakantha in Benares. In Mandlik’s edition Gagabhatta is shown to have had no descendants, while Dr. Gaganatha Jha says that a descendant of Gagabhatta by name Ramabhatta lives at Benares near 'Ratanphatak’.
III. The works of Nilakantha
Nllakantha composed an encyclopeedia embracing various topics connected with ancient and medieval Hindu civil and religious law, ceremonial, politics and cognate matters. That envyclopsedia is generally styled Bhagavanta-bhaskara in honour of the author’s patron, Bhagavantadeva, a Bundella chieftain of the Sengara (S'rngivara) clan that ruled at Bhareha near the confluence of the Jumna and the Chambal (carmanvati). Some variation in the name of the encyclopaedia is perceptible in the various colophons to the different parts of it. That the patron’s name was Bhagavanta (-deva or -varman) is quite clear.1 [ Vide the concluding verse of the Vyavaharamayukha and the 12th verse to the [x] (Benares ed.) [x].] It is therefore natural to expect that the work should be styled Bhagavanta-bhaskara.2 [e.g. in the [x] the 14th introductory verse (in the Benares ed. of 1879) is [x].] But in the colophons to some of the Mayukhas the work is called Bhagavantabhaskara3 [Vide Mandlik's edition of the [x].] or simply Bhaskara.4 [Vide the [x] (Benares ed. of 1879), the [x] (Benares ed. of 1880).] In some other colophons it is called Vidvadbhaskara.5 [Vide the [x] (Benares ed. of samvat 1937).] As the whole work was styled Bhaskara (the Sun) it was divided into twelve parts, just as there were twelve Adityas and each part came to be called a Mayukha (a ray) by a continuation of the metaphor. Nilakantha distinctly says in most of the Mayukhas that he composed the work at the command of Bhagavantadeva or that he was urged or inspired by his patron to do so.1 [Note the word [x] in the colophon to the [x] and the [x] (Bombay edition of 1891 printed at the [x] press), the word [x] in the introduction to the [x] (p. XVII. note 1 above), the word [x] in teh 11th intro. verse to the [x] (Benares ed. of 1879).]
The introductory verses in the mss. of all the Mayukhas present a perplexing problem. Hardly any two mss. of the same Mayukha contain the same introductory verses. For example, one of the three mss. of the Samayamayukha in the Bhau Daji collection of the Bombay Royal Asiatic Society has only one introductory verse2 [[x].]; while in the other two that verse does not occur at all. In one of these two latter there are four introductory verses and in the other there are five, the Benares edition agreeing with the last. The Benares edition of the S'antimayukha (of 1879) contains fourteen introductory verses, nine of which (from the second) give the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva; while one ms. of the S'antimayukha in the Bhau Daji collection has only one introductory verse which is not found in the Benares edition; and another ms. of the same in the same collection has three verses, only one of which is found in the Benares edition. In the same way the printed editions of the Prayas'cittamayukha and the Acaramayukha (Benares, 1879) contain fourteen introductory verses each; while mss. of these two Mayukhas in the Gattulalji collection in Bombay have only two and three verses respectively. This perplexing variance in the number of introductory verses cannot be satisfactorily explained by supposing that in all cases of such differences the scribes of the mss. and others introduced unauthorised interpolations. The hypothesis which, after a careful consideration of all the introductions, seems most probable is that Nilakantha himself (or probably his son) from time to time revised his works, recast the introductory verses, added to them and also made slight alterations and additions in the body of the works.
Some of the Mayukhas such as the printed editions of the S'anti, Prayas'citta, S'raddha and Acara Mayukhas contain the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva. The genealogy is more or less mythical, but there are no weighty reasons to suppose that the verses are spurious and not from the pen of Nilakantha himself1 [The verses are: -- [x]. Vide also Aufrecht's Bod. Cat., p. 280. No. 656 and I.O. Cat. part III, p. 429, No. 1444 and Mandlik's Introduction LXXVII.]. The genealogy is: from Brahma was born Kas'yapa, whose son was Vibhandaka, whose son was Rsyas'rnga. In the family of the latter was born S'rngivara, after whom the family came to be known as Sengara. King Karna was born in that family. Then follows a line of eighteen kings, the last being Bhagavantadeva.
The order in which the twelve Mayukhas were composed is an interesting question. In the introductory verses to the Benares editions of the Acaramayukha, the Prayas'cittamayukha and the S'antimayukha, the order is given as follows1 [[x].]: — (1) Samskara; (2) Acara; (3) Samaya; (4) S'raddha; (5) Niti; (6) Vyavahara; (7) Dana; (8) Utsarga; (9) Pratistha; (10) Prayas'citta; (11) S'uddhi; (12) S'anti. The same order occurs in another verse in the introduction to the Samayamayukha2 [[x] (Benares ed. of samvat 1937). Vide I.O. Cat. part III, p. 428, No. 1441.] In the colophon at the end of the Acaramayukha it is described as the second; while the S'antimayukha is described as the twelfth. But it is worthy of note that in the colophon to the edition of the Pratisthamayukha published in Bombay in 1891, it is described as the eighth while it is the ninth according to the order set forth above. The introductory verses to many of the Mayukhas and the internal evidence contained in them is sufficient to establish the order in which almost all the Mayukhas were written3 [[x]. Intro. to the [x]. This shows that the [x] was composed after the [x] that speaks of tithis. [x]. The first verse of the [x] shows that it was written after the [x].]. Nilakantha very frequently says that a particular subject has been already treated of by him in another Mayukha or that he will dilate on it in a subsequent Mayukha. From the cross references contained in the several Mayukhas it appears that the order set forth above is tolerably correct.1 [e.g. the [x] (Benares ed.) says [x] (p. 46); in the [x] (Benares ed.) we find [x] (p. 69); [x] ([x] p. 48); [x] (p. 87 of [x]); [x].] Considerations of space and utility require that the cross references should not be set out here in detail.
The next question is whether Nilakantha composed other works than the twelve Mayukhas. In appendix A there is a work called Vyavaharatattva. Four different reasons lead irresistibly to the conclusion that that work was composed by Nilakantha. In the first place the colophon at the end of that work describes it as the composition of Nilakantha, the son of the Mimansaka S'ankarabhatta. In the second place, in the section on dattapradanika, the author of the Vyavaharatattva speaks of the Dvaitanirnaya as composed by his father. Besides, at the beginning of the section on Dayavibhaga, the author of the Vyavaharatattva says that the proposition that the sources of ownership are those well known from worldly dealings has been established by him in the discussion on ownership. This is obviously a reference to the Vyavaharamayukha wherein there is an elaborate discourse on 'svatva’. Besides there is a very close correspondence in language and doctrines between the Vyavaharatattva and the Vyavaharamayukha, Therefore there can be no room for doubt that both works are by the same author.2 [For a discussion about the [x] vide 21 Bom. L. R. p. 1-4 (Journal portion).]
The Nirnayasindhu of Kamalakara several times quotes a Vyavaharatattva, which, however, is certainly a different work altogether as the quotations show that that work dwelt upon ceremonial matters and religious rites. The only important points in which the Vyavaharatattva differs from the Vyavaharamayukha are two, viz. the former work places the mother before the father in the matter of succession, while the latter reverses the order and the former makes no reference to the sister as an heir, while the latter assigns her a high place among gotraja [kinsmen] heirs. The reason probably lies in the fact that the Vyavaharatattva was a mere epitome and the author rather followed in both matters the orthodox school of Vijnanes'vara, who was a southern writer like Nilakantha himself; while in the Vyavaharamayukha he propounded the views prevalent or favoured in the territories of his patron or at his court. About the position of the father, he distinctly states that the eastern writers preferred him to the mother. It is noteworthy that neither Mandlik in his learned introduction nor the learned authors of the Digest of West and Buhler refer to the Vyavaharatattva of Nilakantha. That work is for the first time placed in print before Sanskrit scholars. It is not possible to say that the Vyavaharatattva is an abridgment of the Mitaksara. A comparison of the contents of the former with the latter shows that the topics dealt with are arranged in different ways in the two works.
Nilakantha seems to have also composed a work on adoption styled Dattakanirnaya. In the Vyavaharatattva the author refers to a Dattakanirnaya written by himself. The Dharmsindhu also says that the Dattakanirnaya of Nilakantha prescribes that on the death of an adopted son his natural and adoptive fathers had both to observe mourning for three nights and the sapindas [cousins] for one night, while on the death of an adoptive son whose thread-ceremony had been performed (in the family of adoption) the adoptive father and his sapindas would have had to observe mourning for ten days.1 [[x] ([x] III. [x]).] The quotation from the Dharmasindhu shows that what is referred to is not the section on adoption in the Vyavaharamayukha, but an independent work, since in the Vyavaharamayukha there is nothing corresponding to the quotation. Nilakantha is said to have written (according to Aufrecht) two works styled Dharmaprakas'a and S'raddhaprakas'a. The former is referred to in the Samskaramayukha.2 [p. 37 of the edition issued by the Gujarati Press in 1913 ([x]).] It is extremely doubtful whether the Dharmaprakas'a is a work of Nilakantha. We saw above that S'amkarabhatta wrote a work called Dharmaprakas'a. It is probable that there is some confusion owing to the defective text of the Samskaramayukha, wherein editorial additions were made by the son of Nilakantha.
The edition of the Samskaramayukha published by the Gujarati Press in Bombay presents a curious problem. The introductory verses make it clear that the work was composed by S'amkara, the son of Nilakantha and not by Nilakantha himself. The colophon at the end also makes this clear. In the body of the work the other Mayukhas are in several places referred to as 'composed by my father'. For example, on pp. 7 and 10 of the printed edition we have [x]. In other places such expressions as the following are met with: — [x] (pp. 14 and 23); [x] (p. 70); [x] (p. 82); [x] (p. 129). In most of these places, there are different readings in some mss., as the foot-notes point out, to some such effect as [x]. On p. 120 we read [x] and on p. 130 [x]. In these cases there are no different readings pointed out in the foot-notes. In this state of the printed text, several mss. of the Samskaramayukha were consulted. It was found that they all contained the introductory verses and the colophon ascribing the work to Nilakantha’s son. In the present state of our knowledge all that can be said is that the Samskaramayukha of Nilakantha was edited by his son S'amkara with additions of his own, but that what we now have is substantially the work of Nilakantha. If ever a ms. of the Samskaramayukha comes to light containing the text as it left the hand of Nilakantha, it will afford an interesting comparison with the printed text.
Nilankantha [Bhatta Nilakantha]
Excerpt from The Vyavaharamayukha of Bhatta Nilakantha, With an Introduction, Notes and Appendices
by P.V. Kane
Foreword
Dharmasastra has been a discipline comprising the vast range of subjects related to regulations on ethics, social and moral behavior, administration, laws of inheritance and various other issues related to diplomacy and polity. The tradition of Dharmasastra developed through the hundreds of texts like Dharmasutras and Smrtis. Yajnavalkya in his Smrti has noted ten major authors of Smrtis, but Vtramitramisra, the author of Vtramitrodaya has enlarged the list by citing many other Smrtis. Apart from the authors of Dharmasutras and smrtis, commentators like Visvarupa, Medhatithi, Vijfianesvara, Kulu kabhatta and a host of other also have made original contributions to Dharmasastra.
Vyavaharamayukha is a part of Bhagavantabhaskara, one of the most voluminous encyclopedic works on Dharmasastra. Nilakantha Bhatta, its author was great Mimamsaka. He was protege of Bhagavantadeva, a ruler of Bhareha (presently in Etawa Dist. of U.P.). Mahamahopadhyaya Purushottam Vaman Kane has placed him around 1610-45 AD. Nilakantha Bhatta compiled this voluminous text at his instance.Mimamsaka (Skt. Mīmāṃsaka) — an eternalist tradition of ancient India. The Mimamsaka, or Analysts, are followers of Jaimini. Their school is based on an explanation of the Vedas. They say that only the Vedas are valid, and they practise sacrifice as taught in the Vedas.
There were two distinct systems of this name, both basing themselves on the interpretation of the Vedic texts, the Purva Mimamsaka, the 'Investigation of the Primary' (Skt. Pūrva-Mīmāṃsaka), who are just referred to as Mimamsaka, and the Uttara Mimamsaka, the 'Investigation of the Latter' (Skt. Uttara-Mīmāṃsaka). The latter is better known as the Vedanta school. The Vedas are sometimes said to cover two topics: action (relating to Vedic ritual) and knowledge. The Mimamsaka are said to deal with action and the Vedanta with knowledge. The Mimamsakas deal mainly with the beginning parts of the Vedas, and their foundational text is Jaimini's Purva Mimamsa Sutra (Skt. Purvā Mīmāṃsā Sūtra), dated around the 2nd century BCE.[1] [See Hillary Rodrigues, Introducing Hinduism (New York: Routledge, 2006), 209.]
-- Mimamsaka, by Rigpa WikiBhagavantadeva (भगवन्तदेव) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—king of Bhareha, son of Sāhideva, son of Rājāsiṃha, son of Cakrasena, son of Tārācandra, son of Yaśodeva, son of Rāmacandra, son of Karmasena, son of Rolicandra, son of Śivagaṇa, son of Candrapāla, son of Manyudeva, son of Narabrahmadeva, son of Vīḍharāja, son of Vairāṭarāja, son of Raya, son of Astaśatru, son of Viśoka, son of Karṇa. They were of the Seṅgara, or in Saṃskṛt, Śṛṅgivara [śṛṅgivara, vara m. N. of a man ib. -- Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary] tribe. Bhagavantadeva was the patron of Nīlakaṇṭha, the author of the following work.
-- Bhagavantadeva: 4 definitions, by Wisdom LibraryKarna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: Karṇa), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the major characters of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. He is the spiritual son of the Vedic deity- Surya ("sun god") and princess Kunti (mother of the Pandavas), and thus a demigod of royal birth. Kunti was granted the boon to bear a child with desired divine qualities from the gods and without much knowledge, Kunti invoked the sun god to confirm it if it was true indeed. Karna was secretly born to an unmarried Kunti in her teenage, fearing outrage and backlash from society over her premarital pregnancy, Kunti had no choice but to abandon the newly born Karna adrift in a basket on the Ganges, in the hope that he finds foster parents. The basket discovered and Karna is adopted and raised by foster Suta parents named Radha and Adhiratha Nandana of the charioteer and poet profession working for king Dhritarashtra.
Karna grows up to be an accomplished warrior of extraordinary abilities, a gifted speaker and becomes a loyal friend of Duryodhana. He was appointed the king of Anga (Bihar-Bengal) by Duryodhana. Karna joined the Duryodhana's side in the Kurukshetra war. He was a key warrior who aimed to kill 3rd Pandava Arjuna but dies in a battle with him during the war.
He is a tragic hero in the Mahabharata, in a manner similar to Aristotle's literary category of "flawed good man". He meets his biological mother late in the epic, and then discovers that he is the older half-brother of those he is fighting against. Karna is a symbol of someone who is rejected by those who should love him but do not given the circumstances, yet becomes a man of exceptional abilities willing to give his love and life as a loyal friend. His character is developed in the epic to raise and discuss major emotional and dharma (duty, ethics, moral) dilemmas. His story has inspired many secondary works, poetry and dramatic plays in the Hindu arts tradition, both in India and in southeast Asia.
A regional tradition believes that Karna founded the city of Karnal, in contemporary Haryana.
-- Karna, by Wikipedia
There are twelve Mayukhas (chapters) in Bhagavanta-bhaskara, They deal with various topics related to Dharmasastra viz. - the Samskaras, Acara, Samaya (calendar), Sraddha, Niti (Polity and administration), Dana, Utsarga (Public welfare activeities), devapratistha, Prayascitta, Suddhi and Santi. Out of these twelve Mayukhas in Bhagavantabhaskara, the Vyavaharamayukha is the sixth one. It is a valuable treatise on legal issues, covering important facets of Ancient Indian Economy, administration and rules for inheritance. Nilakantha Bhatta is not only an authority on Dharmasastra, he has culled the essence from hundreds of ancient Smrti texts, to make his work a valuable compendium. It is thus not only an essential reading for the students of Sanskrit -- particularly that of Dharmasastra, it is also very useful for legal practitioners, sociologists and researchers in Ancient Indian History and Culture. Also, Nilkantha Bhatta is not just a compiler. He has given his original views and interpretations on a number of debatable issues.
The text has been printed a number of times, but it has not been published with English translation. Mahamahopadhyaya Purushottam Vaman Kane recognized the importance of this work for the first time and he translated it into English. His translation published in 1993 is not easily available now. We are happy to bring out the text and translation together for the first time.
It is his translation of Vyavaharamayukha that led Mahamahopadhyaya Purushottam Vaman Kane to take up one of the most promising and gigantic project in Indological studies, i.e., writing the ‘History of Dharmashastra.’ sub-titled as ‘Ancient and Medieval Religions and Civil Law in India,’ Kane intended to give a survey of Dharmasastra literature in the preface of Vyavaharamayukha, which developed into his magnum opus to be completed in more than three decades. In about 7000 pages. Kane could provide first hand knowledge because of his command on Sanskrit. Professor R.S. Sharma, one of the most eminent historians of the country, writes about his achievements in the following words -- “Pandurang Vaman Kane, a great Sanskritist wedded to social reform, continued earlier tradition of scholarship. His monumental work entitled the ‘History of Dharmashatra,’ published in five volumes in the twentieth century, is an encyclopedia of ancient social laws and customs. This enables us to study the social processes in ancient India.”
We hope that this new edition of Vyavaharamayukha will be useful for [the] academic world.
Preface
The Vyavaharamayukha of Nilakantha is a work of paramount authority on Hindu Law in Gujerat, the town and island of Bombay and in northern Konkan. Even where, as in the Maratha country and in the District of Ratnagiri, the Mitaksara is the paramount authority, it occupies a very important, though a subordinate place. The first English translation of the Vyavaharamayukha was published in 1827 by Borradarle. Considering the state of Sanskrit scholarship among Westerners more than a hundred years ago, the translation was a creditable performance. But, as has been judicially noticed, Borradaile’s translation is in many places infelicitous, obscure -- or positively wrong. Besides, Borradaile’s method of dividing the translation into chapters, sections, and placita, though convenient to judges and lawyers for purposes of reference, conveyed to those unacquainted with the Sanksrit language or the original work the wrong impression that the original was similarly divided. About fifty years ago the late Rao Saheb V. N. Mandlik brought out a scholarly translation of the Vyavaharamayukha, that was a great improvement on Borradaile’s work, both in the accuracy of the translation and the method of its presentation. That work is not now available in the market. It omitted the section on ordeals, it did not refer to decided cases, and was also inaccurate in some places, as a reference to the pages indicated in the Index to this translation will show. In 1924 Mr. J.R. Gharpure of Bombay, the indefatigable editor of the ‘Collection of Hindu Law Texts,’ brought out a translation of the Vyavaharamayukha. In this translation he generally follows the late Rao Saheb Y.N. Mandlik, though here and there improvements are made; but he does not translate the section of the work on ordeals, nor does he cite even a considerable body of decisions of the High Courts that have a direct bearing on the text of the Vyavaharamayukha.
In the translation here presented, the whole of the Vyavaharamayukha has been rendered into English. The text chosen for translation is that contained in the edition of the Vyavaharamyukha published by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute at Poona in 1926. The pages of the text have been indicated at the bottom of the pages of the translation. In this translation, explanatory notes have been added in order to elucidate the meaning of the author. References to the pages of the notes in the Poona edition where the Vyavaharamayukha has been exhaustively annotated, have also been given in appropriate places for those who want to make a deeper study of the original and the translation. The Vyavaharamayukha is written in continuous prose, except where quotations in verse (which are numerous) are cited from ancient works and sages. In the present translation, quotations in verse have been clearly indicated by the method of beginning them in a separate line, and by lessening the size of the lines of the translation of verses by a few letter spaces, as compared with the rest of the work. Another feature of this translation is that exhaustive citations of decided cases have been made, wherein the Mayukha has either been quoted, explained. criticised, referred to, or which have an important bearing on the law as laid down in the Vyavaharamayukha. The decisions of courts have in a few places been also criticized. It has however to be borne in mind that this work does not profess to be a treatise on Hindu Law and that, therefore, no one should expect that all possible cases on Hindu Law would be found digested herein.
As judges and the legal profession have been accustomed for decades to use the translations by Borradaile and Mandlik, and as decided cases cite quotations from and give references to these translations, in the corner of each page of this translation corresponding portions of Borradaile’s translation contained in Stokes collection of Hindu Law-books and Mandlik’s translation have been indicated with the letters S and M respectively.
The Introduction to the edition of the text of the Vyavaharamayukha deals exhaustively with the family and personal history of Nilakantha, the works of Nilakantha, the period of his literary activity, the contents of his twelve Mayukhas which together constitute his digest called Bhagavantabhaskara, his position in Dharmasastra Literature, and the position of the Vyavaharamayukha in modern Hindu Law. Those who want to make a detailed study of these matters must refer to that Introduction. But for the benefit of those who do not know Sanskrit, a brief treatment of the matters detailed above is given here.
An exhaustive synopsis of contents, an index of cases and Law Reports, and a general index which also contains in italics important Sanskrit words will, it is hoped, add to the usefulness of this edition of the translation of the Vyvaharamayukha.
-- Vyavaharamayukha of Nilakantha, Translated into English, With Explanatory Notes and References to Decided Cases, by P.V. Kane, Introduced by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan [Central Sanskrit University
The introductory verses in the mss. of all the Mayukhas present a perplexing problem. Hardly any two mss. of the same Mayukha contain the same introductory verses. For example, one of the three mss. of the Samayamayukha in the Bhau Daji collection of the Bombay Royal Asiatic Society has only one introductory verse2 [[x].]; while in the other two that verse does not occur at all. In one of these two latter there are four introductory verses and in the other there are five, the Benares edition agreeing with the last. The Benares edition of the S'antimayukha (of 1879) contains fourteen introductory verses, nine of which (from the second) give the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva; while one ms. of the S'antimayukha in the Bhau Daji collection has only one introductory verse which is not found in the Benares edition; and another ms. of the same in the same collection has three verses, only one of which is found in the Benares edition. In the same way the printed editions of the Prayas'cittamayukha and the Acaramayukha (Benares, 1879) contain fourteen introductory verses each; while mss. of these two Mayukhas in the Gattulalji collection in Bombay have only two and three verses respectively. This perplexing variance in the number of introductory verses cannot be satisfactorily explained by supposing that in all cases of such differences the scribes of the mss. and others introduced unauthorised interpolations. The hypothesis which, after a careful consideration of all the introductions, seems most probable is that Nilakantha himself (or probably his son) from time to time revised his works, recast the introductory verses, added to them and also made slight alterations and additions in the body of the works.
Some of the Mayukhas such as the printed editions of the S'anti, Prayas'citta, S'raddha and Acara Mayukhas contain the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva. The genealogy is more or less mythical, but there are no weighty reasons to suppose that the verses are spurious and not from the pen of Nilakantha himself1 [The verses are: -- [x]. Vide also Aufrecht's Bod. Cat., p. 280. No. 656 and I.O. Cat. part III, p. 429, No. 1444 and Mandlik's Introduction LXXVII.]. The genealogy is: from Brahma was born Kas'yapa, whose son was Vibhandaka, whose son was Rsyas'rnga. In the family of the latter was born S'rngivara, after whom the family came to be known as Sengara. King Karna was born in that family. Then follows a line of eighteen kings, the last being Bhagavantadeva.
-- The Vyavaharamayukha or Bhatta Nilakantha, With an Introduction, Notes and Appendices, by P.V. Kane
INTRODUCTION
I. Critical Apparatus
The present edition of the Vyavaharamayukha of Nilakantha is based on the following editions and manuscripts: —
(A.) The oblong lithographed edition of 1826 published at Bombay by ‘Shreeorustna Jagannathjee’ under the patronage of the Government of Bombay and printed at the Courier Press. This edition is, for the time when it was published, a very accurate one. There are a few misprints and mistakes. It does not say what mss. were consulted and no various readings are given. It gives references to editions of the Manusmrti and Yajnavalkyasmrti that were published before it. At the end there is a table of contents and a list of errata is given at the beginning. This edition contains 244 pages with eight lines on each page.
(B.) This is a paper ms. belonging to the Deccan College Collection, No. 67 of 1879-80, written on 73 folios, having 16 lines on each page up to folio 32 and 12-15 thereafter. There is no date at the beginning or at the end. It looks to be about 100 years old. The handwriting is not good. Red vertical double lines are used to indicate quotations.
(C.) This ms. is No. 120 of the Vis'rambag collection (i) written on 85 folios. There are generally eleven lines on each page. It is written very carelessly, though in a good hand. There is no date at the beginning or at the end. The ms. appears to be a hundred years old. There are many omissions of words and lines through oversight.
(D.) This ms. is No. 121 of the Vis'rambag collection (i). There are 100 leaves with 10 or 11 lines on each page. It is written in a clear, bold hand, but rather carelessly. The copyist was probably altogether ignorant of Sanskrit and wrote to dictation. The colophon at the end shows that it was copied in samvat 1820 i.e. 1764 A. D.
(E.) This ms. is No 296 of the Vis'rambag collection (ii). It is incomplete and contains 98 folios, out of which 1, 5-34, 48 and 85-94 are wanting. The writer was an illiterate and careless scribe, though he wrote a good hand. This ms. omits very frequently words and sentences through oversight.
(F.) This is a ms. belonging to the Bhau Daji collection of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic society. It contains 91 folios with 9 or 10 lines on each page. It is well written and is tolerably correct, but frequently omits words and even lines. Corrections are made in a smaller and more beautiful hand, probably by another scribe. The original readings of F agree remarkably with B and D, but the corrections make it differ from them. In a few cases whole pages are omitted, though the ms. itself presents consecutively numbered pages.
(G.) A ms. from the Library of the Calcutta Sanskrit College, containing 95 folios with 12 lines (sometimes only 8 or 10) On each page. It is written in a bold and beautiful hand. Corrections are made in another ink but probably by the same hand. Two folios, 44-45, are missing, though on the first page it is described as complete. From folio 80 there is confusion. Probably the leaves of the original were carried off by the wind when the scribe was copying. He collected the leaves together but changed their order and copied down the leaves so shuffled up. The ms. looks modern and must not be more than 100 years old.
(H.) A ms. from the Library of the Calcutta Sanskrit College in Bengali characters containing 78 folios with 8 or 9 lines on each page. Though described as complete on the title page, it stops at the title called [x]. This ms. is very incorrect and full of lacuna, very often due to the fact that the scribe's eye ran from one word to the same word occurring a few lines later. The ms is modern, about 50 years old.
(K.) This is the Benares lithographed edition of 1879 printed at the Kas'i-Sanskrta Yantralaya. This edition often confounds the letters [x] and [x], [x] and [x], [x] and [x]. There are numerous mistakes arising from the inability to read correctly the original from which this edition was printed. This edition does not give various readings and was probably based upon a single ms. This edition agrees remarkably with A, C and G, particularly with C even in the matter of omissions.
(M.) This is the edition of the late Raosaheb V. N. Mandlik published in 1879 containing the text, translation and critical notes. This is a scholarly edition. It is based on six mss. and two printed editions. This edition is not now available in the market. It gives in the footnotes various readings and also references to some of the works quoted or referred to in the text.
(N.) This is a ms. belonging to the library of Srimant Raje Lakshmanrao Saheb Bhonsle of Nagpur (junior). It is well written and is tolerably correct. It has 136 folios with fourteen lines on each page. It is about a hundred years old. It is full of omissions. From the section on [x], a great confusion is visible. Probably the leaves of the original were blown away by the wind when the scribe was copying. The leaves were collected without any attempt at arranging them in consecutive order.
