Kalpataru

(“wishing-tree”) Extensive collection of
writings on matters relating to religious
law, compiled by the scholar
Lakshmidhara in the middle of the
twelfth century. The Kalpataru is one of
the earliest examples of commentarial
literature known as nibandhas (“collections”). The nibandhas were collections
of Hindu lore, in which the compilers
drew references on a particular theme
from the Vedas, dharma literature,
puranas, and other authoritative religious texts. Then they compiled these
excerpts into a single volume. Each of
the Kalpataru’s fourteen volumes is
devoted to a particular aspect of Hindu
religious life, including daily practice,
worship, gift-giving (dana), vows, pilgrimage, penances (prayashchitta),
purification, and final liberation of the
soul (moksha). As one of the earliest
nibandhas, the Kalpataru formed
a model for later writers and was also
an important resource for them.
Lakshmidhara’s writing is unusual
because he used very few sources for his
work—primarily the epic Mahabharata
and a few of the sectarian collections
known as puranas. Unlike later
commentators, he does not cite the
Vedas, the earliest Hindu religious texts,
or the prescriptions found in the dharma
literature. His text also consists mostly
of these excerpted passages with very
little commentary of his own, whereas
later nibandha writers often give
voluminous explanations.