15 Vaikhānasa-dharma-praśna

15 Vaikhānasa-dharma-praśna

  1. Vaikhānasa-dharn-prasna

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  1. Vaikhānasa-dharma-prasna The work has been published in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series by Pandit T. Gunapati Sastri (1913) and also edited by Dr. Caland in B. I. Series (1927) and translated into English ( 1929 ) with a learned Introiluction.

Mahadeva in his commentary called Vaijayanti ( Anandā srama ed.) on the Satyasādha Franta sūtra speaks of six Srauta Sutras of the Black Yajurveda viz. Baudhāyana, Bharadvāja , Āpastamba, Hiranyakeśin, Vādhūla and Vaikhā nasa, and frequently cites passages from the Vaikhānasa srautasūtra. In the Carana vyūlia of Saunaka, Vādhūla and Vaikhanasa are not mentioned. But that Vaikhānasa was a very ancient writer follows from the references contained in the ancient dharma works. In Gautaina the word Vaikha nasa’ occurs (Dh. S. III. 2) as the name for the order of forest hermits ( Vivaprastha ) and in another Sūtra (III. 26 ) he lays down that fire was to be consecrated according to the Srāmaṇaka,227 which latter is explained by Haradatta as Vaiklānasa Sāstra. Baudhayana (Dh. S. II. 6. 17 ) has the same Sūtra228 and defines a Vaikhanaga as one who follows the rules of conduct laid down in Viikhānasa sastra (Dh. S. II. 6. 16 ). The Vasistha Dh. S. (9. 10 ) also has the same sūtra as Gautama (Dh. S. III. 26). The Manusmrti (VI. 21) speaks of the Vānajrastha as one who abiiles by the views of Vaikhānasa ( Vaikhānasamate sthital ). Gau. III. 25-34 and Vas. IX. 1-11 deal with Vaikhannsa. Printed Gaut. III. 26 reads ‘śravanakenāgnimñdhāya’ while Vas. IX. 10 hus’ sra manakenāgnimūdhāyāhitāgnili syāt’.

Kalpataru ( Mokṣakānda ) p. 20 reads as ‘śrāvanakena’, quotes Bhatriyajia as ‘Vaikhanasam śāstram frīvanakam’, on P. 22 quotes a very long prose passage from Harita beginning with “Tretām Srāvanakaṁ vāgnimāilhāya’. The Manu

227 ‘squat ( HTAUTTA? ) HfHATSA’sht. 47.9. 3. 26 and al. 47. T.

    1. 17, along IX. 10. 228 गोविन्दम्वामी, the commentator of Baud., says ‘वैस्वानसोपि वानप्रस्थ

एव । संज्ञान्तरकरणं तु संव्यवहारार्थम् । विखनसा ऋषिणा प्रोक्तं खाना शाखम् । तत्र हि बहवो वानप्रस्थारयोक्ता ग्रामे पञ्चतपा इमाइयः

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smrti ( VI. 1-32 ) deals at length with the stage of Vānapra stha or Vaikhānasa. From Manu VI. 21 it follows that a śāstra called Vaikhanasa was known to the Manusmrti. Kalpataru ( Brahmacārio p. 268 ) quotes a long passage from Hārīta Dharmasūtra, which says that four asramas are a ladder by which gods and the pitre reached immortality (saisā śramanisrenir-yayā devāh sva pitarascāmitatvam agacchan)?. Maskaribhāsya on Gaut. Dh, S. (III, 2) explains · Vikhānasā proktam sāstram Vaikhānasam tadvidhinā vartata iti Vaikha nasah’ and quotes an interesting prose passage from Uśanas ‘Dvau brahmacārinā upakurvāno naisthikas-ca dvau Vaikhā nasau sapatniko vipatnīkasceti, dvau sannyāsinau bhiksu– sannyāsi vedasannyāsi ceti, bahudhā grhasthāh sālina-yāyā varādibhedenaSrāmanaka is probably derived from the word ‘Sramana’ that is found in Bṛ. Up. IV. 3. 22, which describes the state of a person who has realized the Highest Self. He is then above and beyond all the ordinary relations of life, such as, if he was a sramana before, he becomes aśramana or if he was a tiposu he becomes devoid of that state &c. Vide Tai. Ar. II. 7. 1 and · Kumārah sramanādi. bhih’ Panini II. 1. 70. Vaikhānasa is forined from the word Vikhanas.

The Vaikhānasadharmapraśna is divided into three pras nas, each praśna being subdivided into khandas. There are in all 41 khandas. The work is a small one. The contents of the work are :-). the four wrnols and their privileges, and the four āśrumas ; duties of brahmacarin; four kinds of brah macūrins ; duties of the householder; four kinds of grhastha, vārtāvrtti ( subsisting by agriculture ), sāliva, yāyāvara and ghorācārika; forest anchorites; vānaprasthas are either sapat nika ( accompanied by their wives ) or apatnika (not so acco mpanied ); Saputnika are of four sorts, Audumbara, Vairiñca, Vālakhilya and Phenapa; apatnīka Vāna prasthas; four kinds of bhiksus, viz. kuticaka, bahūdaka, hamsa and parama hamsa; sakāma (performed with desire of wordly gain ) and niṣkāma (not so performed ) kurma; pravrtti and nivștti; three kinds of Yogins and their sub-divisions ; II. the details of the grāmanaka rites of the vānaprastha ( khandas 1-4); duties of the forest hermit; details of joining the order of saṁnyāsins ( khandas 6-8); age for samnyāsa ( above seventy or when childless or widower); every day duties and obiger vances of samnyāsins; about ācumana and sandhyā; sa Mare