It will be seen from the above that mss. belonging to different parts of India have been utilised in preparing this edition. Among the mss. B, D, E, and F agree very closely, even in their mistakes and are probably copies of the same codex archetypus. C sometimes agrees with B D F and sometimes with G. C G and K show a remarkable agreement even in omissions. H is akin to G. M very often follows A. N seems to be an independent ms., though it generally presents the same readings as C and K and sometimes agrees with A and M. In the footnotes all important readings have been collected, only very palpable mistakes of copyists being generally omitted. Even such mistakes will sometimes be found in the footnotes purposely given for the sake of comparison.
The Vyavaharamayukha quotes very largely from the Manusmrti, the Yajnavalkya-smrti, the Narada-smrti and other smrti works. In the footnotes important variations from the printed editions of these works have been pointed out.
II. The family and personal history of Nilakantha
For several generations the family of which Nilakantha was a worthy scion held the first place among learned men in that ancient and far-famed seat of Sanskrit learning, the city of Benares. The Purvamimansa system and religions and ceremonial lore were the special forte of this family. Although biographies of learned men are very rare in India, as regards this family the case is somewhat different. Mahamahopadhyaya Haraprasad Sastri has brought to light a biography of this family written by a distinguished member of the family, Samkarabhtta, son of Narayanabhatta and father of Nilakantha (vide Indian Antiquary for 1912 vol. 41. pp 7-13).
Unfortunately the copy supplied to the Mahamahopadhyaya does not contain the first folio and the work, which is full of inaccuracies and omissions, comes abruptly to an end. The last chapter shows that Samkarabhatta, who was a very old man then, was weighed down with grief for the loss of a promising nephew. The work is styled Gadhivams'anucarita from the fact that the gotra of the family was Vis'vamitra.
The family migrated to Benares from the Deccan. According to tradition the home of the family was in the ancient and famous town of Paithan. The first member of the family, of whom some notices are preserved in works that were beyond doubt composed by the members of the family, was Govinda1. [[x]. Introduction to [x] of [x] But it has to be noted that in the commentary on the [x] composed by [x], two more ancestors are mentioned. [x] I.O. Cat. part II p. 303. I take [x] as the name and not [x] as some do. [x] was a famous name in Maharastra.] As the first folio of the Gadhivams'anucarita is not available, information about the founder of the family and its early fortunes is not forthcoming from that work. In the Tristhalisetu of Narayanabhatta, the author refers to his ancestor Govinda and informs us that the gotra of the family was Vis'vamitra1. [[x] (mss. Deccan College No. 104 of 1892-95 and Vis'rambag i. No. 149).] Rames'vava was the son of Govinda. The copy of the Gadhivams'anucarita opens (on its second page) with a panegyric of Rames'varabhatta. He is said to have been very strong in Mimansa, grammar, logic and in philosophy. He wrote a poem styled Ramakutuhala in order to eclipse the fame of the Naisadhiya of S'riharsa. Numerous pupils flocked to him at Paithan on the Godavari. He is said to have cured of leprosy the son of an influential Mahomedan officer of the Ahmednagar state. He went to Kolhapur and thence to Vijayanagar, which was then ruled over by the famous Krsnaraya. He then started on a pilgrimage to Dvaraka. On his way to Dvaraka a son was born to him in s'ake 1435 caitra i.e. March 1513 A. D. This son later on became famous as Narayanabhatta. Rames'vara, after staying for four years at Dvaraka, came back to Paithan. After spending four more years at Paithan, Rames'varabhatta left for Benares2 [The Introduction to the [x] bears this out, [x].]. A second son named S'ridhara was born on the way and a third named Madhava at Kas'i3 [[x] vide I.O. Cat p. 531, Nos 1667-68 [x], son of [x]]. Rames'vara was advanced in age when his first son Narayana-bhatta was born. So he must have been quite an old man when he came to Benares. For some of his famous pupils, vide Indian Antiquary for 1912, p 9. Students from all parts of India came in crowds to Benares to learn at his feet and spread his fame throughout the length and breadth of India. Rames'vara died at a very advanced age and his wife became a sati.
Narayanabhatta learnt all the s'astras at the feet of his father1 [ ]. He is said to have engaged in constant disputations with the pandits of Eastern India, He vanquished Maithila and Gauda pandits at the house of Todarmal. It was he who raised Daksinatya pandits to that position of high eminence which they hold even now at Benares. He was the most illustrious member of his family and shod lustre on it by his giant intellect, his holiness and his ceaseless efforts in the cause of Sanskrit literature. Pandits all over India looked upon him as their patron and he spared neither money nor pains to help them. He was very fond of collecting and copying manuscripts. It is related that, when the Mussalmans razed the temple of Vis'ves'vara at Benares to the ground from religious bigotry and hatred, there was severe drought for a long time and that the Mahomedan ruler implored Narayanabhatta to propitiate Vis'ves'vara. Narayanabhatta propitiated Vis'ves'vara and copious rain fell in a day. Thereupon Nararyanabhatta induced the Mahomedan ruler to allow him to rebuild the temple of Vis'ves'vara. For his piety and learning Narayanabhatta was given the title of ‘Jagadguru’ and his family was given the first place of honour in the assembly of learned Brahmanas and at the recitations of the Vedas (mantrajagaras). The latter distinction continues in the family, it is said, even now. That Narayanabhatta was concerned with the rebuilding of the temple of Vis'ves'vara is vouched for by Divakarabhatta, a daughter’s son of Nilakantha, who was the grand-son of Narayanabhatta1 [[x] Introductory verse 4 to the [x]. Vide I.O. Cat. part III p. 547, No. 1708.]. But it is rather strange that the Gadhivams'anucarita is silent on this point (I. A. vol. 41 at p. 10). In the colophons to the several works of his descendants, Narayanabhatta is frequently styled ‘Jagadguru’.2 [e.g. [x] &c. Aufrecht's cat. of Sanskrit mss. in the Bodleian Library p. 277, No. 654.] Narayanabhatta wrote the Prayogaratna, the Tristhalisetu, the Antyestipaddhati, Rudrapaddhati, Divyanusthanapaddhati,3 [It is probably to this work that [x] in his [x] refers in the words [x] p. 457.] and numerous other works. He wrote a commentary on the Vrttaratnakara in the year 1602 of Vikramarka i.e. 1546 A. D.4 [[x] I.O. Cat. part II p. 304.] His works are even now used all over India and regulate the performance of religious ceremonial in modern times. His descendants speak of him as almost an avatara5 [[x] Introductory 3rd verse to the [x] of [x] (Nirn. ed).] of the Deity and as a profound Mimansaka.6 [[x] Intro. 4th verse to the [x] of [x] (No. 109 of the Deccan College collection of 1895-1902).] He appears to have composed a commentary on the S'astradipika of Parthasarathimis'ra, as his son S'amkarabhatta informs us.1 [My friend, Pandit Bakres'astri of Bombay, has a copy of the comment of [x] on the [x]. While commenting on the first [x], says [x]. At the end of the 6th [x] we have these words [x]. This shows that [x] commented on the first pada of the first [x] and the first two padas of the sixth [x] (of the [x]).] As he was born in 1513 and wrote a work in 1546 A. D, the literary activity of Narayanabhatta must be ascribed to the period between 1540 A. D. and 1680 A.D.
Narayanbhatta had three sons, Ramakrsnabhatta, S'amkarabhatta and Govindabhatta, the first being the eldest2 [In the [x] (Nirn. ed.) we read in one place [x].]. Ramakrsna also was a very learned man. He is spoken of as a helmsman in the deep ocean of the philosophy of the Bhatta (Kumarilabhatta) school and as unravelling the knotty points in other s'astras also and as having made his opponents look like glow-worms in the brilliance of his lore.3 [[x] Introductory verse to the [x].] He wrote a commentary on the Tantravartika, the Jivatpitrka-kartavya-nirnaya, the Jyotistomanaddhati, the Masikas'raddhanirnaya and other works. The Gadhivams'anucarita says that he died at the age of 52.
S'amkarabhatta, the second son of Narayanabhatta, was a profound Mimansaka. He wrote a commentary on the S'astradipika, to which frequent reference is made in his own work called the Dvaitanirnaya and in the Samskaramayukha, where it is styled S'astradipikaprakas'a. For an account of his Dvaitanirpaya, the Annals of the Bhandarkar Institute (vol. Ill, part 2, pp. 67-72) may be consulted. In this latter work, he distinctly states that he will conform to the views of southern writers.1 [[x] 8th intro. verse in the ms. of the [x] (No. 109 of 1895-1902 of the Deccan College Collection).] He wrote a work called Mimansabalaprakas'a (printed at Benares), in which he summarises the conclusions established in the twelve chapters of the Purvamimansasutra. Another work of his is the Dharmaprakas'a or Sarvadharmaprakas'a, in which his mother’s name is given as Parvati2 [[x] I.O. Cat part III, p. 482 No. 1564.] and in which he refers to his S'astradipikaprakas'a. Some of his other works are Vidhirasayanadusana, in which he refutes the Vidhirasayana of Appayyadiksita, the Nirnayacandrika, Vratamayukha. Bhattoji Diksita, author of the Siddhanta-kaumudi, was the most famous of his pupils.
The third son of Narayanabhatta was Govinda who died at the age of 48, leaving four sons (vide I. A. vol. 41 at p. 11).
Ramakrsna, the son of Narayana, had three sons, Dinakara alias Divakara, Kamalakara and Laksmana. The eldest of these was Dinakara3 [[x] 6th intro. verse to the [x]. 6th intro. verse to the [x] of [x].] and Laksmana was the youngest.4 [[x] 7th intro. verse, [x].] Their mother’s name was Uma and she seems to have immolated herself on the funeral pyre of her husband. The sons offer most touching reverence to their mother in their works.1 [[x] 5th intro. verse to the [x]. Intro. to the [x] and [x].] Dinakara alias Divakara wrote the Bhattadinakari or Bhattadinakaramimansa which is a commentary on the S'astradipika, the S'antisara, the Dinakaroddyota. This latter was a comprehensive digest, commenced by Dinakara and completed by his son Vis'ves'vara or Gagabhatta.2 [[x] vide Dr. Mitra's Bikaner cat. pp. 386-387; vide also I.O. Cat. part III, p. 505.] Kamalakarabhatta wrote no less than twenty-two works. Next to Narayanabhatta, Kamalakara and his cousin Nilakantha stand out as the most prominent and far-famed scions of this family of Bhattas. In some of Kamalakara’s works such as the S'antikamalakara and the commentary on the Kavyaprakas'a verses occur highly eulogising his proficience in all the s'astras.3 [[x] No. 433 of 1895-1902 of the Deccan College Collection and a ms. of the S'antiratna in the Bau Daji collection of the B.B.R.A.S.] He tells us that he composed his commentary on the Kavyaprakas'a for the diversion of his son Ananta. He composed his Nirnayasindhu in the year 1668 of the Vikrama era. i.e. in 1612 A. D.4 [[x] 6th verse at the end.] We learn from another source that this was his first work. Therefore his literary activity must have fallen between 1610 A. D. and 1640 A. D. Some of his important works are the Nirnayasindhu, the S'udrakamalakara, the Vivadatandava, the S'antikamalakara, the Vratakamalakara, the Purtakamalakara and the commentary on the Kavyaprakas'a. For a complete list vide the foot-note.1 [In the [x] he says at the end (I.O. Cat part III, p. 455 No. 1502) [x]; at the end of the [x] (also called [x] after the verse [x]: there is a list of 22 works [x].] The youngest of the three brothers, Laksmana, studied under Kamalakara and wrote the Acararatna, the Gotrapravararatna and a few other works.
S'amkarabhatta had four sons, Ranganatha, Damodara, Nrsimha and Nilakantha. Mandlik is not right in saying that S'amkarabhatta had two sons. In the Vyavaharatattva (vide appendix A) the colophon makes it clear that Nilakantha was the younger brother of the first three mentioned above. Similarly in the colophon to the Nitimayukha (Benares edition of 1880) Nilakantha is described as the younger brother of the first three mentioned above. The Dvaitanirnaya of S'amkarabhatta says that the author’s son Damodara wrote a supplement to the Dvaitanirnaya2 [[x]. Vide Annals of the Bhandarkar Institute, vol. III, part 2, p. 72.]. In the Vyavaharatattva Nilakantha refers to the work on matters forbidden in the Kali age composed by his eldest brother Damodara1 [[x]. p. 465.]. In the Acaramayukha Nilakantha refers to the Kalivarjyanirnaya of his elder brother (bhratrcaranah) and in the Prayas'cittamayukha to his eldest brother, without naming him. In the other Mayukhas also (such as those on S'raddha and Samaya) references occur to an elder brother. It is difficult to reconcile the fact that Damodara is spoken of as the eldest brother in the Vyavaharatattva with the fact that Rahganatha’s name occurs before that of Damodara in the colophon to the same work. An explanation may be hazarded that Ranganatha probably died early so that Damodara became the eldest or that Ranganatha might have been given away in adoption. It is also possible that the colophon is not exact as to the seniority among the brothers. It is significant that the Gadhivams'anucarita speaks of only Damodara, Nrsimha and Nilakantha. So it looks very probable that when S'amkarabhatta wrote the work in his old age, Ranganatha had passed away. The works of Nilakantha will be dealt with separately later on.
Dinakara alias Divakara had a son Vis'ves'vara better known as Gagabhatta. He officiated at the coronation of S'ivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire. Besides completing his father’s digest, the Uddyota, he wrote the Bhattacintamani, the Mimansakusumanjali2 [In the [x] ([x] p. 88 Chowkhamba series) he says [x].], the Kayasthadharmadipa and other works. His S'ivarkodaya is modelled on the lines of the S'lokavartika of Kumarila. In the Kayasthadharmadipa reference is made to Aurangzeb, to Rajagiri (Raigad fort) as the capital of S'iva (S'ivaji), to S'ahaji and Jija (the mother of S'ivaji) and to Balaji Kayastha, a minister of S'ivaji at whose instance the work was composed by Gagabhatta1 [I.O. Cat. vol. III, pp. 525-527, No. 1653.]. Kamalakarabhatta had three sons one of whom Ananta wrote a digest styled Ramakalpadruma on acara, samaya, s'raddha, utsarga, prayas'citta and similar matters.
Damodarabhatta had a son Siddhes'vara, who wrote a work called Samskaramayukha in samvat 1736 (i. e. 1679-80 A. D.). Nilakantha had two sons, S'amkara and Bhanu and a daughter. His wife’s name was Ganga2 [[x]. Intro. 2nd verse to the [x] of [x] (I.O. Cat. part III p. 433 No. 1464); [x] I.O. Cat. part III, p. 488 No. 1575.]. Nilakantha’s son S'amkarabhatta had a hand in editing the Samskaramayukha, as will be seen later on. He wrote the Kundoddyotadars'ana (or Kundabhaskara) in 1671 A. D.3 [I.O. Cat. part III p. 427 (foot-note). Peterson in his cat. of Ulwar mss. says that the Kundarka was printed in the [x] (p. 2), that that work was commented upon by [x], son of [x] and that [x] wrote one of his works, the [x], in 1636 (??).] Besides these he wrote the Vratarka, the Kundarka, the Karmavipaka. Bhanubhatta, another son of Nilakantha, wrote the Dvaitanirnayasiddh ntasamgraha, which is an epitome of the Dvaitanirnya, the Ekavastrasnanavidhi, and the Homanirpaya. The name of Nilakantha’s daughter was Ganga (probably in her husband’s family). She was married to Bhatta Mahadeva, of the Bharadvaja gotra, surnamed Kala (Kale in Marathi). Her son Divakarabhatta was a very learned man and compiled an extensive digest called Dharmas'astrasudhanidhi. Parts of that work are Acararka, the Danacandrika, the Ahnikacandrika, the Danahiravaliprakas'a &c. He composed his Acararka in the (Vikrama) year 1743 (i.e. 1686-87 A D.)1 [Vide I.O. Cat. part III, p. 509-510, No. 1616. The verses at the end are [x].] In that work he speaks of his maternal grandfather as the foremost among Mimansakas. In the Danahiravaliprakas'a he speaks of Nilakantha as possessed of the unclouded wisdom of Brhaspati and S'ukra2 [I.O. Cat. part III, p. 547, No. 1708, intro. verses 4-5 [x] (p. VIII, note 1) [x].]. From the introductory verses to the Danasamksepacandrika we find that his mother’s name was Ganga and father’s name Mahadeva3 [[x] I.O. Cat. part III, p. 548, No. 1709.]. In that work he distinctly says that he follows the Danoddyota, Danaratna and Danamayukha4 [Vide Cat. of the Bod. Library by Winternitz and Keith vol. II, p. 280 No. 1494 [x].]. The last is one of the twelve mayukhas of Nilakantha.
It is not necessary to pursue the pedigree of the family beyond the immediate descendants of Nilakantha.
Therefore the pedigree of the family is
Nagapas'a
Cangadeva
Govinda
Rames'vara'
Narayana / S'ridhara / Madhava
Uma = Ramakrsna / S'amkara / Govinda
Dinakara alias Divakara / Kamalakara / Laksmana / (four sons): Ranganatha / Damodara / Nrsima / Nilakantha
Vis'ves'vara alias Gagabhatta / Siddhes'vara
Ananta / Prabhakara / S'yama /S'amkara / Bhanu / Daughter Divakara surnamed Kala
For a more detailed pedigree Mandlik’s edition may be consulted. It is however to be remembered that the pedigree of the family given by Mandlik on information supplied by modern s'astris is not quite accurate. Dr. Ganganatha Jha was not able to find recently any living descendant of Nilakantha in Benares. In Mandlik’s edition Gagabhatta is shown to have had no descendants, while Dr. Gaganatha Jha says that a descendant of Gagabhatta by name Ramabhatta lives at Benares near 'Ratanphatak’.
III. The works of Nilakantha
Nllakantha composed an encyclopeedia embracing various topics connected with ancient and medieval Hindu civil and religious law, ceremonial, politics and cognate matters. That envyclopsedia is generally styled Bhagavanta-bhaskara in honour of the author’s patron, Bhagavantadeva, a Bundella chieftain of the Sengara (S'rngivara) clan that ruled at Bhareha near the confluence of the Jumna and the Chambal (carmanvati). Some variation in the name of the encyclopaedia is perceptible in the various colophons to the different parts of it. That the patron’s name was Bhagavanta (-deva or -varman) is quite clear.1 [ Vide the concluding verse of the Vyavaharamayukha and the 12th verse to the [x] (Benares ed.) [x].] It is therefore natural to expect that the work should be styled Bhagavanta-bhaskara.2 [e.g. in the [x] the 14th introductory verse (in the Benares ed. of 1879) is [x].] But in the colophons to some of the Mayukhas the work is called Bhagavantabhaskara3 [Vide Mandlik's edition of the [x].] or simply Bhaskara.4 [Vide the [x] (Benares ed. of 1879), the [x] (Benares ed. of 1880).] In some other colophons it is called Vidvadbhaskara.5 [Vide the [x] (Benares ed. of samvat 1937).] As the whole work was styled Bhaskara (the Sun) it was divided into twelve parts, just as there were twelve Adityas and each part came to be called a Mayukha (a ray) by a continuation of the metaphor. Nilakantha distinctly says in most of the Mayukhas that he composed the work at the command of Bhagavantadeva or that he was urged or inspired by his patron to do so.1 [Note the word [x] in the colophon to the [x] and the [x] (Bombay edition of 1891 printed at the [x] press), the word [x] in the introduction to the [x] (p. XVII. note 1 above), the word [x] in teh 11th intro. verse to the [x] (Benares ed. of 1879).]
The introductory verses in the mss. of all the Mayukhas present a perplexing problem. Hardly any two mss. of the same Mayukha contain the same introductory verses. For example, one of the three mss. of the Samayamayukha in the Bhau Daji collection of the Bombay Royal Asiatic Society has only one introductory verse2 [[x].]; while in the other two that verse does not occur at all. In one of these two latter there are four introductory verses and in the other there are five, the Benares edition agreeing with the last. The Benares edition of the S'antimayukha (of 1879) contains fourteen introductory verses, nine of which (from the second) give the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva; while one ms. of the S'antimayukha in the Bhau Daji collection has only one introductory verse which is not found in the Benares edition; and another ms. of the same in the same collection has three verses, only one of which is found in the Benares edition. In the same way the printed editions of the Prayas'cittamayukha and the Acaramayukha (Benares, 1879) contain fourteen introductory verses each; while mss. of these two Mayukhas in the Gattulalji collection in Bombay have only two and three verses respectively. This perplexing variance in the number of introductory verses cannot be satisfactorily explained by supposing that in all cases of such differences the scribes of the mss. and others introduced unauthorised interpolations. The hypothesis which, after a careful consideration of all the introductions, seems most probable is that Nilakantha himself (or probably his son) from time to time revised his works, recast the introductory verses, added to them and also made slight alterations and additions in the body of the works.
Some of the Mayukhas such as the printed editions of the S'anti, Prayas'citta, S'raddha and Acara Mayukhas contain the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva. The genealogy is more or less mythical, but there are no weighty reasons to suppose that the verses are spurious and not from the pen of Nilakantha himself1 [The verses are: -- [x]. Vide also Aufrecht's Bod. Cat., p. 280. No. 656 and I.O. Cat. part III, p. 429, No. 1444 and Mandlik's Introduction LXXVII.]. The genealogy is: from Brahma was born Kas'yapa, whose son was Vibhandaka, whose son was Rsyas'rnga. In the family of the latter was born S'rngivara, after whom the family came to be known as Sengara. King Karna was born in that family. Then follows a line of eighteen kings, the last being Bhagavantadeva.
The order in which the twelve Mayukhas were composed is an interesting question. In the introductory verses to the Benares editions of the Acaramayukha, the Prayas'cittamayukha and the S'antimayukha, the order is given as follows1 [[x].]: — (1) Samskara; (2) Acara; (3) Samaya; (4) S'raddha; (5) Niti; (6) Vyavahara; (7) Dana; (8) Utsarga; (9) Pratistha; (10) Prayas'citta; (11) S'uddhi; (12) S'anti. The same order occurs in another verse in the introduction to the Samayamayukha2 [[x] (Benares ed. of samvat 1937). Vide I.O. Cat. part III, p. 428, No. 1441.] In the colophon at the end of the Acaramayukha it is described as the second; while the S'antimayukha is described as the twelfth. But it is worthy of note that in the colophon to the edition of the Pratisthamayukha published in Bombay in 1891, it is described as the eighth while it is the ninth according to the order set forth above. The introductory verses to many of the Mayukhas and the internal evidence contained in them is sufficient to establish the order in which almost all the Mayukhas were written3 [[x]. Intro. to the [x]. This shows that the [x] was composed after the [x] that speaks of tithis. [x]. The first verse of the [x] shows that it was written after the [x].]. Nilakantha very frequently says that a particular subject has been already treated of by him in another Mayukha or that he will dilate on it in a subsequent Mayukha. From the cross references contained in the several Mayukhas it appears that the order set forth above is tolerably correct.1 [e.g. the [x] (Benares ed.) says [x] (p. 46); in the [x] (Benares ed.) we find [x] (p. 69); [x] ([x] p. 48); [x] (p. 87 of [x]); [x].] Considerations of space and utility require that the cross references should not be set out here in detail.
The next question is whether Nilakantha composed other works than the twelve Mayukhas. In appendix A there is a work called Vyavaharatattva. Four different reasons lead irresistibly to the conclusion that that work was composed by Nilakantha. In the first place the colophon at the end of that work describes it as the composition of Nilakantha, the son of the Mimansaka S'ankarabhatta. In the second place, in the section on dattapradanika, the author of the Vyavaharatattva speaks of the Dvaitanirnaya as composed by his father. Besides, at the beginning of the section on Dayavibhaga, the author of the Vyavaharatattva says that the proposition that the sources of ownership are those well known from worldly dealings has been established by him in the discussion on ownership. This is obviously a reference to the Vyavaharamayukha wherein there is an elaborate discourse on 'svatva’. Besides there is a very close correspondence in language and doctrines between the Vyavaharatattva and the Vyavaharamayukha, Therefore there can be no room for doubt that both works are by the same author.2 [For a discussion about the [x] vide 21 Bom. L. R. p. 1-4 (Journal portion).]
The criticism of it is uncharitable because it is mainly born of prejudice, and it has extended beyond finding fault with the text, to the question of its authorship itself. The critics somehow want to disprove that this work is, as traditionally accepted, a writing of the great Madhava-Vidyaranya, the author of the Panchadasi, and a great name in the field of Indian philosophical and theological literature….Besides the support of tradition, the colophon at the end of every chapter of the book mentions its author’s name as Madhava, that being the pre-monastic name of Vidyaranya….
The identity of Madhava, the author of Sankara-dig-vijaya, with this Madhava-Vidyaranya is further established by the first verse of the text, wherein he pays obeisance to his teacher Vidyatirtha…The identity is further established by the poet Madhava’s reference to his life in the royal court in the following touching introductory verses of his work: “By indulging in insincere praise of the goodness and magnanimity of kings, which are really non-existent like the son of a barren woman or the horns of a hare, my poesy has become extremely impure. Now I shall render it pure and fragrant by applying to it the cool and fragrant sandal paste fallen from the body of the danseuse [a female ballet dancer] of the Acharya’s holy fame and greatness, as she performs her dance on the great stage of the world.”
Besides, the text is a masterpiece of literature and philosophy, which none but a great mind could have produced. But there are detractors of this great text who try to minimise its obvious literary worth by imputing plagiarism and literary piracy to its author.
-- Sankara-Dig-vijaya: The Traditional Life of Sri Sankaracharya, by Madhava-Vidyaranya, Translated by Swami Tapasyananda
The Nirnayasindhu of Kamalakara several times quotes a Vyavaharatattva, which, however, is certainly a different work altogether as the quotations show that that work dwelt upon ceremonial matters and religious rites. The only important points in which the Vyavaharatattva differs from the Vyavaharamayukha are two, viz. the former work places the mother before the father in the matter of succession, while the latter reverses the order and the former makes no reference to the sister as an heir, while the latter assigns her a high place among gotraja [kinsmen] heirs. The reason probably lies in the fact that the Vyavaharatattva was a mere epitome and the author rather followed in both matters the orthodox school of Vijnanes'vara, who was a southern writer like Nilakantha himself; while in the Vyavaharamayukha he propounded the views prevalent or favoured in the territories of his patron or at his court. About the position of the father, he distinctly states that the eastern writers preferred him to the mother. It is noteworthy that neither Mandlik in his learned introduction nor the learned authors of the Digest of West and Buhler refer to the Vyavaharatattva of Nilakantha. That work is for the first time placed in print before Sanskrit scholars. It is not possible to say that the Vyavaharatattva is an abridgment of the Mitaksara. A comparison of the contents of the former with the latter shows that the topics dealt with are arranged in different ways in the two works.
Nilakantha seems to have also composed a work on adoption styled Dattakanirnaya. In the Vyavaharatattva the author refers to a Dattakanirnaya written by himself. The Dharmsindhu also says that the Dattakanirnaya of Nilakantha prescribes that on the death of an adopted son his natural and adoptive fathers had both to observe mourning for three nights and the sapindas [cousins] for one night, while on the death of an adoptive son whose thread-ceremony had been performed (in the family of adoption) the adoptive father and his sapindas would have had to observe mourning for ten days.1 [[x] ([x] III. [x]).] The quotation from the Dharmasindhu shows that what is referred to is not the section on adoption in the Vyavaharamayukha, but an independent work, since in the Vyavaharamayukha there is nothing corresponding to the quotation. Nilakantha is said to have written (according to Aufrecht) two works styled Dharmaprakas'a and S'raddhaprakas'a. The former is referred to in the Samskaramayukha.2 [p. 37 of the edition issued by the Gujarati Press in 1913 ([x]).] It is extremely doubtful whether the Dharmaprakas'a is a work of Nilakantha. We saw above that S'amkarabhatta wrote a work called Dharmaprakas'a. It is probable that there is some confusion owing to the defective text of the Samskaramayukha, wherein editorial additions were made by the son of Nilakantha.
