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fine for selling and purchasing land without the consent of the neighbouriny members of the family and says that in case of pre-emption the neighbours on the east are preferred to all and those on the south come last. :02 Sunintu defines a mort gage by conditional sale (callel uktilihhakraya’) and a sale for arrears of revenue by the king’s orders (called ajna kraya ).303

Vide reconstruction of Sumanta by Prof. T. R. Chintamani in JOR ( Madras ) vol. VIII. pp. 75 ff.

The Smrtis The word smști is used in two senses. It is applied to all ancient orthodox non-Vedic works such as Panini’s gram mar, to the srauta, grhya and dharma sutras, to the Mahabha. rata, to Manu, Yijnavalkya and others. In a narrower sense smrti and dharmasāstra are synonyms, as Manu says.304. The word smrti occurs in Taittiriya Aranyaka (I. 2). Gautama (Dh. S. I. 2) and Vasistha (Dh. S. I. 4) speak of smrti as one of the sources of Dharma. Ap. Dh. S. (II. 6. 15. 25) employs the word smrti and has in view Gautama’s Dharma sutra according to Haradatta. In the Purvamimāṁsā-sutra the word smrti occurs ( vide VI. 8. 23 and XII. 4. 42 ).306 lu the Vedrutusutrus the word smrti is employed in a wide seuse, in one place as relerring even to the sankhya system.308

302 ज्ञा यादी ननुज्ञा य समी स्थानतन्द्रिना। क्रय विक्रयकर्तारौ तत्समं दण्डमर्हतः ॥

सरस्वती. p. 322; ‘चतुःसामन्तसांनिध्ये प्राची दिग्बलवत्तरा । उदीची च

प्रतीची च सर्वाभावे तु दक्षि . | p. 323. 303 मिचिच्च द्रव्यमादाय काले दास्यामि ते कचित् । नो चेन्मूलमिदं त्यक्तं केदार.

स्येति यः क्रयः ।। स उ तलाभ इत्युक उक्तकालेप्यनर्यणा [ ॥ सरस्वती. p. 324; मूल्यस्य पादमध वा मूल्यमाज्ञाकये स्थितम् । मूल्यं तदाप्तमखिलं दत्त्वा क्षेत्रं समा हुयात् ॥ आ त्रिभोगात् ततः केतुः परतो दृढतामियात् ।

p. 323. 304 श्रुतिस्तु वेशे विज्ञयो धर्मशास्त्रं तु वै स्मृतिः । मनु II. 10. 305 स्मृते।। स्याद् ब्राह्मगानान् । पू. मी. सू. XII. 4. 42 (refers to

आधिज्य ). 306 स्मृत्यनवकाशशेयस. इति चेमान्यस्मृत्य नवकाशदो प्रसङ्ग । वेदान्तरमा

III,I

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In that work the word is used, according to Śhaṅkara, with reference to the Mahābhārata or the Manusmrti ( Vedānta sutra II. 3. 47, III. 1. 14, IV. 2. 14 ).

Manu applies the word Smṛti also to works that are opposed to and beyond the pale of the Veda (on XII. 95 ).307 But the word is used in this work in a narrower sense viz. Smrti means a work that is not opposed to the Veda or that does not treat the Veda as not authoritative and treats of varṇa, jāti, āśramas and cognate topics. The word Smști occurs in the Mahābharata (Santiparva 85. 10). But the more frequent word is Dharmaśāstra, though Manu (II. 10) says . Smiti is Dharmaśāstra.’ On Pān. I. 2. 64308 there is a vārtika ‘Dharmaśāstram ca tathā’ ( 39 in vol. I. p. 242 of Kiel horn’s ed.). Passages in the Mahābhāṣya show that Patan 307 The Tantravārtika (p. 196, Ānad. od. ) refers to this gracugat

विकर्मस्था हैतुकाचैत एव हि ॥ एतदीया ग्रन्था एव च मन्वादिभिः परिहार्य

anteht: - IT carit: …… TAAST BE AT: war: Il’. 308 Thia lngt vorse is 97 XII. 95.