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ing ( abhivādana ) of all relatives, male and female; holidays from study (anadhyāya); bath and Brahmayajña ; rules about taking food; forbidden and permitted food; III. rules of con duct for gphastha ( khandas 1-3); rules of the road; purifica tion of golden and other metallic things ; purification of other things; about vanaprastha; bhiksu; burial of a sannyāsin ; Nārāyanabali on the death of a sannyūsin, tarpana in the case of sann yðsins with twelve names of Viṣṇu, Keśava &c. and with water; anuloma and praciloma; the intermediate castes; Vrutyus, their origin; name, and means of subsistence (khandas 11-15).

The Vaikbinasadharmapraśna appears by its style and its contents to be a work of comparatively later date than the dharmasūtras of Gautama and Baudbāyana. It is probably a recast of older materials. It contains the names of more mixed castes than the dharmasūtras and than even some of the later smrtis. The present work seems to have been either written or retouched by u devotee of Visųu. Faith in and devotion to Viṣṇu or Nirāyana looms very large here (I. 5. 5 vārāyana parāyaṇāh, I. 7.6 and 9; II. 4-5 bhaktyā Viṣṇum dhyāyan, III. 7.3; Nārayanaparam brahmeti brutah, (IIH 9.3 Visno rālayapārsve). It speaks of the eight angas of Yoga ( I. 10. 9 ), of the Ayurveda with its eight anges and of some treatise on evil spirits ( bhūtatantra III. 12. 7). It refers to the views of some in the word ’eke’ (1. 7. 4. and II. 9. 10). It speaks of the Srāmanaka fire (in I. 6.2 and I. 7. 3-4). It does not allow saunyūsue to Ksatriyas ( I. 1. 11 ). Vikhauas is cited as an authority (11. 5 9 and III. 15. 14 ).

Būhler found it ms. of the Vaikhānasasūtra consisting of a grlıya in seven praśnas, three praśnas of dharma (the same as described above) and a fourth on pravurus. In the grhya a reference to Budhavāra occurs. " It is worthy of notice that the Vaikhanaga-gshya (II. 12. 1-2, Caland’s ed. p. 30 ) men tions Budhavāra in ‘Athāsādhopākarma kuryūt lāpuryamāna Pakse rikti-parvari varjayitvā Budhavāre tithim gļhụāti ‘, and that fifty ūbutis are offered to Agni, the Earth, the four Vedas &c. and among others to Savitri, Prajāpati, Usanas, Cyavana, Bșhaspati, Angiras, Saikha, Likhita.

Besides, the Vaik. Gr. in IV. 10. 1. and 3 provides that after the daily homa in fire Viṣṇu should be worshipped, at such worship becomes the worship of all gods and that up

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image of Vinnu should be established in the house and wor ship should be offered to it in the morning and evening every day after homa. Further, the Grhya in IV. 13 provides for gruhusārti, since the proper functioning of the world depends on gruhus. They are mentioned in the same order as in Yāj. I. 295 and the procedure, though similar to that in Yāj. I. 295-308, is more elaborate on some points. For example, it refers (IV. 14 ) to the classification of nakṣatras into janma, karma, sārghātika, sāmudāyika and vainasika, which is not found in Yāj. but occurs in Yogayatrā of Varāha mihira. Vide H. of Dh. Vol. V. part 1 p. 529, notes 762-63.

Dr. Caland in his paper on Vaikhanasasūtra holds that the Manusmrti borrows from Vaikhānasagrhya and that the author of the latter was saturated with the idiom of Dravi :dian languages ( vide Prof. Keith’s review in Bulletin of tbe School of Oriental Studies, 1927, p. 623 ). Dr. Caland’s view about Manu is entirely wrong as will appear froin the section on Manu. Vide Th. Bloch in ūber das Grhya-und Dharma sūtra der Vaikhūnasa’( Leipzig, 1896). … Dr. Çaland ( Intro. pp. XVI-XIX) put forward certain parallelisms between the Manusmrti and the Vaikhinasa smārta-sūtra. They are so flimsy that no serious notice need be taken of them and no acceptable conclusions can be based on them. Dr. Ergers published in 1929 ( at Gottingen ) his work Das Dharmasūtra des Vaikhānasa’, which was reviewed in J. R. A. S. for 1929 pp. 916-918. Looking to all that has been stated above the extant Vaik. Grhya-sūtra and Dharma-sūtra are later than Yūj. and may be assigned to about 300 to 100 A. D. Vide Dr. Caland’s Intro. to the translation of the Smārtasūtra pp. XV ff.

Other Sutra Works on Dharma It will be proper to say a few words about some other sūtra works on dharma that are only available in mss. or are to be reconstructed from quotations in the digests. It is by no means to be supposed that these works that will be spoken of here were composed as early as those of Gautama, Anasta mba and others or’were composed before the extant Manu and Yajṅavalkya. But as the chronology of all ancient works on dharma is somewhat in a nebulous state, it is best to Weat here of all works, written in the sūtra style, even though

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individual cases they inay really belong to a later age than the works composed entirely in verse. They will be taken up in alphabetical order (Sanskrit ).