The edition of the Samskaramayukha published by the Gujarati Press in Bombay presents a curious problem. The introductory verses make it clear that the work was composed by S'amkara, the son of Nilakantha and not by Nilakantha himself. The colophon at the end also makes this clear. In the body of the work the other Mayukhas are in several places referred to as 'composed by my father'. For example, on pp. 7 and 10 of the printed edition we have [x]. In other places such expressions as the following are met with: — [x] (pp. 14 and 23); [x] (p. 70); [x] (p. 82); [x] (p. 129). In most of these places, there are different readings in some mss., as the foot-notes point out, to some such effect as [x]. On p. 120 we read [x] and on p. 130 [x]. In these cases there are no different readings pointed out in the foot-notes. In this state of the printed text, several mss. of the Samskaramayukha were consulted. It was found that they all contained the introductory verses and the colophon ascribing the work to Nilakantha’s son. In the present state of our knowledge all that can be said is that the Samskaramayukha of Nilakantha was edited by his son S'amkara with additions of his own, but that what we now have is substantially the work of Nilakantha. If ever a ms. of the Samskaramayukha comes to light containing the text as it left the hand of Nilakantha, it will afford an interesting comparison with the printed text.
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Part 2 of 2
IV. The period of Nilakantha’s literary activity.
The period of the literary activity of Nilakaiatha can be determined with tolerable precision. Nilakantha frequently quotes his father’s Dvaitanirnaya in the Mayukhas on Vyavahara, Prayas'citta, Samaya, S'raddha, and S'anti. The Dvaitanirnaya quotes the Todarananda, an encyclopaedia of religious and civil law, astronomy and medicine, compiled by Todarmal, the famous finance minister of Akbar. The Jyotisasaukhya, a portion of the Todarananda, was composed in 1572 A.D. and a ms, of the Vyavaharasaukhya was copied in 1581 A.D. Therefore it is reasonable to suppose that the Dvaitanirnaya could not have been composed much earlier than 1600 A.D. Kamalakara, who was the first cousin (paternal uncle’s son) of Nilakantha composed the Nirnayasindhu, which was one of the earliest of his numerous works, in 1612 A.D. Nilakantha, who was the youngest of the four sons of S'amkarabhatta, could not have begun his literary career earlier than Kamalakara who was only the second son of his father Ramakrsna, the latter again being older than S'amkarabhatta. Therefore it is highly probable that Nilakantha’s literary activities began later than 1610 A.D. One ms. of the Vyavaharatattva bears the date samvat 1700 (i.e. 1644 A.D.). This may be the date when the ms. was copied or it may be the date when the work was composed. At all events the Vyavaharatattva is not later than 1644 A.D. The Vyavaharatattva presupposes the Vyavaharamayukha and refers to the author’s Dattakanirnaya. Hence Nilakantha must be deemed to have written a good deal before 1644 A.D. A ms. of the S'antimayukha in the Bhau Daji collection (in the Bombay Royal A. Society) seems to bear the date samvat 1706, i.e. 1650 A.D.1 [The colophon is [x]. It will be noticed that one letter after [x] is wanting.] Whether this is the date of the composition of the work or only the date of its being copied does not make much difference to the argument. The S'antimayukha is the last of the twelve Mayukhas that Nilakantha composed. Hence the above quotation makes it clear that the last of the Mayukhas was composed not later than 1650 A.D. Therefore the literary activity of Nilakantha must be placed between 1610 and 1650 A.D. Since the Vyavaharatattva was either composed or copied in 1644 A.D. and presupposes the Vyavaharamayukha, the latter could not have been composed later than 1640 A.D. This conclusion about the period of the literary activity of Nilakantha and the date of the Vyavaharamayukha is corroborated by several circumstances. Gagabhatta, who was the son of Dinakara, the first cousin of Nilakantha, was a famous man in 1674 when he officiated at the coronation of S'ivaji. Nilakantha, being of the same generation as Gagabhatta’s father, must have attained eminence about 1650 at the latest. S'amkara, the son of Nilakantha, wrote the Kundabhaskara in 1671 A.D. Divakarabhatta, the son of Nilakantha’s daughter, wrote his Acararka in 1686 A.D. Therefore Nilakantha must have been a man of mature years in 1650. In the same direction points the fact that Siddhes'vara, the son of Damodara and nephew of Nilakantha, wrote his Samskaramayukha in 1680 A.D. It is significant to note that Purusottamaji, perhaps the most illustrious descendant of Vallabhacarya, who was born in samvat 1724 (i.e. 1668 A.D.) and who wrote at Surat, refers to the S'uddhimayukha in his work styled Dravyas'uddhi.
V. The contents of the twelve Mayukhas.
It will not be out of place to give a brief outline of the contents of the twelve Mayukhas.
(1) The Samskarmayukha: The worship of Gapen'a and Svastivacana (which are necessary in all samskaras); the enumeration of samskaras; the procedure and details about Garbhadhana, Pumsavana, Jatakarma, Namakarana, Cudakarana, Upanayana, Samavartana (return of the student from the teacher’s house), and marriage; the duties of Brahmacarins; holidays; gotras [lineage/descendants] and pravaras [clan]; sapinda [cousin] relationship; different forms of marriage, viz. Brahma, Asura &c; the time of marriage; the duties of married women and of widows; the duties of the four castes and of the orders of householder, of the forest hermit, and of the ascetic.
(2) The Acaramayukha: the use of the right hand in all ritual; the time of rising from bed; meditation on various deities, immortal persons &c; directions as to the time and the place of answering calls of nature and as to the manner of purification thereafter; sipping water by way of purification (acamana); rinsing the mouth; daily bath and baths on special occasions; applying tilakas [vertical markings on forehead] and ashes; the performance of the daily samdhya; offering water to the Sun; muttering of prayers (japa); offering of oblations to fire (homa); division of the day into eight parts with the actions and engagements appropriate to each; the five great daily yajnas; offering water to sages, heroes and ancestors; worship of deities such as Hara, Hari, S'alagrama; the flowers and leaves appropriate to the worship of each deity; the offering called Vais'vadeva; mid-day meal and accessory matters; engagements after dinner; sleep; dreams, good and evil.
(3) The Samayamayukha: division of tithis [Vedic timekeeping: 16-26 hrs.] into purna and khanda; the s'astrartha as to each tithi from the pratipad to the amavasya; important festivals like Krsnajanmastami, Ramanavami, Navaratra, Mahas'ivaratra, and the rites to be performed on each of these; the utsarjana and upakharma rites on the full moon of S'ravana; the time for performing an isti; offering of pinda (rice-ball) to the Manes on the amavasya; eclipses and the rites to be performed when they occur; the fortnight (bright or dark) appropriate to different rites; three kinds of months, candra, savana, and saura differring in their duration; the rites appropriate to each month from caitra; the intercalary month, the rites appropriate to it and the actions to be eschewed in it; the determination of the seasons; the sixty years’ cycle; rites to be performed on the birthday of a person; proper and improper times for shaving; things prohibited in the Kali age.
(4) The S'radddhamayukha: the definition of S'raddha; two varieties of it, parvana and ekoddista; the proper time and place for S'raddha; persons competent to perform S'raddha; cases in which women were competent to perform S'raddha; such S'raddhas as mahalaya; materials to be used in S'raddha; use of flesh prohibited in S'raddha though allowed in former ages; discourse on kus'a and sesame; brahmanas unfit to be invited at S'raddhas; the way in which the sacred thread was to be worn at the time of performing S'raddhas and other rites; the places where pindas were to be offered and the size of pindas; gifts to brahmanas; places where pindas are ultimately to be cast; the prayoga (procedure) of S'raddhas; how S'raddha is to be performed by him who is unable to go through the whole ritual of it; the letting loose of a bull; the sixteen S'raddhas that led to sapindana; S'raddhas on auspicious occasions; daily S'raddha as one of the Mahayajnas.
(5) The Nitimayukhha: definition of king (rajan); the proper time for coronation; characteristics of a throne; the king’s crown; the seven constituent elements of a state, viz. the king, the ministers, allies, people, forts, treasury and army; the principal vices of kings and their effects; evils of gambling and drinking; the qualities of a good king; the duties of kings; the five great yajnas in the case of kings, viz punishing the wicked, honouring the good, increase of wealth by lawful means, impartiality and protection of the state; messengers and envoys (dutas), their qualities and three classes; fate and human effort; eulogy of the brave that sacrifice their lives in battle; varieties of elephants; the game of chess.
(6) The Vyavaharamayukha: definition of vyavahara; eighteen titles of vyavahara; the courts of justice; judge and assessor; other tribunals than the king’s courts; conflict between dharmas'astra and arthas'astra and between different rules of dharmas'astra; force of local or family usage; the plaintiff or complainant; the defendant or opponent; the plaint, its contents and defects; the defence and its four varieties; sureties for the litigants; the pramanas, viz, documents, possession and witnesses; description of various kinds of documents; characteristics of false witnesses; ordeals in the absence of other means of proof; principal ordeals, viz. of fire, water, poison and balance; persons fit to undergo ordeals and the proper times and places for ordeals; other ordeals such as holy water, rice, heated golden masa &c.; ownership; meaning of daya; two kinds of heritage, sapratibandha and apratibandha; partition of heritage; time for partition; shares on partition; the rights of the father, mother, and eldest son on partition; partition after father’s death; twelve kinds of sons; adopted son; who should adopt, when one should adopt; persons competent to give, in adoption; who should be adopted; the ceremonial of adoption; two kinds of dattaka; dvyamusyayana defined; how far sapinda relationship of the adopted son extends in the family of adoption and in the family of birth; property not liable to partition; evidence of separation; order of succession to sapratibandha heritage; the compact series of heirs from the wife to the brother’s son; gotrajas as heirs; sister’s right to succeed; samanodakas and bandhus; strangers as heirs; re-union; definition of stridhana; its varieties; succession to stridhana; persons excluded from inheritance; debts, recovery of debts and rates of interest; mortgages and pledges; suretyship; three or four kinds of sureties; deposit; sale by one not an owner; partnership; resumption of gifts; non-payment of wages; rescission of sales; disputes as to boundaries; assault and abuse; theft; adultery; violent offences; gambling and other miscellaneous matters.
(7) The Danarmayukha: definition of dana; eulogy of dana; persons competent to make gifts and receive them; things proper to be given as gifts; ista and purta; proper times and places for making gifts; measures of corn and distance; postures of idols of various deities such as Ganes'a, Narayana, Kama; the mandapa described; settling the four principal directions; the ceremonial of the worship of the planets; the sixteen mahadanas such as weighing against gold &c; gifts of lands, houses, elephants, horses; prohibition against the resumption of gifts; description of a prapa (where water was distributed gratis) for travellers.
(8) The Utsargamayukha: eulogy of the dedication of a reservoir of water to the public; proper time for making such a dedication; the ritual of such a gift; wells and tanks; pandal to be erected near the reservoir at the time of dedication; twenty-four priests required in the dedication and their duties; the deities invoked at such a dedication; purification of wells and tanks polluted by dogs, cats, asses, pigs or corpses; the planting of trees and rites appropriate thereto.
(9) The Pratisthamayukha: the time for consecrating temples; the preparations for consecration, such as collecting firesticks, saffron, musk &c; worship of the mandapa (pavilion or pandal); bathing the image; consecrating the image in two ways, cala and acala; the procedure of repairing old temple buildings and re-establishing idols pulled down or carried away by a river or defaced by accident &c.
(10) The Prayas'cittamayukha: — definition of prayas'citta; no necessity for prayas'citta in certain cases such as killing an atatayin; the description of various hells in order to induce sinners to repent; the different births to which sinners are condemned; the constitution of an assembly that is to prescribe a prayas'citta; the preliminaries to undergoing a prayas'citta, such as shaving, applying cowdung and mud to the body; the rites common to all prayas'cittas; the various kinds of Krcchras as prayas'cittas; description of Brahmakurca, Baraka, Santapana, Candrayana; visits to various tirthas prescribed in the case of various classes of sinners; various causes of sinfulness and pollution, such as murder, drinking, theft, adultery, eating forbidden things, giving up vedic study, contact with certain persons; prayas'cittas for killing a Brahmana and members of other castes, for killing various male and female relatives, for relatives of persons committing suicide and for those that attempt suicide, for killing a cow and other animals, for drinking liquors and eating flesh, onions, garlic and other prohibited articles; prayas'cittas for taking food in certain S'raddhas from men of other castes or from S'udras; prayas'cittas for thefts of various articles and for adultery; prayas'citta for contact of nine kinds; no sin arises from contact at tirthas, in marriage processions, fairs, battles, national calamities, burning of a village; prayas'cittas for lesser transgressions of various kinds such as selling oil, honey or salt by Brahmanas, for receiving forbidden gifts, for being an actor &c.
(11) The S'uddhimayukha: purification of vessels of gold, silver, copper, iron, lead &c,; purification of vessels scratched by birds or beasts, or plates licked by S'udras or cows, or soiled by contact with wine &c.; purification of cloth of various kinds when soiled; rules as to purification left to local usage by Marici; periods of impurity on account of mis-carriage or still-birth or ordinary birth; periods of impurity on death before the first year, before the thread ceremony or marriage in the case of women; instantaneous purification in the case of persons killed in battle or killed by a stroke of lightning &c.; how the sick are to be purified in case of impurity due to birth or death; priyas'citta for death on a cot, death due to snake bite; the death of a brahmacarin specially ominous; the merit of helping to carry the corpse of an unknown or poor person; no impurity on the death of a samnyasin; when the ashes are to be collected after cremation of a body; the merit of casting the ashes in the Ganges at Benares or at Prayaga; the nine S'raddhas to be performed on death; the letting loose of a bull on the 11th day after death; procedure about S'raddha if the day or month of death not known; practice of sati; women that were unfit to perform sahagamana; procedure, if before one impurity ceases, another occurs; periods of impurity on hearing of the death of a sapinda abroad after the lapse of three months, six months &c.; the period of impurity on the death of samanodakas and on the death of one’s teacher; purification on the death of a married sister and other relatives.
(12) The S'antimayukha: definition of S'anti; even S'udras authorised to perform the propitiatory rites for averting evil; Vinayakas'anti; characteristics of the nine grahas (the sun, the moon, Mars and the rest, Rahu and Ketu); propitiatory rites on the conjunctions of certain planets; how heroes like Saudasa, Nala, Rama, the Pandavas suffered from the evil aspects of planets; rites on the birth of an infant with teeth or for the birth of a child on the 14th day of the dark half of a month or when the moon is in the constellation of Mula, or when a child is born on certain Yogas like Vaidhrti and Vyatipata; rites on the birth of a son after three daughters or vice versa, and on the birth of twins; rites for birth on particular tithis or days of the week or particular lunar mansions; rites on certain extraordinary events (such as weeping or laughing of trees); solemn propitiatory rites at the time of coronation &c.
VI. The position of Nilakantha in Dharmas'astra Literature.
The development of religious and civil law in India falls into four well-marked but somewhat overlapping periods. The first period starts in the midst of antiquity and culminates in the ancient Grhya and Dharma sutras. Most of the Grhya and Dharma sutras even in their extant form are several centuries earlier than the Christian era. The present writer is not one of those who hold that metrical smrtis in continuous s'loka metre are in a body later than the sutra works (at least the older ones among those extant). It seems very probable that metrical smrtis were composed even before the sutra style attained its full vigour. It may be readily admitted that most of the extant metrical smrtis are much later than some of the extant Dharmasutras (such as those of Gautama, Baudhayana, Apastamba). But the same cannot be said of the smrti material contained in the Mahabharata and of the Manusmrti. Therefore it must be said that while several attempts were being made to compose sutra works on ritual and law, metrical works also were being composed for the same purpose. The second period is that of the metrical smrtis like those of Yajnavalkya, Narada, Brhaspati, Katyayana and a host of other writers. This period extends from the centuries immediately preceding the Christian era to about 600 A.D. The third period is that of eminent commentators and it extends from the 7th century to the 12th. Among its earlier representatives are Asahaya, Vis'varupa and Medhatithi. To this period belong several well-known names such as those of Bharuci, S'rikara, Govindaraja and Dhares'vara. But the best exponents of this period are Vijnanes'vara and Apararka, who respectively flourished in the latter half of the 11th and the first half of the 12th century. From the 13th century to the 18th is the period of the Nibandhakaras, the writers of digests and encyclopaedias. One finds that many writers in this period compose treatises in which they review all the work done by their predecessors from the earliest times, introduce order and system in the heterogeneous and scattered mass of material that had accumulated during the lapse of centuries, examine the views of different authors, express their adherence to some one view and discard or refute the rest. Nilakantha is one of the foremost representatives of this period. His position is analogous to that of Bhattoji Diksita in Grammar or of Jagannatha in Poetics. Nilakantha makes a difference in dealing with the conflicting views of writers believed to be inspired sages like Atri, Angiras, Devala, Manu and of later writers like Medhatithi, Hemadri, Madhava and others. As regards the former class of writers, he hardly, if ever, says that they are wrong, but tries to reconcile the differences amongst them as best as he can and, where the conflict is utterly irreconcilable, has recourse to the theory that their views had reference to a different yuga. As regards writers of the second class his method is different. He has the highest admiration and reverence for authors like Vijnanes'vara, Madhava and Hemadri. But his veneration for these authorities does not make him slavishly follow their dicta and bow to their authority in everything. He very often expresses frank dissent from their views. But his criticisms of these writers are always impartial and most courteous as befits a scholar whose passion is the search of truth as it presents it to himself. He boldly criticizes the opinions of every one, not sparing even his own father who was a profound mimansaka1 [For example, vid [x] (p. 25 Benares ed.) [x] (p. 25 Benares ed.) [x].]. He is profuse in acknowledging the debt he owes to others. Wherever he did not personally verify a quotation from an ancient work but took it over from one of his predecessors, he distinctly says so2 [For example, vide the words [x] &c.]. In the vastness of the material drawn upon, in the ease and flow of style, in the conciseness and perspicuity of his remarks, in sobriety of judgment, in acuteness of vision, in the orderly presentation of various topics for discussion, Nilakantha is hardly rivalled, much less surpassed, by any writer of this period. When this is said, it is not meant that all the twelve Mayukhas are equal in execution and workmanship. The best are the Mayukhas on Vyavahara, S'raddha, Prayas'citta, Acara and Samaya. The weakest of the whole lot are the Mayukhas on Niti and Utsarga. From appendix C it will be seen that Nilakantha quotes no less than about a hundred smrtis and several hundred other works on Dharmas'astra.
Nilakantha, being bred and brought up in an atmosphere redolent with the Purvamimansa system, very frequently discusses the doctrines of that system and makes very acute use of them in all the Mayukhas. In the Vyavaharamayukha alone he draws upon the Purvamimansa in dozens of places. In Appendix F are brought together most of the passages from the Vyavaharamayukha in which the Purvamimansa system is relied upon or appealed to by Nilakantha.
VII. Nilakantha and other writers on Vyavahara
The Vyavaharamayukha stands in a special relation to the Mitaksara of Vijnanes'vara and the Madanaratna. When Nilakantha wrote it appears that Vijnanes'vara had come to be looked upon as the most authoritative writer on Dharmas'astra. In the Dvaitanirnaya his father speaks of Vijnanes'vara as the foremost among writers of 'nibandhas’.1 [The words are [x].] Nilakantha himself looked upon Vijnanes'vara as the first among ‘sampradayikas’ (those who are repositories of traditional lore).2 [Mark the words [x] (text p. 171, II. 6-7).] Of all the Mayukhas it is in the Vyavaharamayukha that Nilakantha most frequently quotes and also criticises the Mitaksara. In appendix D are collected together all those passages from the Vyavaharamayukha wherein the Mitaksara is either quoted or criticised. It will be seen that the most important points on which the Vyavaharamayukha differs from the Mitaksara are the preference of the father over the mother, the high place assigned to the sister as an heir, the postponement of the half brother and his son to the paternal grand-mother and sister, the various kinds of stridhana and the different rules of succession as to each. It seems that Nilakantha highly esteemed the Madanaratna. He quotes that work as frequently as he does the Mitaksara and in most places follows its views in preference to those of others. In appendix E all those passages where the Madanaratna is quoted or referred to have been brought together. Unfortunately it was not possible to secure a copy of the Madanaratna (Vyavaharoddyota) even after a good deal of inquiry and search. A comparison of the original text of the Madanaratna with the Vyavaharamayukha would have cleared up many difficult points. The Viramitrodaya, however, has been of great help in pointing certain views as those of the Madanaratna.
In the division of his encyclopaedic work into twelve parts and in the general method of treatment Nilakantha had several predecessors. Hemadri, minister of the Devagiri Yadava kings Mahadeva (1260-1271 A.D.) and Ramacandra (1271-1309 A.D.), composed a vast encyclopaedia styled Caturvargacintamani on Vrata, Dana, Tirtha, Moksa, Kala &c. Candes'vara, minister of the king of Mithila, wrote a voluminous work divided into seven parts called ratnakaras (oceans, as in Hindu mythology there are seven oceans) on Dana, Vyavahara, S'uddhi, Puja, Vivada &c. He weighed himself against gold in s'ake 1276 i.e. 1314 A.D. His Vivadaratnakara is a work of paramount authority in Mithila and is quoted in the Vyavaharamayukha. King Madanasimha composed a large work called Madanaratna in seven Uddyotas on Samaya, Acara, Vyavahara, Prayas'citta, Dana, S'uddhi and S'anti. The Madanaratna and Hemadri are quoted at every step by Nilakantha. The Nrsimhaprasada is a work of enormous extent, being nearly half as much in bulk as the Mahabharata. It was composed by Dalapati (is it a proper name?), who was the chief minister of king Nizamshah,1 [Vide I. O. Cat. part III. pp. 434-435 No. 1467, Mitra’s Bik. Cat. pp. 429-430, Benares ‘Pandit’, New Series, vol. V. p. 377 for an account of the work.] probably the founder of the Nizamshahi dynasty of Ahmednagar (1489—1508). A ms. of that work was written in samvat 1568 i.e. 1512 A.D. This work is divided into twelve parts called savas on Samskara, Ahnika, S'raddha, Kalanirnaya, Vyavahara, Prayas'citta, Karmavipaka, Vrata, Dana, S'anti, Tirtha and Pratistha. It is remarkable how closely the parts of this work agree in number and nomenclature with those of the Bhagavantabhaskara. The Nrsimhaprasada is quoted in the Samayamayukha and the Dvaitanirnaya. Raghunandana, who is later than 1450 and earlier than 1600 A.D. and who wrote a commentary on the Dayabhaga, is the author of a comprehensive work called Smrtitattva, divided into twenty-eight parts styled tattvas on Daya, Divya, Samskara, S'uddhi, Prayas'citta, Tirtha, Vyavahara, Pratistha &c. His Divyatattva is quoted in the Vyavaharamayukha and the other tattvas also are frequently referred to in the other Mayukhas. He is designated Smartabhattacarya and Gaudamimansaka by Nilakantha. Todaramalla, the famous finance minister of Akbar, compiled an encyclopaedia of religious and civil law, medicine and astronomy styled Todarananda. The various sections of this work are called saukhyas and deal with Acara, Dana, Vyavahara, Prayas'citta, Samaya, S'uddhi, Vrata &c. We saw above that his Jyotistattva was composed in 1572 A.D. and a ms. of his Vyavaharasaukhya was copied in 1581 A.D. The Todarananda is quoted in the Vyavaharamayukha and other Mayukhas.
VI. The position of the Vyavaharamayukha in modern Hindu Law.
It has been repeatedly laid down by the Bombay High Court and by the Privy Council, the highest judicial tribunal for India, that the three books of chief authority in western India are Manu, the Mitaksara and the Mayukha.1 [Vide Murarji v. arvatibai I.L.R. 1 Bom. 177 at p. 187; Savitribai v. Luxmibai I.L.R. 2. Bom. 573 at p. 606; Lallubia v. Cossibai I.L.R. 5 Bom. 110 at p. 117 (P.C.); Pranjivandas v. Devkuvarabai 1 Bom. H.C.R. (O.C.J.) 130 at p. 131.] In the Maratha country and in the Ratnagiri district the Mitaksara is of paramount authority and a subordinate place, though still a very important one, is assigned to the Vyavaharamayukha.2 [Krishnaji v. Pandurang 12 Bom. H.C.R. (A.C.J.) at p. 169 and Jankibai v. Sundra I.L.R. 14 Bom. 612, 616 (Ratnagiri District).] The Vyavaharamayukha is of paramount authority in Guzerat, the town and island of Bombay and in northern Konkan.3 [Lallubhai v. Mankuvarbai I.L.R. 2 Bom. 388 at p. 418; I.L.R. 6 Bom. 541, 546; Jankibai v. Sundra I.L.R. 14 Bom. 612, at pp. 623-24; Vyas Chimaanlal v. Vyas Ramchandra I.L.R. 24 Bom. 367 (F.B.) at p. 373.] Though the pre-eminence of the Mitaksara in the Maratha country is admitted, yet its doctrines have in several instances been set aside in favour of those put forward in the Vyavaharamayukha.4 [Bhagirthibai v. Kahnujirao I.L.R. 11 Bom. 285 (F.B.), at p. 293.] For example, though the Mitaksara nowhere recognises the sister as a gotraja sapinda, the courts, following the Mayukha, have assigned her a high place as heir even in the Maratha country. It is interesting to see how the Vyavaharamayukha came to be recognised as an authoritative work in Guzerat. We saw above that the family of Nilakantha came from the Deccan. Naturally all the members of that family preferred the usages of the Deccan and S'amkarabhatta expressly says in his Dvaitanirnaya that he will conform to the views of Deccan writers. Therefore the works of these Bhattas of Benares were highly esteemed by the learned men of the Maratha country. When the Marathas extended their sway over Guzerat in the 18th century, the works of Kamalakara (particularly the Nirnayasindhu) and of Nilakantha (particularly the Vyavaharamayukha) were relied upon by the S'astris at the court of the Maratha rulers of Guzerat. Thus the Vyavaharamayukha had come to be looked upon as a work of high authority in Guzerat before the advent of the British in the beginning of the 19th century.1 [Vide Lallubhai v. Mankuvarbai I.L.R. 2 Bom. 388, 418-19 and Bhagirthibai v. Kahnujirao I.L.R. Bom 285 (F.B.), 294-95 for the reasons of the ascendancy of the Vyavaharamayukha in Guzerat.] The result was that so early as 1827 Borradaile translated the Vyavaharamayukha in English. That the Mayukhas of Nilakantha were eagerly sought for even as far to the south as the Belgaum district in the times of the Peshwas is established by a letter of Naro Vinayak, Mamlatdar of Athni in the present Belgaum District, dated 28th June 1797. In that letter reference is made to the copying of the six Mayukhas on Samskara, Acara, Samaya, S'raddha, Niti and Vyavahara and a request is made that the other six Mayukhas may be sent for a copy being made.1 [Vide [x] Vol. X. p. 5172 letter No. 4006 (edited by Mr. Vasudevs'astri Khare, 1920). As the letter is interesting the whole of it is reproduced below. [x].] It appears that even in Northern India the Vyavaharamayukha was referred to by the British courts as early as 1813 A. D.2 [Bhagwan Singh v. Bhagwan I.L.R. 17 All 294, at p. 314.]