HATITI 7 7911 amet 93 00 7. 1. 2. 61 (vol. I. p. 242, Klelhorn’s od. ). The HETAT:7 remarks gaat gocat there Yaai seront a plat: granula alama aparat gitara 9 a audi’. The sains words agaiu occur on Vārtika 5 to Pā. VI. 1. 84 ( Kiolboro, vol. III. p. 57 ). some select sin rti passages from the Mahābhāṣya are cited here aod it would be shown that some of thoin occur io Munu, Mahabharata and in othor comparativoly anriont works. Vido above p. 14 poto 528 for some oxamplos and a few more are added bere. (A) : 991 yarra 73: H ā qat: ll on Pān. Ill. 3. 167 ; tbis occurs in Striparva 2. 24; (b) 79: via TIF UNCATEPTATTI 1979:

atPat jalat gaara T FT: 11 on Pān. V. 1. 115; 31651747 ( 121, 7 ) has the first half and the 2nd half is far frut: Hyriagat भवति वै द्विजः ॥ ( 0 ) पञ्च पञ्चनखा भक्ष्या इत्यु के गम्यते एतदतोऽन्येऽ 737 Ta (p. 5 of Kielhorn’s vol. I); compare Āp. Dh. 8. I. 5. 17. 35 q era TiT…1, Gautama 17. 27. Vas. 14. 39 ; Manu V 18, Yaj. I. 177 ; (d) TATTI FE ai o tome on Patate 3 and 4; compare Manu IV. 144. For THEÀ A 3724 d

#: &0. citod there, vide respectively Gau Mapu II. 36 and Āp. Db. 8. I. 6. 18. 2 and Vās. III. 31… FOUNDED

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jali had before him a large smrti literature. Vide I. H. Q. vol. II. pp. 67 ff; I. A. vol. 14. pp. 326-27 ( Kielhorn), I. H. Q. vol. XI. pp. 79-90; Dr. F. W. Thomas Presentation Volume pp. 128-133 on ‘Mahabharata verses and very ancient Dharma sūtras and other works’ (by the present author). The Maha bhārata is spoken of as Dharmasastra, Arthaśāstra and Kama sāstra (in Adi. 2. 383). The word Dharınaśāstresu or Dhar maśāstrāṇi (in the plural) occurs frequently in the great epic ( vide Vanaparva 207. 83, 293. 34, 313. 5; Sānti. 24. 13, 297. 40, Anuśāsana 90. 34). The extant Manusmrti also (in III 232) mentions “Dharmaśāstrāni." Dharmaśāstra is a much wider term than Dharmasūtra. The Dharmasūtras are only a few while there are dozens of Dharmaśāstras. Vide p. 21 above for points of difference between Dharnasūtras and Dharnarsāstras.

It may be stated that Inscriptions from comparatively early times refer to Smṛtis, particularly to the Smrti of Manu. The Valabhi grant of Dhruvasena of Valabhi year 207 (i. e. 525 -6 A. D.) published in 1. A. vol. II. p. 205 qualifies the king as *Manvādi-pranīta-vidhi vidhānā-dharmā.’ The Palitana platea of Simhadeva in the year 255 of the Valabhi era (i. e. 574 A. D. in E. I. Vol. XI. pr 16-20 of the Samanta-Mahārāja-Simhā ditya speaks of Varihausa (the father of the ruling chief) as ‘one whose intellect was puritieil by plunging into the, waters of the several Sirtis composed by Manu and others. Similarly, in the Paltana plates of Dharasena Il of (Gupta Samviat) 2.32 (i, e. 571 A, D.) in E. I. Vol. XI. pp. 80 at p. 82, we have the striking description of Guhasena ( father of Dharasena as oue in whose case the title ‘raju’ was significant because he pleased the hearts of his subjects by properly observing the path laid down by all Sinitis (sakala-smrti pranīta-marya-samyak-paripālnna-piraji-hrdaya - ranjanād auvartha-raja -śabilu!). In the Pulibumra pates of the Estern Cāluky: king Jayasimha ! ( 632-663 A. D. ) occur the words

