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].