The general principle on which the courts of Western India act in construing the rules laid down by the Mitaksara and the Vyavaharamayukha is that they are to be harmonised with one another, wherever and so far as that is reasonably possible.3 [Gojabai v. Shrimant Shahajirao I.L.R. 17 Bom. 114, 118 quoted with approval in Kesserbai v. Hunsraj I.L.R. 30 Bom. 431, 442 (P.C.).]
It was said above that the Vyavaharamayukha is of paramount authority in Northern Konkan. As there is divergence between the views of the Mitaksara and the Mayukha in matters of succession, it becomes of great practical importance to settle with precision the exact limits in Northern Konkan up to which the Mayukha must be regarded as a work of paramount authority. It has been judicially decided that Karanja, which is an island opposite the Bombay harbour, is governed by the principles of the Mayukha,1 [Sakharam Sadashiva Adhikari v. Sitabai I.L.R. 3 Bom. 353.] that Mahad, the southernmost Taluka of the Kolaba District, is not so governed and that the predominance of the Mayukha cannot either on principle or authority be taken further south than Chaul and Nagothna2 [Vide Narhar v. Bhau I.L.R. 40 Bom. 621 (where the authorities are collected).] (in the northern part of the Kolaba District).
Though the authority of the Vyavaharamayukha is supreme in Guzerat, the island of Bombay and northern Konkan and high in the Maratha country, it is not to be supposed that the whole of it has been either adopted by the people or accepted by the courts. There are several matters, such as the twelve kinds of sons and the fifteen kinds of slaves and the marriage of a person with girls belonging to lower castes than his own, on which Nilakantha expatiates with as much learning, patience and zest as any ancient writer, although those usages had become obsolete centuries before his time.3 [Vide the remarks in Rahi v. Govind I.L.R. 1 Bom. 97 at p. 112 and Lallubhai v. Mankuvarbai I.L.R. 2 Bom. 388 at pp. 420 and 447.] Nilakantha says that the paternal great-grand-father, the paternal uncle and the half-brother’s son succeed together. But the courts have never recognised this rule, nor has it ever been made the foundation of a claim in a court of law. On the other hand, the views of Nilakantha that the sister is a gotraja sapinda and that even a married man may be taken in adoption have been followed by the courts, although hardly any eminent writer before him propounded these views. Kamalakara, a first cousin of Nilakantha, criticises those who would include sisters in the term brothers (vide Sarvadhikari’s Tagore Law Lectures p. 664, ed. of 1882). Among the other Mayukhas, the Samskaramayukha is frequently cited in the law reports.1 [Vide I.L.R. 2 Bom. 388 at p. 425, 3 Bom. 353 at p. 361, 4 Bom. 219 at p. 221, 32 Bom. 81 at pp. 88, 96.] In a case reported in 22 Bom. L.R. (p. 334) both sides seem to have relied upon the Pratisthamayukha.
IX: The present edition
In section I above the material on which the text of the present edition is based has been indicated. No efforts have been spared to arrive at a correct text of the Vyavaharamayukha. Great labour was spent in trying to trace the quotations to their sources. Some of the quotations had to be found out from mss. Only those who have ever done the work of identifying quotations can form an adequate idea of the labour involved in this task. In spite of this there are still several quotations that have defied all efforts to trace them. Often times there is great divergence between the printed texts of the authors quoted by Nilakantha and the readings of the mss. In most of such cases, the readings of the mss. have been given in the text and in the footnotes the readings of the printed editions are indicated. As regards various readings only the important ones have been pointed out. The footnotes would have been encumbered with unnecessary details if every variation and every omission contained in the mss. had been indicated.
The annotations have been purposely made copious. The Vyavaharamayukha is full of difficultis. An attempt has been made to fully explain every possible difficulty. The numerous references to the doctrines and technical terms of the Purvamimansa have been explained at length. Parallel passages from other works have been added at every step. References to modern developments of the Hindu law have been frequently given.
In order to enhance the utility of the work several appendices have been added. Appendix A contains the text of the Vyavaharatattva which is based on two mss. Appendix B contains the names of all the authors and works quoted in the Vyavaharamayukha with brief notes in the case of some. Appendix C contains a consolidated list of all the authors and works occurring in the twelve Mayukhas. Appendix D collects together all those passages in which the Mitaksara and Vijnanes'vara are quoted or criticized. In Appendix E are gathered together the passages where the Madanaratna is quoted, criticised or referred to. Appendix E contains the passages where the doctrines of the Purvamimansa have been appealed to or relied upon in the Vyavaharamayukha. Appendix G gives an index of the pratikas of the verses occurring in the work.
As regards the system of transliteration, the one adopted by the Bhandarkar Institute has been followed in the Introduction. Unfortunately in the notes this system was not consistently followed with regard to four letters, viz. [x], [x], [x] and [x].
IV. The period of Nilakantha’s literary activity.
The period of the literary activity of Nilakaiatha can be determined with tolerable precision. Nilakantha frequently quotes his father’s Dvaitanirnaya in the Mayukhas on Vyavahara, Prayas'citta, Samaya, S'raddha, and S'anti. The Dvaitanirnaya quotes the Todarananda, an encyclopaedia of religious and civil law, astronomy and medicine, compiled by Todarmal, the famous finance minister of Akbar. The Jyotisasaukhya, a portion of the Todarananda, was composed in 1572 A.D. and a ms, of the Vyavaharasaukhya was copied in 1581 A.D. Therefore it is reasonable to suppose that the Dvaitanirnaya could not have been composed much earlier than 1600 A.D. Kamalakara, who was the first cousin (paternal uncle’s son) of Nilakantha composed the Nirnayasindhu, which was one of the earliest of his numerous works, in 1612 A.D. Nilakantha, who was the youngest of the four sons of S'amkarabhatta, could not have begun his literary career earlier than Kamalakara who was only the second son of his father Ramakrsna, the latter again being older than S'amkarabhatta. Therefore it is highly probable that Nilakantha’s literary activities began later than 1610 A.D. One ms. of the Vyavaharatattva bears the date samvat 1700 (i.e. 1644 A.D.). This may be the date when the ms. was copied or it may be the date when the work was composed. At all events the Vyavaharatattva is not later than 1644 A.D. The Vyavaharatattva presupposes the Vyavaharamayukha and refers to the author’s Dattakanirnaya. Hence Nilakantha must be deemed to have written a good deal before 1644 A.D. A ms. of the S'antimayukha in the Bhau Daji collection (in the Bombay Royal A. Society) seems to bear the date samvat 1706, i.e. 1650 A.D.1 [The colophon is [x]. It will be noticed that one letter after [x] is wanting.] Whether this is the date of the composition of the work or only the date of its being copied does not make much difference to the argument. The S'antimayukha is the last of the twelve Mayukhas that Nilakantha composed. Hence the above quotation makes it clear that the last of the Mayukhas was composed not later than 1650 A.D. Therefore the literary activity of Nilakantha must be placed between 1610 and 1650 A.D. Since the Vyavaharatattva was either composed or copied in 1644 A.D. and presupposes the Vyavaharamayukha, the latter could not have been composed later than 1640 A.D. This conclusion about the period of the literary activity of Nilakantha and the date of the Vyavaharamayukha is corroborated by several circumstances. Gagabhatta, who was the son of Dinakara, the first cousin of Nilakantha, was a famous man in 1674 when he officiated at the coronation of S'ivaji. Nilakantha, being of the same generation as Gagabhatta’s father, must have attained eminence about 1650 at the latest. S'amkara, the son of Nilakantha, wrote the Kundabhaskara in 1671 A.D. Divakarabhatta, the son of Nilakantha’s daughter, wrote his Acararka in 1686 A.D. Therefore Nilakantha must have been a man of mature years in 1650. In the same direction points the fact that Siddhes'vara, the son of Damodara and nephew of Nilakantha, wrote his Samskaramayukha in 1680 A.D. It is significant to note that Purusottamaji, perhaps the most illustrious descendant of Vallabhacarya, who was born in samvat 1724 (i.e. 1668 A.D.) and who wrote at Surat, refers to the S'uddhimayukha in his work styled Dravyas'uddhi.
V. The contents of the twelve Mayukhas.
It will not be out of place to give a brief outline of the contents of the twelve Mayukhas.
(1) The Samskarmayukha: The worship of Gapen'a and Svastivacana (which are necessary in all samskaras); the enumeration of samskaras; the procedure and details about Garbhadhana, Pumsavana, Jatakarma, Namakarana, Cudakarana, Upanayana, Samavartana (return of the student from the teacher’s house), and marriage; the duties of Brahmacarins; holidays; gotras [lineage/descendants] and pravaras [clan]; sapinda [cousin] relationship; different forms of marriage, viz. Brahma, Asura &c; the time of marriage; the duties of married women and of widows; the duties of the four castes and of the orders of householder, of the forest hermit, and of the ascetic.
(2) The Acaramayukha: the use of the right hand in all ritual; the time of rising from bed; meditation on various deities, immortal persons &c; directions as to the time and the place of answering calls of nature and as to the manner of purification thereafter; sipping water by way of purification (acamana); rinsing the mouth; daily bath and baths on special occasions; applying tilakas [vertical markings on forehead] and ashes; the performance of the daily samdhya; offering water to the Sun; muttering of prayers (japa); offering of oblations to fire (homa); division of the day into eight parts with the actions and engagements appropriate to each; the five great daily yajnas; offering water to sages, heroes and ancestors; worship of deities such as Hara, Hari, S'alagrama; the flowers and leaves appropriate to the worship of each deity; the offering called Vais'vadeva; mid-day meal and accessory matters; engagements after dinner; sleep; dreams, good and evil.
(3) The Samayamayukha: division of tithis [Vedic timekeeping: 16-26 hrs.] into purna and khanda; the s'astrartha as to each tithi from the pratipad to the amavasya; important festivals like Krsnajanmastami, Ramanavami, Navaratra, Mahas'ivaratra, and the rites to be performed on each of these; the utsarjana and upakharma rites on the full moon of S'ravana; the time for performing an isti; offering of pinda (rice-ball) to the Manes on the amavasya; eclipses and the rites to be performed when they occur; the fortnight (bright or dark) appropriate to different rites; three kinds of months, candra, savana, and saura differring in their duration; the rites appropriate to each month from caitra; the intercalary month, the rites appropriate to it and the actions to be eschewed in it; the determination of the seasons; the sixty years’ cycle; rites to be performed on the birthday of a person; proper and improper times for shaving; things prohibited in the Kali age.
(4) The S'radddhamayukha: the definition of S'raddha; two varieties of it, parvana and ekoddista; the proper time and place for S'raddha; persons competent to perform S'raddha; cases in which women were competent to perform S'raddha; such S'raddhas as mahalaya; materials to be used in S'raddha; use of flesh prohibited in S'raddha though allowed in former ages; discourse on kus'a and sesame; brahmanas unfit to be invited at S'raddhas; the way in which the sacred thread was to be worn at the time of performing S'raddhas and other rites; the places where pindas were to be offered and the size of pindas; gifts to brahmanas; places where pindas are ultimately to be cast; the prayoga (procedure) of S'raddhas; how S'raddha is to be performed by him who is unable to go through the whole ritual of it; the letting loose of a bull; the sixteen S'raddhas that led to sapindana; S'raddhas on auspicious occasions; daily S'raddha as one of the Mahayajnas.
(5) The Nitimayukhha: definition of king (rajan); the proper time for coronation; characteristics of a throne; the king’s crown; the seven constituent elements of a state, viz. the king, the ministers, allies, people, forts, treasury and army; the principal vices of kings and their effects; evils of gambling and drinking; the qualities of a good king; the duties of kings; the five great yajnas in the case of kings, viz punishing the wicked, honouring the good, increase of wealth by lawful means, impartiality and protection of the state; messengers and envoys (dutas), their qualities and three classes; fate and human effort; eulogy of the brave that sacrifice their lives in battle; varieties of elephants; the game of chess.
(6) The Vyavaharamayukha: definition of vyavahara; eighteen titles of vyavahara; the courts of justice; judge and assessor; other tribunals than the king’s courts; conflict between dharmas'astra and arthas'astra and between different rules of dharmas'astra; force of local or family usage; the plaintiff or complainant; the defendant or opponent; the plaint, its contents and defects; the defence and its four varieties; sureties for the litigants; the pramanas, viz, documents, possession and witnesses; description of various kinds of documents; characteristics of false witnesses; ordeals in the absence of other means of proof; principal ordeals, viz. of fire, water, poison and balance; persons fit to undergo ordeals and the proper times and places for ordeals; other ordeals such as holy water, rice, heated golden masa &c.; ownership; meaning of daya; two kinds of heritage, sapratibandha and apratibandha; partition of heritage; time for partition; shares on partition; the rights of the father, mother, and eldest son on partition; partition after father’s death; twelve kinds of sons; adopted son; who should adopt, when one should adopt; persons competent to give, in adoption; who should be adopted; the ceremonial of adoption; two kinds of dattaka; dvyamusyayana defined; how far sapinda relationship of the adopted son extends in the family of adoption and in the family of birth; property not liable to partition; evidence of separation; order of succession to sapratibandha heritage; the compact series of heirs from the wife to the brother’s son; gotrajas as heirs; sister’s right to succeed; samanodakas and bandhus; strangers as heirs; re-union; definition of stridhana; its varieties; succession to stridhana; persons excluded from inheritance; debts, recovery of debts and rates of interest; mortgages and pledges; suretyship; three or four kinds of sureties; deposit; sale by one not an owner; partnership; resumption of gifts; non-payment of wages; rescission of sales; disputes as to boundaries; assault and abuse; theft; adultery; violent offences; gambling and other miscellaneous matters.
(7) The Danarmayukha: definition of dana; eulogy of dana; persons competent to make gifts and receive them; things proper to be given as gifts; ista and purta; proper times and places for making gifts; measures of corn and distance; postures of idols of various deities such as Ganes'a, Narayana, Kama; the mandapa described; settling the four principal directions; the ceremonial of the worship of the planets; the sixteen mahadanas such as weighing against gold &c; gifts of lands, houses, elephants, horses; prohibition against the resumption of gifts; description of a prapa (where water was distributed gratis) for travellers.
(8) The Utsargamayukha: eulogy of the dedication of a reservoir of water to the public; proper time for making such a dedication; the ritual of such a gift; wells and tanks; pandal to be erected near the reservoir at the time of dedication; twenty-four priests required in the dedication and their duties; the deities invoked at such a dedication; purification of wells and tanks polluted by dogs, cats, asses, pigs or corpses; the planting of trees and rites appropriate thereto.
(9) The Pratisthamayukha: the time for consecrating temples; the preparations for consecration, such as collecting firesticks, saffron, musk &c; worship of the mandapa (pavilion or pandal); bathing the image; consecrating the image in two ways, cala and acala; the procedure of repairing old temple buildings and re-establishing idols pulled down or carried away by a river or defaced by accident &c.
(10) The Prayas'cittamayukha: — definition of prayas'citta; no necessity for prayas'citta in certain cases such as killing an atatayin; the description of various hells in order to induce sinners to repent; the different births to which sinners are condemned; the constitution of an assembly that is to prescribe a prayas'citta; the preliminaries to undergoing a prayas'citta, such as shaving, applying cowdung and mud to the body; the rites common to all prayas'cittas; the various kinds of Krcchras as prayas'cittas; description of Brahmakurca, Baraka, Santapana, Candrayana; visits to various tirthas prescribed in the case of various classes of sinners; various causes of sinfulness and pollution, such as murder, drinking, theft, adultery, eating forbidden things, giving up vedic study, contact with certain persons; prayas'cittas for killing a Brahmana and members of other castes, for killing various male and female relatives, for relatives of persons committing suicide and for those that attempt suicide, for killing a cow and other animals, for drinking liquors and eating flesh, onions, garlic and other prohibited articles; prayas'cittas for taking food in certain S'raddhas from men of other castes or from S'udras; prayas'cittas for thefts of various articles and for adultery; prayas'citta for contact of nine kinds; no sin arises from contact at tirthas, in marriage processions, fairs, battles, national calamities, burning of a village; prayas'cittas for lesser transgressions of various kinds such as selling oil, honey or salt by Brahmanas, for receiving forbidden gifts, for being an actor &c.
(11) The S'uddhimayukha: purification of vessels of gold, silver, copper, iron, lead &c,; purification of vessels scratched by birds or beasts, or plates licked by S'udras or cows, or soiled by contact with wine &c.; purification of cloth of various kinds when soiled; rules as to purification left to local usage by Marici; periods of impurity on account of mis-carriage or still-birth or ordinary birth; periods of impurity on death before the first year, before the thread ceremony or marriage in the case of women; instantaneous purification in the case of persons killed in battle or killed by a stroke of lightning &c.; how the sick are to be purified in case of impurity due to birth or death; priyas'citta for death on a cot, death due to snake bite; the death of a brahmacarin specially ominous; the merit of helping to carry the corpse of an unknown or poor person; no impurity on the death of a samnyasin; when the ashes are to be collected after cremation of a body; the merit of casting the ashes in the Ganges at Benares or at Prayaga; the nine S'raddhas to be performed on death; the letting loose of a bull on the 11th day after death; procedure about S'raddha if the day or month of death not known; practice of sati; women that were unfit to perform sahagamana; procedure, if before one impurity ceases, another occurs; periods of impurity on hearing of the death of a sapinda abroad after the lapse of three months, six months &c.; the period of impurity on the death of samanodakas and on the death of one’s teacher; purification on the death of a married sister and other relatives.
(12) The S'antimayukha: definition of S'anti; even S'udras authorised to perform the propitiatory rites for averting evil; Vinayakas'anti; characteristics of the nine grahas (the sun, the moon, Mars and the rest, Rahu and Ketu); propitiatory rites on the conjunctions of certain planets; how heroes like Saudasa, Nala, Rama, the Pandavas suffered from the evil aspects of planets; rites on the birth of an infant with teeth or for the birth of a child on the 14th day of the dark half of a month or when the moon is in the constellation of Mula, or when a child is born on certain Yogas like Vaidhrti and Vyatipata; rites on the birth of a son after three daughters or vice versa, and on the birth of twins; rites for birth on particular tithis or days of the week or particular lunar mansions; rites on certain extraordinary events (such as weeping or laughing of trees); solemn propitiatory rites at the time of coronation &c.
VI. The position of Nilakantha in Dharmas'astra Literature.
The development of religious and civil law in India falls into four well-marked but somewhat overlapping periods. The first period starts in the midst of antiquity and culminates in the ancient Grhya and Dharma sutras. Most of the Grhya and Dharma sutras even in their extant form are several centuries earlier than the Christian era. The present writer is not one of those who hold that metrical smrtis in continuous s'loka metre are in a body later than the sutra works (at least the older ones among those extant). It seems very probable that metrical smrtis were composed even before the sutra style attained its full vigour. It may be readily admitted that most of the extant metrical smrtis are much later than some of the extant Dharmasutras (such as those of Gautama, Baudhayana, Apastamba). But the same cannot be said of the smrti material contained in the Mahabharata and of the Manusmrti. Therefore it must be said that while several attempts were being made to compose sutra works on ritual and law, metrical works also were being composed for the same purpose. The second period is that of the metrical smrtis like those of Yajnavalkya, Narada, Brhaspati, Katyayana and a host of other writers. This period extends from the centuries immediately preceding the Christian era to about 600 A.D. The third period is that of eminent commentators and it extends from the 7th century to the 12th. Among its earlier representatives are Asahaya, Vis'varupa and Medhatithi. To this period belong several well-known names such as those of Bharuci, S'rikara, Govindaraja and Dhares'vara. But the best exponents of this period are Vijnanes'vara and Apararka, who respectively flourished in the latter half of the 11th and the first half of the 12th century. From the 13th century to the 18th is the period of the Nibandhakaras, the writers of digests and encyclopaedias. One finds that many writers in this period compose treatises in which they review all the work done by their predecessors from the earliest times, introduce order and system in the heterogeneous and scattered mass of material that had accumulated during the lapse of centuries, examine the views of different authors, express their adherence to some one view and discard or refute the rest. Nilakantha is one of the foremost representatives of this period. His position is analogous to that of Bhattoji Diksita in Grammar or of Jagannatha in Poetics. Nilakantha makes a difference in dealing with the conflicting views of writers believed to be inspired sages like Atri, Angiras, Devala, Manu and of later writers like Medhatithi, Hemadri, Madhava and others. As regards the former class of writers, he hardly, if ever, says that they are wrong, but tries to reconcile the differences amongst them as best as he can and, where the conflict is utterly irreconcilable, has recourse to the theory that their views had reference to a different yuga. As regards writers of the second class his method is different. He has the highest admiration and reverence for authors like Vijnanes'vara, Madhava and Hemadri. But his veneration for these authorities does not make him slavishly follow their dicta and bow to their authority in everything. He very often expresses frank dissent from their views. But his criticisms of these writers are always impartial and most courteous as befits a scholar whose passion is the search of truth as it presents it to himself. He boldly criticizes the opinions of every one, not sparing even his own father who was a profound mimansaka1 [For example, vid [x] (p. 25 Benares ed.) [x] (p. 25 Benares ed.) [x].]. He is profuse in acknowledging the debt he owes to others. Wherever he did not personally verify a quotation from an ancient work but took it over from one of his predecessors, he distinctly says so2 [For example, vide the words [x] &c.]. In the vastness of the material drawn upon, in the ease and flow of style, in the conciseness and perspicuity of his remarks, in sobriety of judgment, in acuteness of vision, in the orderly presentation of various topics for discussion, Nilakantha is hardly rivalled, much less surpassed, by any writer of this period. When this is said, it is not meant that all the twelve Mayukhas are equal in execution and workmanship. The best are the Mayukhas on Vyavahara, S'raddha, Prayas'citta, Acara and Samaya. The weakest of the whole lot are the Mayukhas on Niti and Utsarga. From appendix C it will be seen that Nilakantha quotes no less than about a hundred smrtis and several hundred other works on Dharmas'astra.
Nilakantha, being bred and brought up in an atmosphere redolent with the Purvamimansa system, very frequently discusses the doctrines of that system and makes very acute use of them in all the Mayukhas. In the Vyavaharamayukha alone he draws upon the Purvamimansa in dozens of places. In Appendix F are brought together most of the passages from the Vyavaharamayukha in which the Purvamimansa system is relied upon or appealed to by Nilakantha.
VII. Nilakantha and other writers on Vyavahara
The Vyavaharamayukha stands in a special relation to the Mitaksara of Vijnanes'vara and the Madanaratna. When Nilakantha wrote it appears that Vijnanes'vara had come to be looked upon as the most authoritative writer on Dharmas'astra. In the Dvaitanirnaya his father speaks of Vijnanes'vara as the foremost among writers of 'nibandhas’.1 [The words are [x].] Nilakantha himself looked upon Vijnanes'vara as the first among ‘sampradayikas’ (those who are repositories of traditional lore).2 [Mark the words [x] (text p. 171, II. 6-7).] Of all the Mayukhas it is in the Vyavaharamayukha that Nilakantha most frequently quotes and also criticises the Mitaksara. In appendix D are collected together all those passages from the Vyavaharamayukha wherein the Mitaksara is either quoted or criticised. It will be seen that the most important points on which the Vyavaharamayukha differs from the Mitaksara are the preference of the father over the mother, the high place assigned to the sister as an heir, the postponement of the half brother and his son to the paternal grand-mother and sister, the various kinds of stridhana and the different rules of succession as to each. It seems that Nilakantha highly esteemed the Madanaratna. He quotes that work as frequently as he does the Mitaksara and in most places follows its views in preference to those of others. In appendix E all those passages where the Madanaratna is quoted or referred to have been brought together. Unfortunately it was not possible to secure a copy of the Madanaratna (Vyavaharoddyota) even after a good deal of inquiry and search. A comparison of the original text of the Madanaratna with the Vyavaharamayukha would have cleared up many difficult points. The Viramitrodaya, however, has been of great help in pointing certain views as those of the Madanaratna.
In the division of his encyclopaedic work into twelve parts and in the general method of treatment Nilakantha had several predecessors. Hemadri, minister of the Devagiri Yadava kings Mahadeva (1260-1271 A.D.) and Ramacandra (1271-1309 A.D.), composed a vast encyclopaedia styled Caturvargacintamani on Vrata, Dana, Tirtha, Moksa, Kala &c. Candes'vara, minister of the king of Mithila, wrote a voluminous work divided into seven parts called ratnakaras (oceans, as in Hindu mythology there are seven oceans) on Dana, Vyavahara, S'uddhi, Puja, Vivada &c. He weighed himself against gold in s'ake 1276 i.e. 1314 A.D. His Vivadaratnakara is a work of paramount authority in Mithila and is quoted in the Vyavaharamayukha. King Madanasimha composed a large work called Madanaratna in seven Uddyotas on Samaya, Acara, Vyavahara, Prayas'citta, Dana, S'uddhi and S'anti. The Madanaratna and Hemadri are quoted at every step by Nilakantha. The Nrsimhaprasada is a work of enormous extent, being nearly half as much in bulk as the Mahabharata. It was composed by Dalapati (is it a proper name?), who was the chief minister of king Nizamshah,1 [Vide I. O. Cat. part III. pp. 434-435 No. 1467, Mitra’s Bik. Cat. pp. 429-430, Benares ‘Pandit’, New Series, vol. V. p. 377 for an account of the work.] probably the founder of the Nizamshahi dynasty of Ahmednagar (1489—1508). A ms. of that work was written in samvat 1568 i.e. 1512 A.D. This work is divided into twelve parts called savas on Samskara, Ahnika, S'raddha, Kalanirnaya, Vyavahara, Prayas'citta, Karmavipaka, Vrata, Dana, S'anti, Tirtha and Pratistha. It is remarkable how closely the parts of this work agree in number and nomenclature with those of the Bhagavantabhaskara. The Nrsimhaprasada is quoted in the Samayamayukha and the Dvaitanirnaya. Raghunandana, who is later than 1450 and earlier than 1600 A.D. and who wrote a commentary on the Dayabhaga, is the author of a comprehensive work called Smrtitattva, divided into twenty-eight parts styled tattvas on Daya, Divya, Samskara, S'uddhi, Prayas'citta, Tirtha, Vyavahara, Pratistha &c. His Divyatattva is quoted in the Vyavaharamayukha and the other tattvas also are frequently referred to in the other Mayukhas. He is designated Smartabhattacarya and Gaudamimansaka by Nilakantha. Todaramalla, the famous finance minister of Akbar, compiled an encyclopaedia of religious and civil law, medicine and astronomy styled Todarananda. The various sections of this work are called saukhyas and deal with Acara, Dana, Vyavahara, Prayas'citta, Samaya, S'uddhi, Vrata &c. We saw above that his Jyotistattva was composed in 1572 A.D. and a ms. of his Vyavaharasaukhya was copied in 1581 A.D. The Todarananda is quoted in the Vyavaharamayukha and other Mayukhas.