Bphaspatiriva nayajāo Manuriva vinayajñaḥ, Yudhisthira iva dharmaparāyunalı’(E. I. vol. 15 at p. 256 ). : The same words (i. e. those in E. I. Vol. XI. at p. 82) occur in the Wala plate of Guhasena of Su ,vut 246 ( of the Valabhi er, i. e. 565 A. D.). A much later grant of China mina Ratonpāla of the Vikramt year 1176 (1119 20 AD) ia ( E. I. XI. pp. 304–313 ) speaks of the donee as ‘devoted to

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the study of Itihāsa-Purāṇa-Rāmiyana Bhārata-pada-vākya Yājṅavalkya-Kātyāyana-Bhrgu Algiro-Mārkaydeya - Bhat tadarśanādi-saṭśāstrābhiratasya’ (on p. 311). Here the Smrti uuthors Yajṅavalkya, Kātyāyana, Bhrgu ( meaning probably ·Manu’), Argiras and Mūrkandeya are specially mentionel, besides the six Philosophical systems of Bhatta

(i.e. Kumirila) and others.

Smrtis mirrored the beliefs and practices of people and also influenced writers and ordinary people. For example, Dr. Sterubach in Journal of Bharatiya-VidyĀ, Vol. XI. ( 1961 pp. 221 309), shows how the Pancatantra stories are often based on or relate to separate judicial problems of civil aud criminal law as well as procedure, although it does not solve any of the problems raised. The Raghuvamsa (I. 17 ) states that the subjects of Dilipa did not swerve in the least from the beaten path laid down from the days of Manu. In Raghu yamsa XIV. 67 Kālidāsa says that Munu laid down that the Dharma of a king was to safeguard varṇas and āśramus ( vide Manusmrti VII. 35). The drama Micchakaṭika (Act IX) shows that a Brāhmana guilty of murder was not to be senten ced to death and the judge refers to the dictum of Manu (pro bably Manusmrti VIII. 380 ) to that effect.

In ancient times the number of smrtis (i. e. works on dharmasastra ) must have been very small. Gautama men tions by name no smrtıkāra except Mauu, though he speks of dharınaśūstras (XI. 19). Baudhiyana names seven (besides himself) authors on dharma, viz. Au pujanghani, Katya, Kāśyapa, Gautama, Prajapati, Mandgalya and Hirita. Vasi stha uaines only tive authors, Gautama, Prajāpati, Manu, Yama and Hārita. Āpastumba meutions a large number, viz. ten, some of whom like Eka, Kuṇika and Puskurasādi are no more than mere names to us. Manu speaks of only six ( besi. des himself) viz. Atri, the son of Utathya, Bhrgu, Vasistua, Vaikhāvaga (or ruther Vikhamas ) and Suunaka. But in all these works the writers are mentioned only casually aud there is no regular enumeration or list of writers ou dharma in one place. A parārku quotes (p. 7) a sutra of Gautama (not found in the priuted G. Dh. S.) in which sixteen authors of dharmaśāstras including himself are enumerated. 308 The 309 अत्र गौतमः। स्मृतिर्धर्मशास्त्राणि तेषां प्रणेतारो मनुविष्णुदशातिरोत्रबृहस्पत्यशान,