VI. The position of the Vyavaharamayukha in modern Hindu Law.
It has been repeatedly laid down by the Bombay High Court and by the Privy Council, the highest judicial tribunal for India, that the three books of chief authority in western India are Manu, the Mitaksara and the Mayukha.1 [Vide Murarji v. arvatibai I.L.R. 1 Bom. 177 at p. 187; Savitribai v. Luxmibai I.L.R. 2. Bom. 573 at p. 606; Lallubia v. Cossibai I.L.R. 5 Bom. 110 at p. 117 (P.C.); Pranjivandas v. Devkuvarabai 1 Bom. H.C.R. (O.C.J.) 130 at p. 131.] In the Maratha country and in the Ratnagiri district the Mitaksara is of paramount authority and a subordinate place, though still a very important one, is assigned to the Vyavaharamayukha.2 [Krishnaji v. Pandurang 12 Bom. H.C.R. (A.C.J.) at p. 169 and Jankibai v. Sundra I.L.R. 14 Bom. 612, 616 (Ratnagiri District).] The Vyavaharamayukha is of paramount authority in Guzerat, the town and island of Bombay and in northern Konkan.3 [Lallubhai v. Mankuvarbai I.L.R. 2 Bom. 388 at p. 418; I.L.R. 6 Bom. 541, 546; Jankibai v. Sundra I.L.R. 14 Bom. 612, at pp. 623-24; Vyas Chimaanlal v. Vyas Ramchandra I.L.R. 24 Bom. 367 (F.B.) at p. 373.] Though the pre-eminence of the Mitaksara in the Maratha country is admitted, yet its doctrines have in several instances been set aside in favour of those put forward in the Vyavaharamayukha.4 [Bhagirthibai v. Kahnujirao I.L.R. 11 Bom. 285 (F.B.), at p. 293.] For example, though the Mitaksara nowhere recognises the sister as a gotraja sapinda, the courts, following the Mayukha, have assigned her a high place as heir even in the Maratha country. It is interesting to see how the Vyavaharamayukha came to be recognised as an authoritative work in Guzerat. We saw above that the family of Nilakantha came from the Deccan. Naturally all the members of that family preferred the usages of the Deccan and S'amkarabhatta expressly says in his Dvaitanirnaya that he will conform to the views of Deccan writers. Therefore the works of these Bhattas of Benares were highly esteemed by the learned men of the Maratha country. When the Marathas extended their sway over Guzerat in the 18th century, the works of Kamalakara (particularly the Nirnayasindhu) and of Nilakantha (particularly the Vyavaharamayukha) were relied upon by the S'astris at the court of the Maratha rulers of Guzerat. Thus the Vyavaharamayukha had come to be looked upon as a work of high authority in Guzerat before the advent of the British in the beginning of the 19th century.1 [Vide Lallubhai v. Mankuvarbai I.L.R. 2 Bom. 388, 418-19 and Bhagirthibai v. Kahnujirao I.L.R. Bom 285 (F.B.), 294-95 for the reasons of the ascendancy of the Vyavaharamayukha in Guzerat.] The result was that so early as 1827 Borradaile translated the Vyavaharamayukha in English. That the Mayukhas of Nilakantha were eagerly sought for even as far to the south as the Belgaum district in the times of the Peshwas is established by a letter of Naro Vinayak, Mamlatdar of Athni in the present Belgaum District, dated 28th June 1797. In that letter reference is made to the copying of the six Mayukhas on Samskara, Acara, Samaya, S'raddha, Niti and Vyavahara and a request is made that the other six Mayukhas may be sent for a copy being made.1 [Vide [x] Vol. X. p. 5172 letter No. 4006 (edited by Mr. Vasudevs'astri Khare, 1920). As the letter is interesting the whole of it is reproduced below. [x].] It appears that even in Northern India the Vyavaharamayukha was referred to by the British courts as early as 1813 A. D.2 [Bhagwan Singh v. Bhagwan I.L.R. 17 All 294, at p. 314.]
The general principle on which the courts of Western India act in construing the rules laid down by the Mitaksara and the Vyavaharamayukha is that they are to be harmonised with one another, wherever and so far as that is reasonably possible.3 [Gojabai v. Shrimant Shahajirao I.L.R. 17 Bom. 114, 118 quoted with approval in Kesserbai v. Hunsraj I.L.R. 30 Bom. 431, 442 (P.C.).]
It was said above that the Vyavaharamayukha is of paramount authority in Northern Konkan. As there is divergence between the views of the Mitaksara and the Mayukha in matters of succession, it becomes of great practical importance to settle with precision the exact limits in Northern Konkan up to which the Mayukha must be regarded as a work of paramount authority. It has been judicially decided that Karanja, which is an island opposite the Bombay harbour, is governed by the principles of the Mayukha,1 [Sakharam Sadashiva Adhikari v. Sitabai I.L.R. 3 Bom. 353.] that Mahad, the southernmost Taluka of the Kolaba District, is not so governed and that the predominance of the Mayukha cannot either on principle or authority be taken further south than Chaul and Nagothna2 [Vide Narhar v. Bhau I.L.R. 40 Bom. 621 (where the authorities are collected).] (in the northern part of the Kolaba District).
Though the authority of the Vyavaharamayukha is supreme in Guzerat, the island of Bombay and northern Konkan and high in the Maratha country, it is not to be supposed that the whole of it has been either adopted by the people or accepted by the courts. There are several matters, such as the twelve kinds of sons and the fifteen kinds of slaves and the marriage of a person with girls belonging to lower castes than his own, on which Nilakantha expatiates with as much learning, patience and zest as any ancient writer, although those usages had become obsolete centuries before his time.3 [Vide the remarks in Rahi v. Govind I.L.R. 1 Bom. 97 at p. 112 and Lallubhai v. Mankuvarbai I.L.R. 2 Bom. 388 at pp. 420 and 447.] Nilakantha says that the paternal great-grand-father, the paternal uncle and the half-brother’s son succeed together. But the courts have never recognised this rule, nor has it ever been made the foundation of a claim in a court of law. On the other hand, the views of Nilakantha that the sister is a gotraja sapinda and that even a married man may be taken in adoption have been followed by the courts, although hardly any eminent writer before him propounded these views. Kamalakara, a first cousin of Nilakantha, criticises those who would include sisters in the term brothers (vide Sarvadhikari’s Tagore Law Lectures p. 664, ed. of 1882). Among the other Mayukhas, the Samskaramayukha is frequently cited in the law reports.1 [Vide I.L.R. 2 Bom. 388 at p. 425, 3 Bom. 353 at p. 361, 4 Bom. 219 at p. 221, 32 Bom. 81 at pp. 88, 96.] In a case reported in 22 Bom. L.R. (p. 334) both sides seem to have relied upon the Pratisthamayukha.
IX: The present edition
In section I above the material on which the text of the present edition is based has been indicated. No efforts have been spared to arrive at a correct text of the Vyavaharamayukha. Great labour was spent in trying to trace the quotations to their sources. Some of the quotations had to be found out from mss. Only those who have ever done the work of identifying quotations can form an adequate idea of the labour involved in this task. In spite of this there are still several quotations that have defied all efforts to trace them. Often times there is great divergence between the printed texts of the authors quoted by Nilakantha and the readings of the mss. In most of such cases, the readings of the mss. have been given in the text and in the footnotes the readings of the printed editions are indicated. As regards various readings only the important ones have been pointed out. The footnotes would have been encumbered with unnecessary details if every variation and every omission contained in the mss. had been indicated.
The annotations have been purposely made copious. The Vyavaharamayukha is full of difficultis. An attempt has been made to fully explain every possible difficulty. The numerous references to the doctrines and technical terms of the Purvamimansa have been explained at length. Parallel passages from other works have been added at every step. References to modern developments of the Hindu law have been frequently given.
In order to enhance the utility of the work several appendices have been added. Appendix A contains the text of the Vyavaharatattva which is based on two mss. Appendix B contains the names of all the authors and works quoted in the Vyavaharamayukha with brief notes in the case of some. Appendix C contains a consolidated list of all the authors and works occurring in the twelve Mayukhas. Appendix D collects together all those passages in which the Mitaksara and Vijnanes'vara are quoted or criticized. In Appendix E are gathered together the passages where the Madanaratna is quoted, criticised or referred to. Appendix E contains the passages where the doctrines of the Purvamimansa have been appealed to or relied upon in the Vyavaharamayukha. Appendix G gives an index of the pratikas of the verses occurring in the work.
As regards the system of transliteration, the one adopted by the Bhandarkar Institute has been followed in the Introduction. Unfortunately in the notes this system was not consistently followed with regard to four letters, viz. [x], [x], [x] and [x].
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Rajendra Chandra Hazra [R. C. Hazra]
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 6/8/21
Rajendra Chandra Hazra (1905–10 May 1982) was a scholar and Sanskritist known for his studies of Puranic literature (the Puranas and the Upapuranas). During an academic career spanning over four decades he wrote about 10 books and over 200 research articles on subjects ranging from his central interest in Smriti literature to "the Vedas, Vyākaraṇas [grammar/linguistics], Kāvya, anthology, archaeology, world-history, paleography, and the Nyāya [justice/rules/method/judgment] and Vaiśeṣika [perception/inference] systems of philosophy."[1][2]
Biography
Hazra was born in 1905 in the village of Dogachi in what was then the Dacca District in Bengal and is now in Bangladesh. After being a star-pupil during his schooling years, he obtained a B.A. and M.A. in Sanskrit from Dacca University in 1929 and 1931, respectively; standing first class first at both stages.
He earned a PhD in 1936 under the guidance of S. K. [Sushil Kumar De] De, while working as a lecturer in Sanskrit and Bengali at the Jagannath Intermediate College.
His thesis, Studies in the Purāṇic Records on Hindu Rites and Custom was published as a book in 1940 by Dacca University. Hazra obtained a D. Litt in 1940 with his Studies in the Upapuranas, which was incompletely published as a series of books by Munshiram Manoharlal with the permission of the then Principal of the Calcutta Sanskrit College and is considered by some to be his magnum opus.[2][1]
From 1939 to 1951, Hazra worked at Dacca University, where he rose to be the head of the Department of Sanskrit. During this period he, along with fellow faculty-member, R. C. Majumdar, aided revolutionaries fighting for Indian independence from British rule by giving them shelter in the university's Dacca Hall, where Hazra was the provost. Earlier, Hazra had qualified for the Indian Police Service but was refused appointment due to his connection with the revolutionaries.[1]
Hazra migrated to India in 1951 and joined the Department of Post-Graduate Studies at Sanskrit College, Calcutta. There he served as the professor of Smriti and Puranas till his retirement in 1972. Hazra worked closely with the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Calcutta's Asiatic Society, Ganganath Jha Research Institute, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture and the Sahitya Akademi, and collaborated with Sanskritists and historians S. K. De, R. C. Majumdar, P. V. Kane, U. N. Ghoshal, A. D. Pulaskar, V. Raghavan, Suniti Kumar Chatterji, among others. He was elected a fellow of The Asiatic Society in 1964 and later awarded its S. C. Chakravorty Medal for "outstanding contribution in Ancient Indian Language with special reference to Smriti and Purana" and its Naresh Ch. Sengupta Medal.[2][1]
Bibliography
Books
• Studies in the Purāṇic Records on Hindu Rites and Custom, Motilal Banarsidass, 1940.
• Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol I (Saura and Vaiṣṇava Upapurāṇas), Munshiram Manoharlal, 1958.
• Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol II (Śākta and Non-sectarian Upapurāṇas), Munshiram Manoharlal, 1963.
• Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol III (Ṣaiva and Gāṇapatya Upapurāṇas), unpublished, manuscript available.
• Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol IV, unpublished, manuscript available.
• Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol V, unpublished, manuscript available.
• Edited: Śava-sūtakāśauca-prakaraṇa of Bhaṭṭa Bhavadeva, Sanskrit College Research Series, 1959.
• Edited with S. K. De: Sāhitya-ratna-kośa, Part II Purāṇetihāsa-saṃgraha (An anthology of the Epics and Puranas), Sahitya Akedemi, 1959.
• Edited with S. K. De, U. N. Ghoshal, A. D. Pulaskar: The cultural heritage of India, Volume II, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 1962.
• Edited: Kṛtya-Tattvārṇava, Part 1, Asiatic Society, Calcutta, 1975.
• Kṛtya-Tattvārṇava, Part 2, unpublished.
• Rise of Epic and Purāṇic Rudra-Śiva Or Śiva Maheśvara
• Studies in Smr̥ti Śāstra
• Rudra in the R̥g-Veda
• The Problems relating to the Śiva-purāṇa
Collected research articles
• Dr. R. C. Hazra Commemoration Volume, Part I (Puranic and Vedic Studies), All-India Kshiraj Trust, 1985; incomplete.
• Dr. R. C. Hazra Commemoration Volume, Part II (Dharmaśāstra, Sanskrit literature, Vyākaraṇa), unpublished.
References
1. Kanjilal, Dileep Kumar (192). "Professor Rajendra Chandra Hazra (1905-192)". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 63 (1/4): 384–385. JSTOR 41693033.
2. Bhattacharya, Ram Shankar, ed. (1985). Dr. R. C. Hazra Commemoration Volume, Part 1. Varanasi: All-India Kashiraj Trust. pp. iii–viii.
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 6/8/21
Rajendra Chandra Hazra (1905–10 May 1982) was a scholar and Sanskritist known for his studies of Puranic literature (the Puranas and the Upapuranas). During an academic career spanning over four decades he wrote about 10 books and over 200 research articles on subjects ranging from his central interest in Smriti literature to "the Vedas, Vyākaraṇas [grammar/linguistics], Kāvya, anthology, archaeology, world-history, paleography, and the Nyāya [justice/rules/method/judgment] and Vaiśeṣika [perception/inference] systems of philosophy."[1][2]
Biography
Hazra was born in 1905 in the village of Dogachi in what was then the Dacca District in Bengal and is now in Bangladesh. After being a star-pupil during his schooling years, he obtained a B.A. and M.A. in Sanskrit from Dacca University in 1929 and 1931, respectively; standing first class first at both stages.
University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University or DU) is the oldest university in Bangladesh. Nawab Bahadur Sir Khwaja Salimullah, who played a pioneering role in establishing the university in Dhaka, donated 600 acres of land from his estate for this purpose. On the first day of July 1921 the University of Dhaka opened its doors to students with Sir P.J. Hartog as the first Vice-Chancellor of the University in British Raj, it has made significant contributions to the modern history of Bangladesh. After the Partition of India, it became the focal point of progressive and democratic movements in Pakistan. Its students and teachers played a central role in the rise of Bengali nationalism and the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.
-- University of Dhaka, by Wikipedia
He earned a PhD in 1936 under the guidance of S. K. [Sushil Kumar De] De, while working as a lecturer in Sanskrit and Bengali at the Jagannath Intermediate College.
Sushil Kumar De (29 January 1890 – 31 January 1968) was a Bengali polymath from the early decades of the 20th century. Trained as a lawyer, with degrees in English and Sanskrit Poetics, he wrote extensively on Sanskrit Literature, Philosophy, Poetics, History of Bengali Literature, besides editing critical editions for a large number of Sanskrit and Bengali texts from manuscripts.
He was professor of English literature at Calcutta University, and of Sanskrit and Bengali at Dhaka University. While at the latter post, he accumulated a large collection of palmleaf manuscripts.
Sushil De was born in Calcutta in 1890. His father Satish Chandra De was a state surgeon, posted at Cuttack, Orissa, where he did his schooling at the Ravenshaw Collegiate School. Subsequently, he did his Intermediate and B.A. from Presidency College and M.A. in English from Calcutta University, and became a Premchand-Roychand scholar. In 1912, he completed his law degree from the University Law College, but instead of practicing, he joined as a lecturer in English at Presidency College and later at Calcutta University. In 1921, he did his D.Litt. from the University of London (School of Oriental Studies) with a thesis on rhetoric (alaMkAra) in Sanskrit poetry. He also studied linguistics at the University of Bonn.
Upon return to India, he joined Dhaka University, initially in English, and then in the Sanskrit and Bengali departments. Subsequent to his retirement from Dhaka University in 1947, he also headed Jadavpur's Bengali department.
In 1951 he was a visiting professor at the University of London.
His work on the history of the Vaishnava movement in Bengal, along with critical manuscript analyses of several original texts, are very well respected.
He also published a brief note on erotics in Sanskrit literature.
He was well known in Oriental study circles, and was elected General President of the All-India Oriental Conference, 1949. A fellow of the Royal Astatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland(1954), he edited the Udyoga Parva [5th of 18 books of Mahabharata] (1940) and Drona Parva [7th of 18 books of Mahabharata] (1958) volumes in the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata from the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
At the same time, he was also active in Bangla literature, publishing a volume of Bangla sonnets Dipali, focusing on physical love (1928), and praktani (1934) on characters from classical Sanskrit literature. He was president of the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad (1950, 1956),Bangiya Sahitya Parishad is a literary society in Maniktala of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Established during the time of the British Raj, its goal is to promote Bengali literature, both by translating works in other languages to Bengali and promoting the production of original Bengali literature.
The organisation was founded by L. Leotard and Kshetrapal Chakraborty in 1893. Then it was known as The Bengal Academy of Literature. On 29 April 1894, the name of the society itself was changed to Bangiya Sahitya Parishad. 1894 saw the first officers, with Romesh Chunder Dutt as the first president and Rabindranath Tagore and Navinchandra Sen as vice presidents.
-- Bangiya Sahitya Parishad, by Wikipedia
and also wrote several popular translations of Sanskrit tales.
-- Sushil Kumar De, by Wikipedia
His thesis, Studies in the Purāṇic Records on Hindu Rites and Custom was published as a book in 1940 by Dacca University. Hazra obtained a D. Litt in 1940 with his Studies in the Upapuranas, which was incompletely published as a series of books by Munshiram Manoharlal with the permission of the then Principal of the Calcutta Sanskrit College and is considered by some to be his magnum opus.[2][1]
From 1939 to 1951, Hazra worked at Dacca University, where he rose to be the head of the Department of Sanskrit. During this period he, along with fellow faculty-member, R. C. Majumdar, aided revolutionaries fighting for Indian independence from British rule by giving them shelter in the university's Dacca Hall, where Hazra was the provost. Earlier, Hazra had qualified for the Indian Police Service but was refused appointment due to his connection with the revolutionaries.[1]
Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (known as R. C. Majumdar; 4 December 1888 – 11 February 1980) was a historian and professor of Indian history. He was a former Sheriff of Kolkata.
Early life and education
Coming from a Vaidya family, Majumdar was born in Khandarpara, Gopalganj, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Bangladesh) on 4 December 1884, to Haladhara Majumdar and Bidhumukhi.In 1905, he passed his Entrance Examination from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. In 1907, he passed F.A. with first class scholarship from Surendranath College and joined Presidency College, Calcutta. Graduating in B.A.(Honours) and M.A. from Calcutta University in 1909 and 1911 respectively, he won the Premchand Roychand scholarship from the University of Calcutta for his research work in 1913.
Career
Majumdar started his teaching career as a lecturer at Dacca Government Training College. Since 1914, he spent seven years as a professor of history at the University of Calcutta. He got his doctorate for his thesis "Corporate Life in Ancient India". In 1921 he became professor of history in newly established University of Dacca. He also served, until he became its Vice Chancellor, as the head of the Department of History as well as the dean of the Faculty of Arts. Between 1924 and 1936 he was Provost of Jagannath Hall. Then he became the Vice Chancellor of that University, for five years from 1937 to 1942. From 1950, he was Principal of the College of Indology, Benares Hindu University. He was elected the general president of the Indian History Congress and also became the vice president of the International Commission set up by the UNESCO for the history of mankind.
Works
Majumdar started his research on ancient India. After extensive travels to Southeast Asia and research, he wrote detailed histories of Champa (1927), Suvarnadvipa (1938) and Kambuja Desa (1944). On the initiative of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan [an Indian educational trust founded on 7 November 1938 by Dr. K. M. Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi.], he took up the mantle of editing a multi-volume tome on Indian history. Starting in 1951, he toiled for twenty-six long years to describe the history of the Indian people from the Vedic Period until the Independence of India in eleven volumes. In 1955, Majumdar established the College of Indology of Nagpur University and joined as Principal. In 1958–59, he taught Indian history in the University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania. He was also the president of the Asiatic Society (1966–68) and the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad (1968–69), and also the Sheriff of Calcutta (1967–68).
When the final volume of "The History and Culture of the Indian People" was published in 1977, he had turned eighty-eight. He also edited the three-volume history of Bengal published by Dacca University. His last book was "Jivaner Smritidvipe".
-- Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, by Wikipedia
Hazra migrated to India in 1951 and joined the Department of Post-Graduate Studies at Sanskrit College, Calcutta. There he served as the professor of Smriti and Puranas till his retirement in 1972. Hazra worked closely with the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Calcutta's Asiatic Society, Ganganath Jha Research Institute, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture and the Sahitya Akademi, and collaborated with Sanskritists and historians S. K. De, R. C. Majumdar, P. V. Kane, U. N. Ghoshal, A. D. Pulaskar, V. Raghavan, Suniti Kumar Chatterji, among others. He was elected a fellow of The Asiatic Society in 1964 and later awarded its S. C. Chakravorty Medal for "outstanding contribution in Ancient Indian Language with special reference to Smriti and Purana" and its Naresh Ch. Sengupta Medal.[2][1]
Bibliography
Books
• Studies in the Purāṇic Records on Hindu Rites and Custom, Motilal Banarsidass, 1940.
• Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol I (Saura and Vaiṣṇava Upapurāṇas), Munshiram Manoharlal, 1958.
• Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol II (Śākta and Non-sectarian Upapurāṇas), Munshiram Manoharlal, 1963.
• Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol III (Ṣaiva and Gāṇapatya Upapurāṇas), unpublished, manuscript available.
• Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol IV, unpublished, manuscript available.
• Studies in the Upapurāṇas, Vol V, unpublished, manuscript available.
• Edited: Śava-sūtakāśauca-prakaraṇa of Bhaṭṭa Bhavadeva, Sanskrit College Research Series, 1959.
• Edited with S. K. De: Sāhitya-ratna-kośa, Part II Purāṇetihāsa-saṃgraha (An anthology of the Epics and Puranas), Sahitya Akedemi, 1959.
• Edited with S. K. De, U. N. Ghoshal, A. D. Pulaskar: The cultural heritage of India, Volume II, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 1962.
• Edited: Kṛtya-Tattvārṇava, Part 1, Asiatic Society, Calcutta, 1975.
• Kṛtya-Tattvārṇava, Part 2, unpublished.
• Rise of Epic and Purāṇic Rudra-Śiva Or Śiva Maheśvara
• Studies in Smr̥ti Śāstra
• Rudra in the R̥g-Veda
• The Problems relating to the Śiva-purāṇa
Collected research articles
• Dr. R. C. Hazra Commemoration Volume, Part I (Puranic and Vedic Studies), All-India Kshiraj Trust, 1985; incomplete.
• Dr. R. C. Hazra Commemoration Volume, Part II (Dharmaśāstra, Sanskrit literature, Vyākaraṇa), unpublished.
References
1. Kanjilal, Dileep Kumar (192). "Professor Rajendra Chandra Hazra (1905-192)". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 63 (1/4): 384–385. JSTOR 41693033.
2. Bhattacharya, Ram Shankar, ed. (1985). Dr. R. C. Hazra Commemoration Volume, Part 1. Varanasi: All-India Kashiraj Trust. pp. iii–viii.
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Part 1 of 3
Frederick Eden Pargiter
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Accessed: 6/7/21
Frederick Eden Pargiter
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 6/7/21
Frederick Eden Pargiter: Excerpt from The Puranas, by Ludo Rocher
The most important names in this period, from a methodological point of view, are Frederick Eden Pargiter -- whose historical evaluation of puranas has been admired and criticized, but never ignored -- and Willibald Kirfel -- whose strictly philological approach created a true school of purana scholars, especially in Germany.21 [21 Cf. Hermann BERGER (rev. of Losch's Rajadharma, ZDMG 113, 1963, 390): "Seit die in der Indologie etwas stiefmutterlich behandelten Puranas durch W. Kirfels bahnbrechende Arbeiten erstmals eine systematische Behandlung erfahren haben, beginnen immer mehr Indologen diesen fur die indische Geistesgeschichte so grundlegenden Texten ihr Interesse zuzuwenden." [Google translate: Since the Puranas, treated somewhat stepmotherly in Indology, were groundbreaking by W. Kirfels, Work for the first time have received systematic treatment more and more. Indologists wrote these texts, which are so fundamental to Indian intellectual history to turn their interest.] Their contributions, as well as the reactions they provoked, will be analyzed elsewhere in this volume....
1.4.1 The "Ur-Purana"
On the basis of the indices which Wilson prepared from various puranas, he could not fail being struck by the fact that individual puranas have numerous topics in common. When comparing the parallel passages in the Brahmaº and the Visnuº, he proposed, cautiously: "they appear to have been taken from some older work or works, from which the present Puranas are, probably, in part at least derived."1 [1 JRAS 5, 1839, 66.] One year later, the Preface to the translation of the Visnuº, subsequent to the discussion of the sectarian character of the puranas, states more boldly:"The identity of the legends in many of them, and still more the identity of the words -- for in several of them long passages are literally the same -- is a sufficient proof that in all such cases they must be copied either from some other similar work, or from a common and prior original."2 [2 WILSON 1840 = 1961: IV.]
Lassen, as always, echoed Wilson, but he referred unequivocally to the fact that, as far as the corresponding passages in individual puranas are concerned, the texts "have made use of a common prior source."3 [3 LASSEN 1847: 480.] In 1905 4 [4 In 1897, LUDERS applied a similar method to the legend of Rsyasrnga; see references sub Padmaº Patalakhanda.] A. A. Macdonell stressed the same idea more specifically with regard to what is supposed to be the main topic of the puranas, pancalaksana: "In that part of their contents which is peculiar to them, the Puranas agree so closely, being often verbally identical for pages, that they must be derived from some older collection as a common source."5 [5 1900: 299.]Pañcalakṣaṇa, occurring in the Amarakośa and in various Purāṇas, enumerates creation (sarga), recreation (pratisarga), genealogy (vaṃśa), cosmic cycles (manvantara) and accounts of royal dynasties (vaṃśānucarita) as five characteristics of a Purāṇa, but many of the extant Mahā-purāṇas and almost all the Upapurāṇas do not follow this definition. They have rather become “Codes of Hindu rites and customs by including chapters on varṇāśramadharma, ācāra, śrāddha, prāyaścita, dāna, pūjā, vrata, tīrtha, pratiṣṭhā, dīkṣā, utsarga etc.”
-- The Nilamata Purana: A cultural and Literary study of a Kasmiri Purana, by Dr. Ved Kumari
By that time the idea of a common origin of all puranas had obviously fully taken root, for in the same year A. M. T. Jackson6 [6 1905: 67-77.] wrote an article "to enquire whether we can fix approximately the scope and date of composition of this original." He came to the conclusion that "the original purana may be regarded with some probability as a work of the 4th century B.C." He even decided that it was a Saiva work, and continued:"It is quite possible that the genealogies and the lists of rivers and tribes were originally drawn up in prose. At some date, which is at present unknown, the original purana was re-written in verse, while the original chronology gave place to the system of Kalpas, and the history subsequent to the great war was thrown into prophetic form. This second version was the common source of the extant puranas."
Three years later Blau applied the comparative method to the legend of Saranyu -- and spoke, for the first time, explicitly of an "Ur-Purana" as the common source of the extant puranas "in ihren echtesten Partien." [Google translate: in their most genuine parts]7 [7 August BLAU: Puranische Streifen. I. Der Itihasa von Saranyu in seiner Fortbildung durch die Purana [Google translate: Puranic Stripes. I. The Itihasa of Saranyu in his further training through the Purana], ZDMG 62, 1908, 337-357 at 337. Blau also saw another reason why it is important to determine the oldest parts of the puranas: "Denn so wenig die Massenhaftigkeit der puranischen Produktion und der z. T. hochst unerfreuliche Inhalt dieser Literatur zu naherer Beschaftigung mit ihr einladen mogen, so ist es gerade darum um so wunschenswerter, dass das Ursprungliche und Alte in den einzelnen Purana herausgehoben und miteinander verglichen werde." [Google translate: Because so little the masses of puranic production and the content of this literature is partly extremely unpleasant invite you to take a closer look at it, it is precisely for that reason that it is all the more desirable that the original and the old are emphasized in the individual Purana and compared to each other.]
The first application of the principle on a large scale came from Frederick Eden Pargiter. In an article, in 1913, on "Visvamitra and Vasistha," he defined his methodology as follows: "The texts for each story are cited. They are all obviously based on a common original metrical tradition, and by collating them a revised text may be framed. This I have done, and I give the collated version here with such variant readings only as are material."8 [8 JRAS 1913, 885-904 at 885.] Far more important was the publication, in the same year, of The Purana Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age. In it Pargiter reconstructed the original puranic account of the dynasties that reigned in India during the Kali era, based on editions and manuscripts of the Matsyaº, Vayuº, Brahmandaº, Visnuº, Bhagavataº, Garudaº, and Bhavisyaº. A more general volume on Indian history, based on the same principles, appeared in 1922: Ancient Indian Historical Tradition. Once again Pargiter clearly stated his methodology:"In examining the genealogies it is of little profit and is likely to be misleading to deal with the accounts of the several Puranas separately. The only trustworthy course is first to collate the texts that generally agree and ascertain as far as possible what original text they indicate, and then construct the genealogy therefrom. By this method individual corruptions and errors can be corrected, losses and omissions remedied, and interpolations and alterations detected with reasonable confidence; and thus a text may be framed which approaches as nearly as is possible to the common original on which all those texts were based."9 [9 PARGITER 1922: 82.]
The merits of Pargiter's methodology in reconstructing the early history of India on the basis of the puranas will be examined later in this volume (see 2.2.4). At this point I merely want to stress the emergence of the concept of reducing parallel accounts in various puranas to one single original. In Pargiter's case this concept was so successful that, from then onward, many historians of India were to base their research and their writings directly on Pargiter's reconstructed text rather than on the more cumbersome editions of individual puranas.10 [10 E.g., K.G. SANKAR (Some Problems of Indian Chronology, ABORI 12, 1931, 301-361) uses PARGITER 1913 "throughout this article." According to Ferdinand BOCK (Die puranas als Geschichtsquelle [Google translate: The puranas as a source of history], WZKM 29, 1931,97-133), "Die neue PARGITERSCHE Ausgabe der Puranas [emphasis added], die ich allen Zitaten zugrunde lege, zeigt dem Philologen auf den erst en Blick so viel Auffallendes, dass eine genaue Prufung des Ganzen unerlasslich erscheint" [Google translate: The new PARGITER edition of the Puranas [emphasis added] on which I base all quotations shows the philologist so much striking at first glance that a thorough examination of the whole seems indispensable.] (p. 98). Occasionally, the puranic lists of dynasties have been emended, starting from Pargiter's text. E.g., V. V. MlRASHI (The puranas on the Successors of the Satavahanas in Vidarbha; Pur 18, 1976, 88-92) proposes to correct the unknown Maunah (at PARGITER 1913: 46) into Maundah.]...
2.1.3 Different Recensions of Puranas
The existing editions of individual puranas exhibit a wide range of discrepancies, from minor variant readings to the inclusion or exclusion of entire chapters or sections. The latter situation applies, for instance, in the case of the Padmaº: "The present Padma, which is the result of several recasts, has come down to us in two distinct recensions -- North Indian (Bengal) and South Indian."1 [1 HAZRA 1940: 107. In the case of the Padmaº this distinction was already made by Luders (Sage von Rsyasrnga, 1897, ref. sub Padmaº), including the statement that the Bengali version is the older one (p. 94 n. 1). Cf. WINTERNITZ 1907: 452.] This statement by Hazra reflects the traditional interpretation of the major discrepancies, especially those between the Vangavasi editions1a [1a Even though, in the particular case of the Padmaº (see there) the Vangavasi ed. too, reproduces the "Western" Padmaº.] on the one hand and the Venkatesvara and/or Anandasrama editions on the other. Haraprasad Shastri formulated the general principle as follows:"They represent the different provincial recensions and that means collation of different classes of manuscripts ... By a cursory view of the two sets, one can at once come to know ... that some khandas of the Puranas are popular in one province and unknown in another and so forth."2 [2 HARAPRASAD SHASTRI: 1928b: 327-328.]
Elsewhere the editions are much closer to one another, as in the case of the Brahmaº: "The AnSS ed. is chapter by chapter the same as the Vanga ed. There are occasional variations in readings and number of verses in the corresponding chapters, but these variations are not many and important."3 [3 HAZRA 1940: 145 n. 163.] We might be tempted to conclude from statements such as this that there are also puranas without major, regional differences, were it not that we know that the Vangavasi editions and the Venkatesvara and/or Anandasrama editions are not always as independent of one another as the geographic distance between Calcutta and Bombay or Pune might make us believe. Thus, in the preface to the Vanga edition of the Skandaº the editor explains that he took the Venkatesvara edition as his basis, and merely added to it chapters and verses he found in the Bengal manuscripts.4 [4 Pp. 10-11, quoted at HAZRA 1940: 157 n. 176.] And with regard to the Vamanaº editions Hazra surmised with good reasons: "The Vanga ed. is the same as the Venk. ed. Both consist of 95 chapters. The variations in readings in these two editions are so small in number that one seems to be a reprint of the other."5 [5 HAZRA 1940: 76 n. 1. Cf. PADOUX (Agniº 1978: 58) on the Agniº: "each new edition seems to make it a point to reproduce faithfully even the most obvious errors of the previous ones."]A good example to show that corresponding chapters in different regional editions of a particular purana do not warrant any conclusion as to the original organization of the text, is provided by the Agniº. Hazra adds the usual note: "The Vanga. ed. is chapter by chapter the same as the AnSS ed. There are, of course, occasional variations in readings and number of verses in the corresponding chapters."6 [6 HAZRA 1940: 134 n. 122.] Gyani agrees, and further specifies: "These editions do not much differ from one another. All the editions contain 382 chapters but the Venkatesvar edition has got one chapter in excess. The Chapter 135 entitled Atha Sangrama Vijaya Vidya cannot be traced in other editions."7 [7 GYANI Agniº 1964: 3 n. 1.] Not only has the additional chapter unostentatiously been inserted in more recent Anandasrama editions, but, more importantly, the apparently uniform division of the Agniº in 382 is, in reality, not a very ancient one. It was the work of its first editor, Rajendralala Mitra [16 February 1822 – 26 July 1891], who used eleven manuscripts, and described their relationship and arrangement as follows: "Of these, eight codices correspond very closely, and give the same number of chapters; two Nos. I and VII are incomplete, wanting several chapters at the end; and one, No. III, has several chapters at the end, and 4 chapters on pilgrimage in the middle the counterparts of which are not to be met with elsewhere. The chapters are not regularly numbered in any of the MSS., and in several no number is to be met with. For the sake of convenience of reference the serial number has been introduced by me, and the total I arrived at from the eight MSS. which correspond is 382".8 [8 Agniº ed., 1873-79, pp. xxxvii-xxxviii.]
What I would like to suggest is that, even when different editions of a particular purana correspond in their general arrangement, this does not mean that we are in the fortunate position of possessing the text of that purana. On the contrary, there are reasons to believe that, irrespective of whether or not the printed editions exhibit major differences, all titles of puranas have been -- and are -- used to cover a variety of materials which do not appear in our editions. Some of these materials may still be available in -- numerous -- manuscripts which have never been consulted by purana editors; others may have existed in manuscripts which are now lost; others again may have been included in the recitations of individual sutas without ever having been committed to writing.
As early as 1890 Buhler showed that al-Biruni's quotations from "the Visnudharma" are, in fact, from two different versions of the Visnudharmottaraº. One of his conclusions was that "it is evident that in the beginning of the eleventh century two works with the title Vishnudharmottara or Vishnu-Dharma existed, and that both were considered to be canonical by Biruni's Pandits who, one and all, were Vaisnavas."9 [9 Book-notice on Sachau's Alberuni, IA 19, 1890, 381-410 at 407.]
On numerous occasions scholars have taken notice of the existence of manuscripts the contents of which did not correspond to those of any of the published versions. According to Burnell, "eighteen Puranas are mentioned everywhere; but they are often by no means the same works, though under one name."10 [10 1880: 187. Cf. p. 189, on Brahmaº, etc.] In Haraprasad's catalogue of the purana manuscripts at the Asiatic Society in Calcutta one comes across several statements, similar to the one on a Bhavisyaº manuscript: "it does not agree with any of the recensions of the purana known."11 [11 HARAPRASAD SHASTRI 1928a: 424. Cf. p. (Varahaº), p. 647 (Vamanaº), p. 784 (Nilamataº), etc.] R. N. Mehta came to the conclusion that "under the title of Nagarakhanda several works exist."12 [12 Nagarakhanda -- A Study, JUBar 17, 1968, 106.] Bonazzoli refers to the existence of five different Bhavisyaºs.13 [13 BONAZZOLI Bhavisyaº 1979: 26-27.] Even for a purana for which most editions correspond, such as the Devibhagavataº, Lalye saw a manuscript which is totally different.14 [14 LALYE Devibhagavataº 1973: viii.]
Equally revealing for the existence of different texts with identical titles are certain statements in the dharmanibandhas. Besides the puranas with these names which he did consult (pp. 2-3) Ballalasena refers in the Danasagara to "another" (apara) Brahmaº, Agniº, Visnuº, and Lingaº which he did not use (p. 7). Inasmuch as the contents of these "other" puranas, as indicated in the Danasagara, do not correspond to those of the extant puranas, the conclusion was drawn that in addition to the latter -- which are spurious by definition (see 1.3) -- there was for each of them at least one other spurious text.15 [15 E. g., HAZRA 1940: 95 n. 40 (Lingaº), 151 n. 168 (Brahmaº).] Similarly, Narasimha Vajapeyin's Nityacarapradipa distinguishes between two different Brahmaºs, one of which is quoted in Laksmidhara's Krtyakalpataru, the other in the works of Hemadri; the text labels the latter an upapurana.16 [16 BI work 160, 1903-28, 1.19.] Ballalasena (p. 7) also refers to a few puranas which were useless for his purpose, since they do not contain rules on gifts (danavidhisunya); one of these is the Brahmandaº. Not only does the extant Brahmandaº contain such rules; Hemadri's Caturvargacintamani, attributes to it many other verses on the subject which do not appear in our editions. This shows "that the text of the 'Brahmanda', used by Hemadri, was in many ways different from that of our present edition as well as from that of the Brahmanda known to Ballalasena."17 [17 HAZRA 1940: 19.]The Kalikaº is a title which has created problems for several scholars. Raghavan was the first one to suggest the existence of at least three versions: the one represented by most manuscripts and editions, comprising from 90 to 93 chapters; L. 370 of Aufrecht's Catalogus Catalogorum, which Rajendralala Mitra himself calls Candiº; and the India Office manuscript, a later and different text.18 [18 RAGHAVAN Kalikaº 1938: 331.] The editor of Laksmidhara's Krtyakalpataru, K. V. Rangaswami Aiyangar, came to the conclusion that "it has been ... difficult to find any of the quotations from Kalikapurana in any of the printed editions of it. The existence of Kalikapurana in more than one recension, and the radical differences between rival versions of it, might justify the suspicion that we do not now possess it in the form in which it existed in the 11th and 12th centuries."19 [19 RANGASWAMI AIYANGAR Nandiº 1941-42.: 159.] On the basis of the India Office catalogue19a [19a EGGELING 1899: 1193-1198, no. 3344.] Hazra accepts the existence of another Kalikaº, also called Kaliº and Satiº, which is quite different from "the present" Kalikaº.20 [20 HAZRA 1963: 259.] Elsewhere Hazra mentions that Raghunandana's Durgapujatattva (pp. 8-9) quotes ten verses which are introduced as dusprapakalikapuranantare 'pi. It shows "that Raghunandana knew another Kalika-p. which was different from the present one profusely drawn upon by him in his Tattvas."21 [21 HAZRA 1963: 236.]Raghunandana was born at Nabadwip, to Harihara Bhattacharya. He was a pupil of Srinatha Acharya Chudamani. His writings mention Rayamukuta (1431 CE), and are mentioned by Viramitrodaya of Mitramisra (early 17th century). Thus, it can be inferred that Raghunandana lived around 16th century CE.
-- Raghunandana [Raghunandan Bhattacharyya] [Raghunandana Bhaṭṭācāryya], by Wikipedia
Notice also that Nilakantha's [Mimamasakabhatta's] Vyavaharamayukha, after quoting three stanzas from the Kalikaº, says that they do not deserve absolute confidence, "for they are absent from two or three manuscripts of the text."22 [22 Ed. P. V. KANE, Bombay: NSP, 1926, p. 114.]The introductory verses in the mss. of all the Mayukhas present a perplexing problem. Hardly any two mss. of the same Mayukha contain the same introductory verses. For example, one of the three mss. of the Samayamayukha in the Bhau Daji collection of the Bombay Royal Asiatic Society has only one introductory verse2 [[x].]; while in the other two that verse does not occur at all. In one of these two latter there are four introductory verses and in the other there are five, the Benares edition agreeing with the last. The Benares edition of the S'antimayukha (of 1879) contains fourteen introductory verses, nine of which (from the second) give the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva; while one ms. of the S'antimayukha in the Bhau Daji collection has only one introductory verse which is not found in the Benares edition; and another ms. of the same in the same collection has three verses, only one of which is found in the Benares edition. In the same way the printed editions of the Prayas'cittamayukha and the Acaramayukha (Benares, 1879) contain fourteen introductory verses each; while mss. of these two Mayukhas in the Gattulalji collection in Bombay have only two and three verses respectively. This perplexing variance in the number of introductory verses cannot be satisfactorily explained by supposing that in all cases of such differences the scribes of the mss. and others introduced unauthorised interpolations. The hypothesis which, after a careful consideration of all the introductions, seems most probable is that Nilakantha himself (or probably his son) from time to time revised his works, recast the introductory verses, added to them and also made slight alterations and additions in the body of the works.
Some of the Mayukhas such as the printed editions of the S'anti, Prayas'citta, S'raddha and Acara Mayukhas contain the genealogy of the family of Bhagavantadeva. The genealogy is more or less mythical, but there are no weighty reasons to suppose that the verses are spurious and not from the pen of Nilakantha himself1 [The verses are: -- [x]. Vide also Aufrecht's Bod. Cat., p. 280. No. 656 and I.O. Cat. part III, p. 429, No. 1444 and Mandlik's Introduction LXXVII.]. The genealogy is: from Brahma was born Kas'yapa, whose son was Vibhandaka, whose son was Rsyas'rnga. In the family of the latter was born S'rngivara, after whom the family came to be known as Sengara. King Karna was born in that family. Then follows a line of eighteen kings, the last being Bhagavantadeva.
-- The Vyavaharamayukha or Bhatta Nilakantha, With an Introduction, Notes and Appendices, by P.V. Kane
A most interesting case is presented by the Agniº. Gyani23 [23 GYANI Agniº 1964: 1 n. l.] lists five editions which "do not much differ from one another," and he therefore restricts himself to using one edition: Venkatesvara. Yet, ever since the publication of the catalogue of Sanskrit manuscripts of the India Office Library23a [23a EGGELING 1899: 1294-1298, no. 3582.] the existence of a Vahniº -- "different from the work usually designated by that title" -- was known.24 [24 Cf. WINTERNITZ 1907: 473 n. 2; at 1963: 496 n. 2 it is called an upapurana. In fact, Buhler's Report for 1872-73 to the Director of Public Instruction mentions: "Among the puranas the Vahnipurana is new to me. It is not identical with the Agnipurana" (extract at IA 2, 1873, 304). Cf. WILSON 1840 = 1961: xxxviii.] Only at the end of his treatment of the Agniº Hazra25 [25 HAZRA 1940: 139-140.] briefly refers to this manuscript: "Besides the extant Agni-p., Mss. have been found of another work called 'Vahni-purana.'" A little over ten years later Hazra had an opportunity to study the manuscripts of the Vahniº; he concluded: "With the spread of Tantricism this spurious work [= the present AgniP] attained great popularity, and the genuine Agneya-purana [= the earlier Agni-p.] had to save itself from extinction by assuming a different title, viz., 'Vahni-purana.'"26 [26 Discovery of the Genuine Agneya-purana, JOIB 5, 1956, 411-416 at 411; also, Studies in the Genuine Agneya-purana alias Vahni-purana, OH 1, 1953, 209-245 [contents at 218-224]; 2, 1954, 77-110.] He rightly points out that what makes a mahapurana is its being well known; that what is less well known becomes an upapurana. "As modern scholars did not know the real nature of this 'Vahni-purana' occurring in Manuscripts, they took it to be an Upapurana of minor importance." Although Hazra twice uses the expression that it is the Vahniº rather than the Agniº that "is identical with" the genuine Agneyaº, the absence in it of the Isanakalpa -- here too, even as in the extant Agniº! -- and various other arguments make him admit that, once again, this Vahniº has lost many chapters of the original Agneyaº; they have been replaced by passages drawn from other sources, and the whole assumed a "Vaisnava form." In short, this is a unique case in which one "extant" purana has actually been replaced with another, at least by one scholar. Yet, in 1964 Gyani continued to analyze the Venkatesvara edition; his sole reference to Hazra's article appears in six lines of the conclusions.Vaishnavism is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, the Vaishnava tradition is the largest group within Hinduism constituting about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the Supreme Being. Its followers are called Vaishnavas or Vaishnavites (derived from IAST: Vaiṣṇava), and it also includes some other sub-traditions like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the Supreme Being respectively...
Key texts in Vaishnavism include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Pancaratra (Agama) texts, Naalayira Divya Prabhandham and the Bhagavata Purana.
-- Vaishnavism, by Wikipedia
Modern scholarship noticed all these facts. It recognized "that the extent of the genuine Agneya-purana was not the same at all times and in all places and that it varied with the difference in time and locality."27 [27 HAZRA, JOIB 5, 1956, 414-415.] It realized that of the hundreds of verses attributed to the Deviº, which are not traceable in our text, some were quoted by certain nibandhakaras, some by others. "This shows that the text of the Devi-p. was not the same everywhere but differed considerably in different provinces."28 [28 HAZRA 1963: 193-194.] Yet, one failed to draw the logical conclusion: besides the version or versions of puranas that appear in our manuscripts, and fewer still in our editions, there have been numerous other versions, under the same titles, but which either have remained unnoticed or have been irreparably lost.
The danger I want to point out here is that those readings and arrangements of a particular purana which happen to have been included in the printed edition or editions, have automatically been considered as representing "the" purana -- be it only the less valuable extant one --, whereas all variant readings and arrangements exhibited in manuscripts which were not used by the editors, have been generally overlooked or neglected. These latter materials never -- or very rarely -- come to the notice of those doing research on the puranas; and if they do, they are invariably treated as less valuable or negligible deviations from the standard text.
One scholarly publication in which, besides editions of puranas, manuscripts have been used quite extensively, is Pargiter's Purana Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age. The author made a conscious search for as many manuscripts as he could possibly find (see his account, pp. xxix-xxxiv), and the variant readings found in them are carefully noted in the critical apparatus. Occasionally, however, even Pargiter cannot help giving more weight to the printed editions than to handwritten materials. For instance, in the Bhavisyaº the text on the dynasties of the Kali age occurs in the Venkatesvara edition, whereas "I have examined the following MSS, but none of them contain anything about these dynasties" (p. xxx); these manuscripts are ten in number, and Pargiter therefore concludes that the passage in the edition is "not genuine." A similar situation presents itself in the Brahmandaº: none of the five manuscripts which Pargiter consulted contains the passage as it occurs in the Venkatesvara edition which "professes to be based on several MSS, yet gives variant readings only rarely, and leaves on my mind the impression that it has been silently emended at times" (p. xxx). Yet, in this case Pargiter failed to draw the same conclusion he drew in connection with the Bhavisyaº.
No one has probably consulted as many purana manuscripts as R.C. [Rajendra Chandra] Hazra; no one was more acutely aware of the problems they raise than he was. Yet, although he points to the existence of a manuscript of the Vamanaº which "seems to differ much from our printed editions," he too, cannot help basing his discussion of the nature and contents of "the extant Purana" on the printed editions only.
Other scholars did not use manuscripts to the extent Pargiter or Hazra did.29 [29 HAZRA 1940: 76-77.] The manuscripts were, in most cases, inaccessible to them, or too voluminous to handle. In fact, most scholars who wrote on puranas did not even have access to all existing editions.30 [30 The editions in Telugu script are, in many cases, the earliest ones; yet they have remained practically unknown and unused. The editions in Bengali script, especially those of the Vangavasi Press, have been used more often, but in general only by Bengalis. Most purana studies, by Indians all over the subcontinent and by non-Indians, are based on the devanagari editions, especially the Venkatesvara and Anandasrama editions, the latter being even more widely available than the former. E. g., "Reference is made here only to the texts that have appeared in Devanagari" (PUSALKAR 1968: 692); "Unless otherwise indicated, the texts are those of the Anandasrama Series" (W. JAHN: Uber die kosmogonischen Grundanschauungen im Manava-Dharma-Sastram [Google translate: About the cosmogonic Basic views in the Manava-Dharma-Sastram], Leipzig: Drugulin, 1904, p. 20).] Their conclusions are based on those editions which happened to be available to them; in many cases this just meant one single edition. Kirfel's Purana Pancalaksana, for example, uses a single manuscript of the Brahmandaº, in addition to its Venkatesvara edition; for the Visnuº it uses one edition from Calcutta and one from Bombay; for the Padmaº it uses two editions from -- at that time -- Bombay Presidency; and for all other puranas it relies on single editions. Kirfel was aware of the problem; he confessed facing the alternative of making purana studies progress with incomplete materials, or postponing publication of his research indefinitely, and he decided in favor of the former.31 [ 31 "Wenn im Vorwort zum Puranalaksana gesagt wurde, dass zur Aufhellung mancher textlicher Verderbnis oder Abweichungen noch eineAnzahl alter und guter Handschriften hatte herangezogen werden mussen, so gilt dieses auch fur den vorliegenden Band. Es besteht aber auf absehbare Zeit nicht die geringste Aussicht, an jene heranzukommen. Aber selbst wenn dies der Fall ware, wurden sich doch nicht alle Textverderbnisse berichtigen lassen, wie die in Poona erscheinende kritische Ausgabe des Mahabharata beweist. Zudem wurde es sich bei den vielen hier in Betracht kommenden Purana's um eine so grosse Anzahl von Handschriften handeln, dass die Drucklegung des durch so umfangreiche Kollationierungsarbeiten ubermassig angeschwollenen kritischen Apparates schon aus praktischen Grunden scheitern wurde. Dies hiesse zugleich, die mit der riesigen purana Literatur verknupften Probleme auf unabsehbare Zeit zuruckzustellen; dies ware ein Verfahren, das mit den Prinzipien von Forschung und Wissenschaft nicht mehr recht vereinbar ist" [Google translate: If in the foreword to the Puranalaksana it was said that for enlightening some textual corruption or discrepancies still a number of old and good manuscripts had to be used, this also applies to the present volume. But there is no prospect of getting hold of them in the foreseeable future. But even if that were the case, not all text corruptions would be corrected as the critical edition of the Mahabharata published in Poona shows. In addition, it became one of the many Puranas under consideration here. Large number of manuscripts act that the printing of the by so extensive Collation work on excessively swollen critical apparatus already done practical reasons would fail. This would also mean the one with the huge purana literature postpone linked problems for an indefinite period of time; this would be a procedure that is no longer quite compatible with the principles of research and science." ] (KIRFEL 1954: XI-XII).] Abegg's Pretakalpa is based solely on Jibananda's edition of the Garuda -- the editions of which are very different indeed.32 [32 "Neben dieser in der Einleitung S. 2 allein angefuhrten Ausgabe ist noch eine von Pancanana Tarkaratna, Calcutta 1891 erschienen, sowie eine in Bombay; beide waren mir nicht zuganglich" (Pretakalpa des Garuda-Purana, 1921, p. VIII n. 1). [Google translate: In addition to this edition, which is only cited in the introduction on p. 2, there is also one of Pancanana Tarkaratna, Calcutta 1891, and one in Bombay; both were not accessible.] A study such as Hohenberger's "Das Vamanapurana"33 [33 HOHENBERGER Vamanaº 1963.] which uses the Venkatesvara edition of the text only, cannot claim to be more than a study of that particular version of the Vamanaº; it is not an analysis of the Vamanaº as a whole. Surabhi H. Trivedi34 [34 TRIVEDI Brahmaº 1968-69.] lists four editions of the Brahmaº (p. 75), but uses nothing else than the Anandasrama edition. V. S. Agrawala based his study of the Markandeyaº, in Hindi, on Jibananda's edition and Pargiter's English translation.35 [35 AGRAWALA Markandeyaº 1961.]
In short, the existing editions, useful as they may have been in making the puranas available in print, have done a definite disservice to scholarly research, in that they have accidentally raised one or two versions of each purana to the rank of the purana. By doing so they have obliterated all other versions which might be equally or, eventually, more important than the published ones.36 [36 E. g., Sylvain LEVI (1905: 210) noted the existence of not less than five versions of the Svayambhuº: Svayambhumahaº (12 chapters), Svayambhu-utpattikatha or Madhyamasvayambhuº (10 ch.), Brhatsvayambhuº (printed in the BI, 3000 lines in ms.), Mahatsvayambhuº (2000 lines), and Svayambhucaityabhattarakoddesa (250 lines). He considered the first one to be the best; as opposed to the printed one with its "style barbare et metrique abominable." "Il est regrettable que la Bibliotheca Indica ait imprime de preference cette derniere recension, et que l'editeur du texte ait cru devoir farcir a plaisir de barbarismes et de solecismes le sanscrit macaronique de son auteur; il n'est pas conforme au 'fair play" meme entre brahmanes et bouddhistes, de choisir, comme de parti pris, les lecons les plus incorrectes et d'eliminer les autres" [Google translate: "barbarian style and abominable metric." "It is unfortunate that the Bibliotheca Indica has preferably printed this last review, and that the editor of the text thought it his duty to stuff barbarisms and solecisms the macaronic Sanskrit of its author; he does not comply to 'fair play' even between Brahmans and Buddhists, to choose, as if by bias, the most incorrect lessons and eliminate the others."] (p. 212 n. 1).] As a result they have made purana research based on them one-sided and, therefore, inaccurate.37 [37 Cf. Albert B. LORD (The Singer of Tales, Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1960, pp. 124-125): even though one or more versions of oral poetry become eventually fixed, this does not in any way affect the singer or his audience. The singer "continued, as did his confreres, to compose and sing as he always had and they always had"; the audience "thought in his terms, in the terms of multiplicity."]
These facts have been recognized. Kane discusses the unfortunate situation that most editions of puranas are based on one manuscript or on a few manuscripts selected at random. "Many conclusions, therefore, drawn from the current printed editions of the Puranas or from mss. of the Puranas, must be regarded. as merely tentative and as likely to turn out to be wrong."38 [38 KANE 1962: 838.] Haraprasad Shastri used a presidential address at the All-India Oriental Conference to stress the fact that "in the matter of the Puranas every manuscript has a peculiar feature, and so, all manuscripts are important from the point of view of a collector and a scholar."39 [39 AIOC 5 (1928), 80. Cf. DAS (1924: 119): "One might almost say that no two manuscripts of any Purana are exactly the same."].
Yet, scholars continue to quote and draw conclusions from the Visnuº, the Matsyaº, etc. Sten Konow,40 [40 Note on the Andhra King Candasata, ZDMG 62, 1908, 591-592.] for example, while discussing the name of the last but one Andhra king, relies heavily on the puranas to defend the form Canda rather than Vincent Smith's Candra."The forms of the name given in the puranas are not at all in favour of this supposition. Candra, it is true, occurs in THE Visnu and Bhagavata Purana, but THE Matsya has Canda and THE Vayu Danda, and this last form cannot well be explained as a corruption of Candra. I therefore think that Canda is the correct form of the word."41 [41 Ibid., p. 591 (emphasis added). Konow's argument is even less convincing, since he draws these forms, second hand, from R. G. Bhandarkar's Early History of the Dekkan (2nd ed., 1895, p. 164), where the sources used for the puranas are not even specified.]
In connection with the different versions of puranas reference should also be made to titles of puranas to which adjectives such as Brhad-, Laghu-, Vrddha-, etc., have been prefixed. They have laid to confusion and misinterpretation.42 [42 The confusion existed already in the Sanskrit texts. For instance, the Ekamraº distinguishes between a principal Narasimhaº and an upapurana called Brhannarasimhaº. Gopalabhatta's Haribhaktivilasa also quotes verses separately from Narashimhaº (ca. 100) and Brhannarasimhaº (63). The Caturvargacintamani, on the other hand, ascribes the latter to Narasimhaº. HAZRA (1958: 356) concludes that either Hemadri considered the two works to be identical, or the verses occurred in both. They do not, however, appear in our printed Nrsimhaº.] Winternitz,43 [43 WINTERNITZ 1907: 466-467.] for example, confused the Naradaº and Brhannaradaº in the original, German Geschichte; the confusion has only been partly eliminated in its English translation.44 [44 WINTERNITZ 1963: 489-490.] Both in the German and English editions the Brhannaradaº is called "the great Purana of Narada," whereas the much longer Naradaº, the edition of which is not even mentioned, is called an upapurana. Similarly, when Winternitz45 [45 Ibid., p. 478; cf. HAZRA 1958: 353-356.] assigns an early date to the Visnuº because few mahatmyas [Māhātmya can be translated as “glory” or “greatness”, and is also a term for a text genre.] claim to be part of it, he adds the following note: "Nevertheless it is noteworthy that Matsya- and Bhagavata-Purana give the number of slokas of the Visnu-purana as 23,000, while in reality it has not quite 7,000 verses, and that also a 'Great Visnu-Purana' (Brhadvisnupurana, Aufrecht CC I, 591) is quoted." He thus seems to equate the larger version of 23,000 verses with the Brhadvisnuº. In reality, here as elsewhere in Sanskrit literature46 [46 Compare the many smrtis to which the same adjectives have been prefixed. On the status of such texts, see J.D.M. DERRETI: Dharmasastra and Juridical Literature, [part of vol. IV in this series,] Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1973, p. 40.] we should expect Brhad-, Laghu-, Vrddha-, etc., to refer to compositions which are secondary as compared to the corresponding titles to which these adjectives have not been prefixed....
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Re: Freda Bedi Cont'd (#3)
by admin » Tue Jun 08, 2021 6:50 am
Part 2 of 3
Frederick Eden Pargiter: Cont'd from The Puranas, by Ludo Rocher
2.2.2 Dating the Puranas
It should come as no surprise that, as soon as Westerners came in contact with the puranas, they raised the question of the dates of these texts. The initial reaction was to assign late dates to the puranas generally. Bentley, for example, held that "many of the Purans" are more recent than Varahamihira,1 [1 John BENTLEY: On the Antiquity of the Surya Siddhanta, and the Formation of the Astronomical Cycles therein Contained, As. Res. 7, 1799, 537-588 at 574.] and, more specifically, that the Visnudharmottaraº borrowed from Brahmagupta.2 [2 A Historical View of the Hindu Astronomy, from the Earliest Dawn of the Science in India, down to the Present Time, Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press, 1823, p. 86.]Brahmagupta (c. 598 – c. 668 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. He is the author of two early works on mathematics and astronomy: the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta (BSS, "correctly established doctrine of Brahma", dated 628), a theoretical treatise, and the Khaṇḍakhādyaka ("edible bite", dated 665), a more practical text.
Brahmagupta was the first to give rules to compute with zero. The texts composed by Brahmagupta were in elliptic verse in Sanskrit, as was common practice in Indian mathematics. As no proofs are given, it is not known how Brahmagupta's results were derived.
-- Brahmagupta, by Wikipedia
Far more influential, of course, was [Horace Hayman] Wilson's opinion. I have already referred to the place which he assigns the puranas in the general development of the Hindu religion (see 1.3.1). He felt that none of the present manifestations of popular Hinduism can be older than Sankara, "the great Saiva reformer," and, on the Vaisnava side, than Ramanuja, Madhva, and Vallabha.Every date in ancient Indian history, except that of the invasion of Alexander (326 B.C.), is controversial, and Sankara’s date is no exception. Max Muller and other orientalists have somehow fixed it as 788 to 820 A.D., and Das Gupta and Radhakrishnan, the well-known writers on the history of Indian Philosophy, have accepted and repeated it in their books. To do so is not in itself wrong, but to do it in such a way as to make the layman believe it to be conclusive is, to say the least, an injustice to him. It is held by the critics of this date that the Sankara of 788-820 A.D. is not the Adi-Sankara (the original Sankara), but Abhinava Sankara (modern Sankara), another famous Sannyasin of later times (788-839), who was born at Chidambaram and was the head of the Sankara Math at Kanchipuram between 801 and 839. He was reputed for his holiness and learning and is said to have gone on tours of controversy (Dig-vijaya) like the original Sankara.
It is found that not only modern scholars, but even the authors of several Sankara-vijayas have superimposed these two personalities mutually and mixed up several details of their lives. The author of the concept of adhyasa himself seems to have become a victim of it! The cause of much of this confusion has been the custom of all the incumbents of the headship of Sankara Maths being called Sankaracharyas. To distinguish the real Sankara, he is therefore referred to as ‘Adi-Sankara' an expression that is quite meaningless. For, Sankaracharya was the name of an individual and not a title, and if the heads of the Maths of that illustrious personage were known only by their individual names like the heads of religious institutions founded by other teachers, probably much of this confusion could have been avoided….
Ullur S. Parameswara Iyer has pointed out in his great work that the sole support for the modern scholars’ view on Sankara’s date as 788 A.D. is the following incomplete verses of unknown authorship: "Nidhi nagebha vahnyabde vibhave sankarodayah; Kalyabde candranetranka vahnyabde pravisad guham; Vaisakhe purnimayam tu sankarah sivatamagat." Here the words of the first verse are the code words for the year 3889 of the Kali era, which is equivalent to 788 A.D. (It is derived as follows: nidhi: 9; naga: 8; ibha: 8; vahni: 3. Since the numbers are to be taken in the reverse order, it gives 3889 of the Kali era as the date of Sankara’s birth, its conversion into Christian era being 788 A.D. Kali era began 3102 years before the Christian era….
Traditional Indian dates are suspect because of the multiplicity of eras, of which about forty-seven have been enumerated by T. S. Narayana Sastri in his book, The Age of Sankara. So unless the era is specifically mentioned, it is difficult to fix a date in any understandable way. Two of these eras are famous—the Kali era, which started in 3102 B.C., and Yudhishthira Saka era which started 37 years after, i.e., in 3065 B.C. The calculation according to the latter era is, however, complicated further by the fact that, according to the Jains and the Buddhists, the latter era started 468 years after the Kali era, that is, in 2634 B.C.
Sri T. S. Narayana Sastri, in his book, The Age of Sankara, argues the case for the traditional date, on the basis of the list of succession kept in Kamakoti Math and Sringeri Math, and what he has been able to gather from ‘mutilated copies’ of Brihat-Sankara-vijaya, Prachtna-Sankara-vijaya and Vyasachallya-Sankara-vijaya. Until authentic copies of these works are available, the information they are supposed to give is not acceptable…
44 B.C., the supposed date of the birth of Sankara according to Sringeri Math, might have been the result of the confusion of eras and calculations based on them. 2625 of the Kali era, the date of his death, must have been taken as referring to Buddhist-Jain era and then converted into Kali era by adding 468 to it, thus arriving at 3093 of Kali era (9 or 10 B.C.) as the date of Sankara’s death….
as stated in T. S. Narayana Sastri’s work, in the Kamakoti list Sankara occupied that Gaddi for three years (from 480 B.C. to 477 B.C.) and was followed by Sureswara for 70 years (477 B.C. to 407 B.C.), the Sringeri list maintains that Sankara occupied that Gaddi for six years (from 18 B.C. to 12 B.C.), and was followed by Sureswara for 785 years (from 12 B.C. to 773 A.D.)… The record of the Sringeri Math says that Sankara was born in the 14th year of the reign of Vikramaditya. Compilers wrongly referred this to the era of Vikramaditya of Ujjain, which was originally called Malava Samvat and later in the eighth century A.D. called the Vikrama Samvat. This took Sankara to the first century B.C. and necessitated the assignment of around 800 years to Sureswaracharya to agree with the later dates. Mr L. Rice points out that the reference is not to the Vikramaditya of Ujjain but to the Chalukya king Vikramaditya who ruled in Badami near Sringeri. Historians opine that Chalukya Vikramaditya ascended the throne during the period 655 to 670 A.D….
Such unbelievable inconsistencies have made modern historians totally reject the evidence provided by the chronological lists of the Maths. So Sri Ullur Parameswara Iyer, himself a pious Brahmana, maintains in his History of Kerala Sahitya (Vol. 1 p. 111) that it is easy to prove that most of these Math lists have been formulated so late as the 16th century A.D.
But a still greater difficulty posed for such an early date as 509 to 476 B.C. for Sankara is the proximity of this to the generally accepted date of the Buddha (567-487 B.C.). Sankara has criticised Buddhism in its developed form with its four branches of philosophy. A few centuries at least should certainly be allowed to elapse for accommodating this undeniable fact. Sri T. S. Narayana Sastri is, however, remarkably ingenious, and his reply to this objection is that the Buddha’s date was certainly much earlier. Vaguely quoting Prof. Wheeler, Weber and Chinese records, he contends that the Buddha must have flourished at any time between the 20th and the 14th century B.C. He challenges the fixing of the date of Buddha on the basis of the dates of Kanishka or of Megasthenes.3a [Kanishka’s date is variously stated as 1st century B.C., 1st century A.D., 2nd century A.D. and 3rd century A.D. The relevancy of his date to the Buddha’s date is that Hsuan Tsang, the Chinese traveller, states that the Buddha lived four hundred years before Kanishka. Some historians try to fix the date of the Buddha on the basis of this information as 5th century B.C. This view is not currently accepted, and the Buddha’s date is settled on other grounds as 567-487 B.C. It is fixed so on the basis of Asoka’s coronation in 269 B.C., four years after his accession. According to the Ceylon Chronicles, 218 years separate this event of Asoka’s coronation from the date of the Buddha’s demise. Thus we get 487 as the date of the Buddha’s demise, and as he is supposed to have lived 80 years, the date of his birth is 567. According to R. Sathianatha Ayyar, the date of 487 B.C. is supported by “the dotted record” of Canton (China); The traditional date according to the Buddhist canonical literature, however, is 623-543 B.C. Megasthenes comes into the picture, because he was the Greek Ambassador of Selukos Nickator at the court of Chandra Gupta Maurya (325 B.C.), who is described by him as Shandracotus. Now Sri T. S. Narayana Sastri, with a view to push back the Buddha’s date, challenges this identification, and opines that this reference could as well be to Chandra Gupta or even to Samudra Gupta of the Gupta dynasty (300-600 A.D.), in which case the Mauryan age (325 to 188 B.C.) will have to be pushed further back into the 7th to 5th century B.C. and the Buddha (567-487 B.C.) too, into the 9th century B.C. at least. But Sri Sastri forgets that these contentions cannot stand, as the date of Megasthenes and of Chandra Gupta Maurya have necessarily to be related to the firm and unquestionable date of Alexander’s invasion of India (326 B.C.) Megasthenes was the ambassador at the Pataliputra court sent by Selukos Nickator (305 B.C.), the Satrap who succeeded to the Indian region of Alexander’s empire, which he had to give up to Chandra Gupta by a treaty. T. S. Narayana Sastri’s attempt to shift the Gupta period of India history, to the time of Alexander’s invasion (326 B.C.) by equating Shandracotus with Samudra Gupta of the Gupta period, is a mere chronological guess-work without any supporting evidence, as against several historical synchronisms which compel the acceptance of the currently recognised chronology. For example, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Fahien was in India in the Gupta age, from 399-414 A.D., and his description of India can tally only with that period and not with the Mauryan period. Besides, the Hun invasion of India was in the reign of Skanda Gupta, about 458 A.D., and this event cannot be put on any ground into the B.C.’s when Mauryans flourished, even with an out-stretched poetical imagination. So we have got to maintain that the Shandracotus who visited Alexander’s camp (326 B.C.) and who later received about 326 B.C. Megasthenes as the ambassador of Selukos Nickator, the successor to Alexander’s Indian province, can be none other than Chandra Gupta of the Mauryan dynasty (325 B.C. to 188 B.C.) Further, historical synchronisms, the sheet-anchor of the chronology of Indian history give strong support to the accepted date of Asoka (273-232 B.C.), the greatest of the Mauryan Emperors. His Rock Edict XIII mentions, as stated by Sathianatha Ayyar, the following contemporary personalities: Antiochus Teos of Syria (261-246 B.C.); Ptolemy Philadelphos of Egypt (285-247 B.C.); Antigonos Gonates of Macedonia (278-239 B.C.); Magas of Cyrene (285-258 B.C.), and Alexander of Epirus (272-258 B.C.). They are referred to as alive at the time of that Rock Edict. In the face of such historical synchronisms all attempts to push back the time of the Buddha by several centuries in order to substantiate the theory of 509 B.C. being Sankara’s date, is only chronological jugglery. So the Buddha’s date has to remain more or less as it is fixed today (568-487 B.C.). Sankara came definitely long after the Buddha.] The reference to Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador, who refers to the ruler to whom he was accredited as Shandracotus, need not necessarily be to Chandragupta Maurya but to the king of the Gupta dynasty (300-600 A.D.) with the same name, or even to Samudra Gupta. If this line of argument is accepted, the present dates of Indian history will have to be worked back to about three to four hundred years, which will land us in very great difficulties, as shown in the foot note….
there is another opinion that assigns Sankara to the 1st century B.C. This view is held by Sri N. Ramesam in his book Sri Sankaracharya (1971). His argument is as follows: Sankara is accepted in all Sankara-vijayas as a contemporary of Kumarila. Kumarila must have lived after Kalidasa, the poet, because Kumarila quotes Kalidasa’s famous line; Satam hi sandeha padesu vastusu pramanam antahkaranasya vrittayah. Now Kalidasa’s date has not been firmly fixed (first half of the 5th century A.D. according to some), but it is contended that it cannot be earlier than 150 B.C., as Agni Mitra, one of the heroes in a famous drama of Kalidasa, is ascribed to that date. So also, it cannot be later than the Mandasor Inscription of 450 A.D. So on the basis that Sankara and Kumarila were contemporaries and that Kumarila came after Kalidasa, we have to search for Sankara’s date between 150 B.C. and 450 A.D. Now to narrow down the gap still further, the list of spiritual preceptors that preceded Sankara is taken into consideration. Patanjali, Gaudapada, Govindapada and Sankara— form the accepted line of discipleship. Patanjali, Sri Ramesam contends, lived in the 2nd century B.C., a conclusion which, if accepted finally (?), gives much credence to his theory. Now, not less than a hundred years can be easily taken as the distance in time between Sankara and Patanjali in this line of succession, and thus we derive the time of Sankara as the 1st century B.C., which has the merit of being in agreement with the Kumarila-Sankara contemporaneity and the Kumarila-Kalidasa relationship. The 1st century hypothesis has also got the advantage of tallying with the Sringeri Math’s teacher-disciple list, according to which, as already stated, 12 B.C. is the date of Sankara’s demise. Sri Ramesam finds further confirmation for his theory in the existence of a temple on a Sankaracharya Hill in Kashmir attributed to Jaluka, a son of Asoka who became the ruler of Kashmir after Asoka’s demise, according to Rajaiarangini. Asoka passed away In 180 B.C. and it is very credible that Jaluka could have been in Kashmir when Sankara visited that region, provided Sankara’s life is fixed in the 1st century B.C. Further, Cunningham and General Cole are stated to assign the temple architecturally to the times of Jaluka…
Sri Ramesam also refutes the modern scholars’ view of Sankara’s date being 788-820 A.D. on the ground that this has arisen due to confusion between Adi-Sankara and Abhinava-Sankara (788-840 A.D.)… its credibility depends largely on the theory of 200 B.C. being the time of Patanjali and the acceptance of the Kumarila-Kalidasa relationship. If these are questioned, the whole theory falls. This is the case with most dates in Indian history, where the rule is to fix the date of one person or event on the basis of the date of another person or event, which itself is open to question….
Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier, Professor of Sanskrit (Rtd) in the Kerala University, in his learned Introduction to his translation of Sankara’s Brahma-sutra-bhashya into Malayalam… states that the Buddhist author Kamalasila has pointed out that Sankara has quoted in his Brahma-sutra-bhashya (B. S. II. 2-28) the following passage from the Alambanapariksha by Dingnaga, the celebrated Buddhist savant: 'Yadantarjneyarupam tat bahiryadavabhasate’. Dingnaga’s date, which Dr. Warrier links with those of Vasubandhu (450 A.D.) and Bhartrhari, is fixed by him as about 450 A.D. But that is not all. The following verse of Dingnaga’s commentator Dharmakirti is quoted by Sankara in his work Upadesa-sahasri: Abhinnopi hi buddhydtma viparyasitadarsanaih grahyagrahaka-samvitti bhedavaniva laksyate (ch. 18, v. 142). This reference is from Dharmakirti’s Pramana-virtischhaya. Dr. Warrier points out that Dharmakirti is described as a ‘great Buddhist logician’ by the Chinese pilgrim-traveller, It-sing, who was in India in 690 A.D. The implication is that Dharmakirti must have lived in the first half of the 7th century or earlier, and that Sankara came after him. It means that Sankara’s date cannot be pushed back beyond the 5th century A.D., or even beyond the 7th century A.D., if the Upadesasahasri is accepted as a genuine work of Sankara. As in the case of most dates in Indian history, the credibility of the view, too, depends on the acceptance of the dates of Dingnaga and Dharmakirti as 5th century and 7th century respectively, and that Upadesasahasri is really a work of Sankara, as traditionally accepted. Fixing dates on the basis of other dates, which are themselves open to question, can yield only possibilities and not certainties.
Probable dates suggested by other scholars are also the 6th century and the 7th century A.D. Sankara refers in his writings to a king named Pumavarman who, according to Hsuan Tsang, ruled in 590 A.D. It is, therefore, contended that Sankara must have lived about that time or after. Next Telang points out how Sankara speaks of Pataliputra in his Sutra-bhashya (IV. ii. 5) and that this will warrant Sankara having lived about a century before 750 A.D., by which time Pataliputra had been eroded by the river and was non-existent. Such references to names of persons, cities, rivers, etc. in philosophical writings can also be explained as stock examples, as we use Aristotle or Achilles in logic, and need not necessarily have any historical significance. Dr. T. R. Chintamani maintains that Kumarila lived towards the latter half of the 7th century A.D. (itself a Controversial point) and Sankara, being a contemporary of his, must have lived about that time (655-684 A.D.). It is also pointed out by him that Vidyananda, the teacher of Jainasena, who was also the author of Jaina-harivamsa (783 A.D.), quotes a verse4 ["Atmapi sadidam brahma mohat parosyadu sitam; Brahmapi sa tathaivatma sadvitiyatayesate."] from the Brihadaranyaka-vartika of Sureswara, disciple of Sankara. This is impossible to conceive without granting that Sankara and Sureswara lived, about a hundred years earlier to Jainasena who lived about the second half of the 8th century A.D.
Thus vastly varied are the views about Sankara’s date, ranging from 509 B.C. to 788 A.D., i.e., more than a millennium and a half…
Under the circumstances, all these complicated discussions of Sankara’s date culminate only in a learned ignorance. We have to admit that we have no certain knowledge, and it is, therefore, wise not to be dogmatic but keep an open mind….
-- Sankara-Dig-vijaya: The Traditional Life of Sri Sankaracharya, by Madhava-Vidyaranya, Translated by Swami Tapasyananda"The Puranas seem to have accompanied or followed their innovations, being obviously intended to advocate the doctrines they taught. This is to assign to some of them a very modern date, it is true; but I cannot think that a higher can with justice be ascribed to them."3 [3 WILSON 1840 = 1961: ix-x.]
Notwithstanding Kennedy's claim that "the eighteen Purans must have been committed to writing in times considerably remoter than the era of Vicramaditya, or 56 A C.",4 [4 Asiatic Journal 1837, 246. Yet, since India has no real historiography, "it must be obvious that there are no means available, by which the date or probable period when each of the Purans was composed can be determined" (ibid., p. 243).] Wilson's late dating was followed by Burnouf,5 [5 Bhagavataº 1, p. CI, especially the Bhagavataº, on account of Vopadeva's authorship.] Lassen,6 [6 LASSEN (1861: 599): between the middle of the 8th cent. (Markandeyaº) and the 13th cent. (Bhagavataº).] Macdonell,7 [7 India's Past, 1927, p. 90: "Deriving their subject matter from the epics, the earliest of them cannot be older than the sixth century A.D."] etc.
Bentley was aware though, in 1799, that his late dating contradicted the traditional belief about puranas, "which through the artifices of the Brahminical tribe, have been hitherto deemed the most ancient [books] in existence."8 [8 As. Res. 7, 1799, 574.] Leaving aside isolated voices claiming that the puranas were in existence in the prehistoric period,9 [9 B. N. REU: Hindu Puranas, their age and value, NIA 2, 1939-40, 302-306 at 303.] or that they came into existence more than five thousand years ago,10 [10 NARAYANA SWAMI AIYAR 1914: 22] there are indeed those who believe that the puranas go back as far as the Vedic period. The concept of a Puranaveda, and arguments in favor of the existence of puranas as a literary genre, from the time of the Atharvaveda onward, have been discussed earlier in this volume (see 1.2.1). There seems to be a widespread agreement that the original puranas existed, "long before the beginning of the Christian era."11 [11 HAZRA 1962: 240; MEHENDALE 1970: 297.]
To be sure, nearly everyone agrees that the composite nature of the puranas implies that "there is a good deal in the puranas that ... must be admitted to be very ancient; while undoubtedly also there is a great deal in them that is very modern."12 [12 K. T. TELANG: Bhagavadgita, 1875, p. 14. Cf. HAMILTON and LANGLES' (Catalogue des manuscrits samskrits de la Bibliotheque Imperiale, Paris: Imprimerie bibliographique, 1807, p. 6) objections to Bentley's theory that the puranas cannot be older than the Muslim period, since they include the names of Muslim princes.] Most of the secondary literature starts from the idea that there was first "the old purana" (see 1.3) which, from a certain time in history onward, began to be re-modeled.13 [13 For more complex developments, in four stages, see Sita Nath PRADHAN: Chronology of Ancient India. From the Times of the Rigvedic King Divodasa to Chandragupta Maurya, With Glimpses into the Political History of the Period, Calcutta University, 1927, pp. xii-xiii. Also S.D. GYANI: Date of the Puranas, NIA 5, 1942-43, 131-135, and The Date of the Puranas, Pur 1, 1959-60, 213-219; 2, 1960, 68-75.] On the time when the re-modeling began, and on the question whether the re-modeling went on indefinitely or came to an end at a certain moment, opinions vary. For instance, the transition from the puranas as pure chronicles to the puranas as veritable encyclopedias began about 500 B.C. , for Apastamba could quote them as sources for acara.14 [14 B. K. GHOSH: Review of Meyer's Gesetzbuch und Purana [Google translate: Law Book and Purana], IHQ 5, 1929, 367-375 at 368-369.] Or, the re-modeled puranas are described as "part of the machinery devised by orthodox Brahminism in [its] onslaught against Buddhism",15 [15 V. VENKATACHALLA IYER: The Puranas, QJMS 13, 1922-23, 702-713 at 703.] or, more broadly, as a reaction against both religious -- Buddhism, Jainism, etc. -- and political -- the invasions of the Sakas, Hunas, etc. -- dangers, implying thereby that some of the extant puranas were composed in the first centuries A.D.16 [16 KANE 1968: 411; also Paurana-dharma, Gode vol. (1960), 3.70-82 at 71.] According to others, for some of the puranas at least, the recasting period came to a close -- they "received their final form" as part of the textbooks of Smarta Hinduism -- during the Gupta period.17 [17 ELIOT (1921: l.xxxviii; 2.187) mentions explicitly the Matsyaº, Markandeyaº, and Visnuº. KANE (The Tantravartika and the Dharmasastra Literature, JBBRAS n. s. 1,1925, 9 -102 at 102) concludes that some of the extant puranas were composed several centuries before Kumarila. Cf. also W. CROOKE: Hinduism, ERE 6, 1914, 695.] On the other hand, even though Bhandarkar assigns a specific terminus a quo -- the time of Wema Kadphises, ca. A.D. 250 -- to the recasting process, he adds that the process went on uninterruptedly ever since.18 [18 R. G. BHANDARKAR: A Peep into the Early History of India from the Foundation of the Maurya Dynasty to the Fall of the Imperial Gupta Dynasty (B.C. 322 -- circa 500 A.D.), JBBRAS 20, 1900, 356-408 at 404.]
The idea of recasting, which in the minds of most means gradual deterioration (see 1.3.6), often goes hand in hand with the assumption that the texts were subject to continuous inflation and that they became more and more unwieldy in the course of the centuries. This assumption, in turn, has been used as a criterion to establish at least a relative chronology for the puranas. The principle is this: "The more boundless the exaggeration is, the more modern the Purana is; this can be taken as a general rule."19 [19 CHAUDHURI Agniº 1928-29: 133 n. 9. The quotation is nearly identical with WINTERNITZ 1963: 465.] The author who made this statement applied it to the Agniº: the Agniº "boundlessly exaggerates the description of Heaven and Hell;" hence "there can be no doubt that the Purana is modern, absolutely modern."20 [20 Ibid., p. 133.] As an extreme application of this expansion hypothesis I may refer to the decision that the Vamanaº is more recent than the Matsyaº, based on the fact that the period during which Aditi practised asceticism is a thousand years in the latter, whereas the former "expands" this period to a myriad of years.21 [21 HOHENBERGER Vamanaº 1963: 6.]
Even though the expansion hypothesis appears quite often in purana studies, it has occasionally also been reversed, and replaced by the belief that the opposite is rather true. Not only is Agniº 236.24-66 -- on warfare -- a later, abbreviated version of Visnudharmottaraº 2. ch.177 (quoted in Hemadri's Caturvargacintamani) but, more generally, "puranas at the time of Hemadri and earlier, rather than being shorter than today, were in most cases longer.22 [22 J.J. MEYER: Textchronologie aus Schreibfehlern in Indien [Google translate: Text chronology from spelling mistakes in India ], ZII 10, 1935-36, 257-276 at 273.]
Rather than proclaiming expansion or retraction of the puranas the sole possibility to the exclusion of the other, I agree with the more cautious and open-minded approach, that "when a series from simple to complex is considered providing the chronological framework, a counter argument that with the passage of time, the same complex situation would get simplified also requires to be carefully considered."23 [23 R.N. MEHTA: Puranic Archaeology, JUBar 20-21, 1971-72, 5-15 at 6.]
Faced with the endless speculations on the dates of individual puranas a number of scholars realized that there are serious limitations to our ability to date puranas in their entirety; S. G. Kantawala went as far as to say that "one will have to assign separate dates to sections, chapters or even stanzas of the Puranas."24 [24 The Puranas and Epics as Sources of Religious, Social and Cultural History of India, JUBar 19, 1970, 46-58 at 50, quoting more or less literally WINTERNITZ 1963: 469, on the Mahabharata. Cf. DIMMITT and VAN BUITENEN 1978: 5; BIRWE: JAOS 96, 1976, 396; R. C. MAJUMDAR, in a postscript to MEHENDALE 1970: 298.] Yet, as I said at the beginning of this section, nothing was more natural than that Western scholars wanted to give the puranas generally and each purana in particular a definite place in history; it was equally natural that, once the process had started, Indian scholars joined in. The result is that even those who do realize that dating a particular purana is highly speculative if not impossible, nevertheless propose more or less specific dates, as the following few examples will illustrate.Hazra studies the smrti chapters in the puranas and assigns dates to them, but from these dates more often than not he also derives dates for individual puranas as a whole.25 [25 Dates proposed by Hazra for individual puranas will be mentioned at the appropriate places in Part II.] Kane not only quotes approvingly a statement on the Mahabharata by Winternitz -- comparable to Kantawala's above --; he also adds that it "applies with equal (or perhaps greater) force to the Puranas."26 [26 KANE 1962: 838.] Yet, in the same chapter he assigns dates to most individual puranas. According to Wendy O'Flaherty,27 [27 O'FLAHERTY 1975: 17-18.] "the dating of the Puranas is ... an art -- it can hardly be called a science -- unto itself;" nevertheless broad dates such as "Bhavisya: 500-1200" or "Brahmavaivarta: 750-1550", alternate with very precise ones: "Agni: 850", "Bhagavata: 950", "Brhaddharma: 1250", etc. More specifically, the Visnudharmottaraº enumerates nine rasas, and is therefore dependent on the santi section of the Natyasastra "not before Anandavardhana;" since the third book of the Visnudharmottaraº is not older than Anandavardhana, the Visnudharmottaraº belongs to the tenth of the first half of the eleventh century.28 [28 SHIMIZU Visnudharmottaraº 1969.] The Agniº is difficult to date for "no particular and pointed date can be applied;" its alamkara section seems to belong to the period between A.D. 750 and 850; "this may be regarded as an approximate date of the Purana."29 [29 CHAUDHURI Agniº 1928-29.] The Devimahatmya is earlier than the seventh century. It must have been inserted in the Markandeyaº before that time. Hence the Markandeyaº is even older than that.30 [30 WINTERNITZ 1907: 472 n. 3.] The dynastic lists of the Vayuº date from the first half of the fourth century; therefore the Vayuº in its present form came into being in the first half of the fourth century.31 [31 V. A. SMITH: The Early History of India, 41924, p. 32 n. 1.] On the basis of seven -- rather six -- verses on landgrants which appear in the Padmaº, Brahmaº, and Bhavisyaº, Pargiter decided that these three puranas existed long before A.D. 500; and, since they are not early puranas, he concluded that "the Puranas cannot be later than the earliest centuries of the Christian era."32 [32 Note on the Age of the Puranas, JRAS 1912,254-255. Against Pargiter, on the basis of astronomical passages which cannot be earlier than A.D. 600, J.F. FLEET (A Note on the Puranas, JRAS 1912, 1046-1053), with an emendation for the Padmaº (The Puranic Order of Planets, JRAS 1913, 384-385), and one for the Visnuº (The Vishnu-purana and the Planets, JRAS 1913, 1066).]
In view of what has been said earlier in this volume, both on the transmission of puranic materials and on the role of the "mini-puranas," I submit that it is not possible to set a specific date for any purana as a whole. Dates proposed by others will be reported in Part Two. It will become clear, at that point, that even for the better established and more coherent puranas -- Bhagavataº Visnuº etc. -- opinions, inevitably, continue to vary widely and endlessly....
2.2.4 The puranas as Historical Documents"The most systematic record of Indian historical tradition is that preserved in the dynastic lists of the Puranas. Five out of the eighteen works of this class, namely, the Vayu, Matsya, Vishnu, Brahmanda, and Bhagavata contain such lists. The Brahmanda and the Vayu, as well as the Matsya, which has large later additions, appear to be the earliest and most authoritative ... Modern European writers have been inclined to disparage unduly the authority of the Puranic lists, but closer study finds in them much genuine and valuable historical tradition."1 [1 Vincent A. SMITH: The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 4 1924, pp. 11-12.]
Given the paucity of materials with which to reconstruct ancient Indian history, it was inevitable that scholars attempted to make use of the puranic king lists -- vansanucarita,2 [2 TANDON 1952: 8.] one of the pancalaksanas -- exhibited in the puranas.3 [3 E.g., Ernst WALDSCHMIDT (Geschichte des indischen Altertums, in: Geschichte Asiens, Munich: Bruckmann, 1950, p. 19) speaks of "die fur uns wichtige 'Geschichte der Konigsgeschlechter.'" [Google translate: (History of Indian Antiquity, in: History Asia, Munich: Bruckmann, 1950, p. 19) speaks of "the history of the Royal families.'"]
The puranas derive all dynasties from the mythical Manu Vaivasvata. One of his sons was Iksvaku who became the ancestor of the Aiksvaka dynasty of Ayodhya, also known as the Solar Race. Another son, Ila, turned into a woman, Ila, and became the mother of Pururavas, the progenitor of the Aila race of Pratisthana, also known as the Lunar Race. The various dynasties which derive from these two races are described up to the time of the Great Battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.4 [4 On the problems connected with the Bharata war, see the proceedings of a seminar held at the University of Calcutta, and edited by D. C. SIRCAR: The Bharata War and Puranic Genealogies (Calcutta University, 1969). The volume contains contributions by Sircar ("there was no 'great war' and it is impossible to determine its date," p. 5); by R. C. MAJUMDAR ("in spite of the defective nature of the Purana accounts, scholars should not reject or ignore them in a hurry," p. 8); and others.] The period after the Bharata battle, corresponding to the evil Kali age, is then related in the form of a prophecy.5 [5 The idea of describing history in the form of a prophecy also appears in Buddhist literature; cf. the Manjusrimulakalpa, ed. T. Ganapati Sastri, TSS 70, 74, 76 (1920-25). See 2.1.5.] It is generally accepted that the recording of dynastic history in the puranas came to an end with the early Guptas.6 [6 PARGITER 1913: xii-xiii. Cf. HAZRA 1962: 252. The view that the puranas do not describe any important king or dynasty of the late Gupta era or the post-Gupta period has been challenged by A. B. L. AWASTHI: History from the Puranas, Lucknow: Kailash Prakashan, 1975.]
As pointed out by Vincent Smith quoted above, opinions on the trustworthiness and usefulness of these lists vary. Initially Westerners7 [7 Cf. Al-Biruni: "Unfortunately the Hindus do not pay much attention to the historical order of things; they are very careless in relating the chronological succession of their kings, and when they are pressed for information and are at a loss, not knowing what to say, they invariably take to tale-tellings" (SACHAU 1888: 2.10-11).] expressed skepticism about the puranas as historical sources; in the words of an anonymous contributor to the Edinburgh Review:"The Puranas appear to be extravagant romances, which, however amusing as poetical compositions, can furnish no addition to authentic history, whatever portion of it they may be supposed incidentally to contain. When we find gods and heroes mingling in doubtful fight; events natural and supernatural succeeding each other indifferently; a fact probably historical, followed by another evidently allegorical, -- the only rational conclusion is to consider the whole of these poems as works of imagination, and to appreciate their merits by the rules applicable to similar compositions amongst other nations."8 [8 Ed. Rev. 15:29, 1809, 176. The author is Alexander Hamilton, both according to the Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, and Rosane ROCHER: Alexander Hamilton, New Haven Conn., 1968, pp. 98-99.]
Similar skepticism reveals itself in statements by William Ward;9 [9 "No doubt, there is much real history in the pooranus; and, if it were possible to obtain any sober historical work among the numerous Hindu writings, the real facts might be separated from the many fictions with which the pooranus are filled. Till some such clue, however, can be obtained, I am surprised and sorry, that any person should attempt to illustrate authentic history, and even the divine writings, from these works, which, in their present state, deserve no better name than entertaining romances" (WARD 1811: 2.37-38).] he even generalizes: "As writers of history, the Hindoos deserve the severest censure for mixing their accounts with so much fable."10 [10 WARD 1811: 1.193. Yet, in a later edition (1820: 3.vi-vii) Ward expresses "his earnest wish that some Sungskritu scholar would devote his leisure to a work on [Hindoo history], drawn entirely from Hindoo sources; persuaded as he is, that the pooranus, if thoroughly and judiciously examined, would afford ample materials for a succinct history of India, or supply numerous fragments of the most interesting and important nature."] Vans Kennedy, in whose opinion the puranas are, and always were, purely religious books, of course refused to detect the slightest historical element in them.11 [11 "... neither the Vedas, the Upanishads, nor the Purans, profess to be historical compositions; and the ascribing this character to the latter, in particular, is a most erroneous opinion, for, with the exception of the genealogies of the princes of the solar and lunar races, the Purans contain nothing which has the slightest semblance of history ... It is true that each Puran contains a description of the division of time according to the Hindu system; but the chronology of no event is fixed more precisely than by referring it generally to such a Kalpa, or Manvantara, or Yug, as the particular year is never mentioned. The attempting, therefore, to extract either chronology or history from such data, must be an operation attended with equal success as the extraction of sunbeams from cucumbers by the sages of Laputa" (KENNEDY 1831: 130).]
In the meantime James Tod obtained puranas from the library of the Rana of Udaipur, in view of his Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (1829). He came to the conclusion that the various accounts were "borrowing from some common original source;"12 [12 2Madras: Higginbotham, 1873, 1.18 (orig. 1829).] even though that source may have been important, he had serious doubts about the present state of the accounts."Doubtless the original Poorans contained much valuable historical matter; but, at present, it is difficult to separate a little pure metal from the base alloy of ignorant expounders and interpolators. I have but skimmed the surface: research, to be capable, may yet be rewarded by many isolated facts and important transactions, now hid under the veil of ignorance and allegory."13 [13 Ibid., p. 23.]
Vincent Smith was one of the first, in 1902, to show, in the specific case of the Andhra dynasty, that the list of kings and the duration of their reigns, as preserved in the Matsyaº, are basically correct. Admitting that "the historical passages in Puranas were liable to receive additions," be nevertheless concluded:"The near approach to accuracy attained by the Matsya Purana (Radcliffe ms.) in the list of the later Andhra kings shows that the compiler had access to good authorities for the history of his dynasty, and raises a presumption in favour of his information about the earlier kings, although it cannot be controlled by the evidence of coins or inscriptions except to a slight extent."14 [14 Vincent A. SMITH: Andhra History and Coinage, ZDMG 56, 1902, 649-675; 57, 1903, 605-627 at 654. Approved by RAPSON 1922: 267.]
The real champion for the puranas as texts worthy of the attention of historians of ancient India was, of course, Frederick Eden Pargiter. He explained -- and defended against criticism -- his opinions in a number of articles; his two books15 [15 See PARGITER 1913 and 1922.] on the subject have become classics in the history of Indian scholarship.
According to Pargiter it is not possible that the memory of important kings of ancient times would have been totally lost; therefore "the presumption is that ancient tradition about kings is prima facie deserving of attention;" It is possible that good things of the past have been magnified, or unpleasant things suppressed; it is also possible that the king lists as we have them contain mistakes and corruptions. However, "false genealogies presuppose and imitate genuine genealogies;" besides, "there appears to have been a sufficiently strong body of traditional knowledge in North India to prevent false particulars from being successfully introduced to any serious extent." Therefore, acknowledging their limitations "is not the same thing as to declare that these traditional genealogies are unworthy of any trust whatever."16 [16 Quotes are from Ancient Indian Genealogies -- are they trustworthy?, R. G. Bhandarkar vol. (1917), 107-113.]
Pargiter's work undoubtedly raised the status of the puranas as historical documents, and even the status of the puranas generally.17 [17 For a good survey of reactions to Pargiter, see U. N. GHOSHAL: Studies in Indian History and Culture, Bombay: Orient Longmans, 1965 ed., pp. 37-48: The Historical Traditions in the Puranas.] Again and again one comes across statements to the effect that the puranas, as sources of history and otherwise, have been neglected and underestimated so far, but all that has changed now, thanks to Pargiter.18 [18 S. BHlMASANKARAO: Historical Importance of the Puranas, QJAHRS 2,1927-28, 81-90, who pleads for a renewed study of the puranas to arrive at a reliable history of Andhra.] In fact, "with the publication of Mr. Pargiter's [Purana Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age] a new development in Pauranic studies may be said to have been started."19 [19 N.K. SIDHANTA: The Heroic Age of India. A Comparative Study, London: Kegan Paul, 1929, p. 31. "Though the imagination of an age devoid of the proper historical sense may have confused fact and fiction, it is nevertheless possible to disentangle the two threads and build up a history of the past on the basis of the Puranas" (ibid.). Cf. Nripendra Kumar DUTT: The Aryanisation of India, Calcutta: Mukhopadhyay, 2 1970, pp. 131-146: Pargiter's Theory.] From now onward "the Puranas represent an authentic historical chronicle."20 [20 V. R. RAMACHANDRA DIKSHITAR: The Puranas: their historical value, PO 2, 1937-38, 77-83 at 77.] They give us "a complete picture" and "a trustworthy and. accurate account" of the various periods in ancient Indian history.21 [21 K.P. JAYASWAL: History of India 150 A.D. to 350 A.D., Lahore: Motilal Banarsi Dass, 1934, pp. 122, 154.] Even in the deteriorated, extant puranas "there are various indications which show definitely that particular care was taken in early times to study and preserve correctly the dynastic lists and accounts, which later came to be recorded more or less systematically in the Puranas."22 [22 HAZRA 1962: 264.] Also, "whatever those ancient authors did or wrote, they did it with sincerety and accuracy;" as a result "the Puranic lists of dynasties of kings and kingdoms furnish details of dates to an extent that even in days of historical records may be surprising."23 [23 KRISHNAMACHARIAR 1937: xliii.] Special mention may be made here again of Vincent A. Smith, who used the puranic king lists repeatedly in his authoritative Early History of India.24 [24 E. g., 4 pp. 31-32 (Magadha 6th cent. B.C.), 41-43 (Nandas), 51 (Saisunagas and Nandas), 230 (Andhras); he regrets that the puranas pay little attention to South India (p. 467).] The most recent follower25 [25 And also his defender against criticism: "The only valuable work on [the purana], by Pargiter, was treated with an unwarranted rudeness, especially by Keith, under the influence of the XIX century principle that because an oral tradition has been handed down, it was probably wrong. If the trend of recent work on our own dark ages, or on the Greek and Roman, has been to rehabilitate tradition, it is quite wrong to refuse that benefit to the Indian: that Indians should have been inaccurate is not impossible, but to say that they told nothing but lies is to make high demands on credulity ... We therefore believe that the a priori case for belief for Pargiter and the Purana has far more rational support than that for scepticism" (JAOS 77, 1957, 116).] of Pargiter is R. Morton Smith. In three articles and one book26 [26 On the Ancient Chronology of India, JAOS 77, 1957, 116-129, 266-280; 78, 1958, 174-192; -- Dates and Dynasties in Earliest India, Translation and Justification of a Critical Text of the Purana Dynasties, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973.] he not only applied Pargiter's methods, but further expanded them, and applied them to a longer period of history.27 [27 "The advocates of Traditional History cannot claim to be heard with respect till [a critical text of the relevant passages of the purana] has been made; once it has been, it will be seen that the purana makes good historical sense, consistent with the data of archaeology" (1973, p. v).] He established the chronology of all kings, both prehistoric and historic, from about 1800 B.C. until A.D. 249 (the death of king Pulomavi III of Andhra).28 [28 For a description and critique of Smith's book, see P.H.L. EGGERMONT, IIJ 18, 1976, 284-287. Eggermont notes that some inconsistencies in Smith's chronological system result from "the author's confidence in the existence of a single universal chronology of a supposed original Purana, which he shares with Pargiter and his school. In my opinion it is, on the contrary, evident that there must have existed a great many Puranic chronological systems belonging to various periods of India's history, and supplying a great variety of data and dates which have coalesced into the attractive collections we have at our disposal at present."]
This is not to say that the puranas have been universally accepted by historians as documents that could be fully relied on.29 [29 See WINTERNITZ' review of PARGITER 1913, WZKM 28, 1914, 302-307. According to V.S. SUKTHANKAR (On the Home of the So-called Andhra Kings, ABORI 1, 1918-20, 21-42 at 28), "a glance at the formidable list of variae lectiones published with the text of extracts collected by Pargiter ... will convince anyone of the futility of trying to get a reliable and in every way satisfactory text." Cf. N. SUBRAHMANIAN (Historiography: India and the West, Bulletin of the Institute of Traditional Culture, Madras, 1962, Part II, 253-308): The Pauranika, like the historical novelist, allows fiction to dominate facts. So they lack credentials from the point of view of the historian" (p. 259); " ... it is not [the Pauranika's] fault that he confounds the historian; for he never professed to serve the purposes which a modern scientific historian keeps in view; but it is the historian's misfortune that he has to depend on the Pauranika" (p. 260).] Pargiter immediately met with criticism from A.B. Keith.30 [30 For the controversy between Pargiter and Keith, see below. Some Indian scholars, even though they had their own doubts about the puranas, felt it necessary to defend them against Keith. E. g., Hemchandra RAYCHAUDHURI: Political History of Ancient India, Calcutta University, 41938, p. 6; Vidya Dhar MAHAJAN: Ancient India, Delhi: S. Chand, 4 1968, pp. 12-13.] A.L. Basham expressed skepticism about using the puranas for the reconstruction of ancient Indian history: the king lists do provide information on some historical kings, but, in general, they "are corrupt and, as far as we can see, unreliable."31 [31 A. L. BASHAM: The Puranas and Indian History, Prachya Pratibha 1,1973, 18-31 at 25.] It also comes as no surprise to see D. D. Kosambi refer to "the endless insipid drivel of medieval Sanskrit Puranas."32 [32 D. D. KOSAMBI: Ancient India: A History of Its Culture and Civilization, New York-Cleveland: The World Publishing Co., 1969, p. 174. Besides, "brahmin indifference to past and present reality not only erased Indian history but a great deal of real Indian culture as well." Cf. also Kosambi's The Study of Ancient Indian Tradition, in Indica (Bombay: St. Xavier's College, 1953), pp. 196-214 (pp. 199-203: Pargiter's Theory).]
In any case, scholars have used puranas to reconstruct Indian history, more or less cautiously and critically, with greater33 [33 PUSALKAR (1968: 708-709), writing about himself, says that "in the Vedic Age, Pusalker has attempted to give a connected history of ancient India from earliest time to the period of the Buddha."] or lesser34 [34 D. R. BHANDARKAR (Lectures on the Ancient History of India, on the Period from 650 to 325 B.C., Calcutta University, 1919), in the chapter on "Political History," quotes puranas repeatedly, obviously without enthusiasm. For the period of the Buddha, "The only chronicle that is relied on for this period is the Puranas, but it is a hopeless task to reduce the chaos of Puranic accounts to any order. Some attempts no doubt have recently been made to deduce a consistent political history from these materials, but without any success as far as I can see" (p. 58). The attempts referred to are S.V. VENKATESWARA AYYAR: The Ancient History of Magadha, IA 45, 1916, 8-16, 28-31, and K.P. JAYASWAL: Saisunaka and Maurya, JBORS 1, 1915, 67-116 (see there, pp. 67-68, for a number of specific rules on how to use the puranic lists.)] enthusiasm, being aware that "the Puranas are often surprisingly right in their statements; but not seldom they are equally mistaken."35 [35 L. D. BARNETT: Political History of India, CR 3rd ser., vol. 10, Jan.-March 1924, 249 (review of H. C. Raychaudhuri: Political History of Ancient India, 11923). Similarly, WINTERNITZ (1963: 1.464): "The puranas are valuable to the historian and the antiquarian as sources of political history by reason of their genealogies, even though they can only be used with great caution and careful discrimination," with a footnote: "As historical sources they surely do not deserve such confidence as is placed in them by F. E. Pargiter." Cf. also GYANI Agniº 1964: 2-3; P. C. JOSHI et al.: Ancient Indian History, Civilization and Culture, Delhi: S. Chand, 1968, pp. 16-17.] One characteristic feature of recent historical research is the search for extraneous evidence which corroborates the data contained in the puranas, and, as a result, is considered to lift the suspicion which these data might otherwise be regarded with.36 [36 PARGITER himself (1913: xxii) indicates that he corrected puranic names "by reference to other books or to inscriptions." According to A. A. MACDONELL (India's Past, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1927, p. 246) the statements of the puranas "cannot ... be treated as historical without a good deal more corroborative evidence than has yet been forthcoming." Cf. R. C. MAJUMDAR (in Sircar: Bharata War, p. 8): "If any Puranic account gets support from any other source, then that account may be regarded as historical;" Romila THAPAR (A History of India. Volume One, Pelican Books,1966, p. 28): "Had this literary source [i.e., the puranas] been the only one available the basis for discussion of the beginning of Indian history would have been limited."] This extraneous evidence can take multiple forms. One of them, Vedic literature, will be discussed separately. Other means of checking puranic data include epigraphy and archeology, 37 [37 H.C. RAYCHAUDHURl (Notes on Certain Post-Mauryan Dynasties, AIOC 10, 1941, 390-395 at 390) objects that the puranas fail to mention many ruling families known from archaeological evidence, and suspects a number of puranic royal lineages which are not confirmed by inscriptions.] popular sources,37a [37a Ruprecht GEIB (Indradyumna-Legende. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Jagannatha Kultes, [Freiburger Beitrage zur Indologie 7,] Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1975) uses, among other things, popular Oriya sources to check the data of the Vaisnava puranas on the Jagannatha cult and the Indradyumna legend. The popular -- and pre-Vaisnava Saiva -- sources have the advantage that they originated from parties whose interests were diametrically opposed those who produced the Vaisnava sources.] Buddhist and Jaina literatures generally,38 [38 R. C. MAJUMDAR (Sources of Indian History, HCIP I, 1951, ch. II, pp. 47-65 at 49): they are "a valuable supplement and corrective," after the 6th cent. B.C.] and the Sinhalese chronicle Mahavamsa39 [39 According to D. R. BHANDARKAR (Lectures, pp. 67-68), the Mahavamsa is more reliable, though neglected, for the rulers of Magadha than the puranas. W. GEIGER (Mahavamsa tr., PTS 1912, pp. xlii-xliv) did not hesitate to give preference "wholly and unreservedly" to the Sinhalese chronicles over the puranas. Against Geiger, and in defense of the puranas, see Narendra Nath LAW: Presidential Address 19th Indian History Congress 1956, IHQ 32, 1956, suppl. p. 10.] and the Jaina puranas in particular.40 [40 Prahlad C. DIVANJI (Historical Value of Pauranic Works, JGRS I, 1939, 102-105 at 108): by comparing the Vaisnava and the Jaina puranas "the religious colouring given by any of them or both can be eliminated."]The puranic king lists have become the object of many -- often highly imaginative - calculations in connection with early Indian chronology. E.g., K.P. JAYASWAL: Chronological Totals in Puranic Chronicles and the Kaliyuga Era, JBORS 3, 1917, 246-262. D. R. MANKAD'S chronological system, which is closely related to his ideas on yugas and manvantaras, will be referred to in that context. Some scholars were indeed convinced that the puranic data for the earliest -- "pre-Bharata war" -- period were as reliable as those for later periods. Cf. A. S. ALTEKAR: Can we re-construct pre-Bharata-war History?, JBHU 4, 1941, 183-229; also R.M. SMITH: Dates and Dynasties in Earliest India, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973, p. 1. According to some "the first great landmark in the Puranic history is the Great Flood" (Jwala Prasad SINGHAL: Some Lights on Ancient World History from the Puranas, IHQ 3, 1927, 24-27). One author divided the earliest Indian history -- 132 reigns from Manu Vaivasvata to Mahapadma Nanda -- into five periods starting in 7350 B.C. (Gulshan RAI: Five Periods of Traditional History in the Vedic Age, IHC 4, 1940, 101-116). Expectations were also raised that the early genealogies might solve the problem of the origin and identification of the Indus Valley civilization (K. P. JAYASWAL: Presidential Address, AIOC 7, 1933, lix-lxxxvii at lxii; approvingly, A.D. PUSALKER: Presidential Address, IHC 13, 1950, 19-29 at 26); these efforts were countered by the argument that archeology "consigns the early part of the traditional account firmly to the realms of mythology" (Romila THAPAR: A History of India. Vol. 1, Pelican Books 1966, p. 29).
Examples of studies using puranic data for the reconstruction of India's earliest history are: A.D. PUSALKER: Genealogy of the Solar Dynasty in the Puranas and the Ramayana. A Critical Study, Pur 4, 1962, 23-33; Ronald M. HUNTINGTON: The Legend of Prthu. A Study in the Process of Individuation, Pur 2, 1960,188-210; Rai KRISHNADASA: Ikshvaku Genealogy in the Puranas, Pur.2, 1960, 128-150; M. RAJA RAO: The Puranic Date of the Mahabharata, JGJRI2, 1944-45, 125-143; D.S. TRIVEDA: The Intervening Age Between Pariksit and Nanda, JIH 19, 1940, 1-16; D.R. MANKAD: Chronological Distance Between Rama and Kr~I)a, JOIB 14, 1964-65, 1-13.
Other scholars, who do believe in the trustworthiness of the puranic genealogies, prefer to rely on data for the historic period only. Cf. R. C. MAJUMDAR: Sources of Indian History, in The Vedic Age, Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1965 ed., pp. 47-65 at 48; also Oxford History of India, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958, p, 61.
For the early historical dynasties, up to the Mauryas: P. L. BHARGAVA: Mauryan and Pre-Mauryan Chronology according to the Puranas, JlH 27,1949, 171-178; id.: Pre-Mauryan History according to the Puranas, IHQ 28, 1952, 232-:-239; H. G. SHASTRI: The Puranic Chronology of the Mauryan Dynasty, JOIB 9, 1959-60,387-392; S.N. Roy: Textual and Historical Analysis of the Purana-Commentary Relating to the Maurya Dynasty, Pur 14, 1972, 94-106.
For the post-Maurya dynasties: S.N. Roy: Historical Analysis of a Puranic Verse Relating to the Sunga Dynasty, pur. 11, 1969, 67-72; K.P. JAYASWAL: The Yaunas of the Puranas and the Last Kushana Emperor in India, JBORS 18, 1933, 201-206; S.A. JOGLEKAR: Satavahana and Satakarni, ABORT 27, 1946, 237-287; P.L. BHARGAVA: The Satavahana Dynasty of Daksinapatha, IHQ 26, 1950, 325-329; Sidhakar CHATTOPADHYAYA: Home of the Satavahanas, JIH 41, 1963, 749-755; id.: The Puranic Account of the Satavahanas, JIH 44, 1966,359-365; id.: A Note on the Satavahanas, ABORI 48-49, 1968, 375-381.
For the Guptas: D. R. PATIL: Gupta Inscriptions and the Puranic Tradition, BDCRI 2, 1940-41, 148-165 + Appendix (59 pp.); B. BHATTACHARYA: New Light on the History of the Imperial Gupta Dynasty, JBRS 30, 1944, 1-46; R. C. MAJUMDAR: A Forged Purana Text on the Imperial Guptas, IHQ 20, 1944, 345-350; D. C. GANGULY: The puranas on the Imperial Guptas, IHQ 21, 1945, 141-143; Dasaratha SHARMA: The puranas on the Imperial Guptas, IHQ 30, 1954, 374-378; S.N. Roy; Some Notes and Observations on the Puranic Account of the Imperial Guptas, Pur 12, 1970, 265-285; D.R. MANKAD: Samudragupta in the Puranas, AIOC 13 (1946) 1951, 2.417-422; A.D. PUSALKER: Vikramaditya in the puranas, BhV 8, 1947, 129-134; S.N. Roy: On the Identification of the Puranic King Pramati, VIJ 7, 1969, 109-118 [Pramati= Candragupta II Vikramaditya].
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