आपस्तम्बगौतमसंवतात्रेयका यायनशङ्कलिखित पराशरव्यासशातातप चेतायाव क्यादयः ।

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same sūtra with slight variations is ascribed to Saṅkha-Lik hita in the Viramitrodaya ( Paribhasa-prakāsa p. 16). Yaj fiavalkya is probably the earliest writer who enumerated in one place ( I. 4-5) twenty expounders of dharma (including himself and counting Saṅkba and Likhita as two distinct persons ). It will be noticed that Yāj. omits Baudhāyana. Parāśara also gives a list of 19 expounders of dharma (exclu ding himself), but his list differs slightly from that of Yāj. Parīśara omits Brhaspati, Yama and Vyāsa and adds Kās. yapa, Gārgya and Pracetas. The Tantra-vārtika (p. 125 ) of Kumārila 81 enks of eighteen dharmasamhitās. Viśvarūpa quotes a verse of Vrddha-Yājñavalkya, who adds ten names to the list of Yājṅavalkya (vide note 262 a bove).310 The Catur viṇsatimata is a work which professes to give the views of 24 sages on dharmaśāstra, viz. all those listed by Yāj. (except Kātyāyana and Likhita ) and six more, viz. Gārgya, Narada, Baudhāyana, Vatsa, Viśvamitra, Sarkha ( Sāṅkhyāyana ? ). Aigiras as quoted in the Smaticandrika (I. p. 1), Hemadri ( Danak handu p. 528 ), the Sarasvativilisa (p. 13) and other works mention Upasınrtis,311 There is a smrti called Sattrim sanmata quoted by the Mit., Aparirka and other works. Paithinasi as quoted in the Smyticandrıkā, the Samskāra mayākha and other works enumerates 36 smrtis.313 Apara rka says that the Bhaviṣyatpurāṇa speaks of 36 smṛtis and

310 वनारो धर्मशास्त्राणां मनुर्विणुर्यमोङ्गिराः । वसिष्ठदक्षसंवर्तशातातपपराशराः ॥

आपस्तम्बोशनोव्यासाः कात्यायनबृहस्सती । गौतमः शङ्कलिखिता हारीतोत्रिरहं तथा ॥ याज्ञ. I. 4-5 ( Trivandrum ed.). The Mit. reads the two versos differently though the names are tho samo नारदः पुलहो गार्यः पुलस्त्यः शौनकः ऋतु । बौधायनो जातुकर्णो विश्वामित्रः पितामहः ।। जाबालि चिकेतश्च स्कन्दो लौगाक्षिकश्यपौ । व्यासः सनत्कुमारश्च शन्तनुर्जनकम्तथा ॥ व्याघ्रः कात्यायनश्चैव जातूकर्ण्यः कपिञ्जलः । बौधायनश्च काणादो विश्वामित्रम्तथैव च ॥ पै.निसिर्गोभिलश्चेत्युपस्मृतिविधायकाः ॥ quoted as from प्रयोगमारिजात by वीरमित्रोदय (परिभाषाप्र. p. 18 ). The att adds that the9e upasmrtis were enumorated by the Madana.

ratna also.

312 तेग मन्वगिरोव्यासगौतमात्र्युशनोयमाः । वसिष्ठ दक्षसंवर्तशातातपपराशरावा.

विण्वारस्तम्बहारीता शङ्कः कात्यायनो गरुः । प्रचेता नारदो योगी बौधा मनः पितामहौ ॥ सुमन्तुकाश्यपो बधुः पैठीनो व्याघ्र एव च ॥ सत्यव्रतो भरद्वालो

( Continued on the next page )

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his enumeration of them is slightly different from that of Paithinasi.13 The Vrddhagautamasmrti ( Jivananda part II. pp. 498-499 ) gives a list of 57 dharma-śāstras. The Prayo ga-pārijāta as quoted in the Viramitrodaya enumerates 18 principal smrtis, 18 upasmrtis and 21 other smrtikāras.s14 If all the smrtis cited in the later nibundhas such as the Nirnayasindhu, the Mayūkhas of Nilakantha and the Vira mitrodaya be taken into account, the number of smṛtis will be found to be about 100.

The sinśtis thus relied upon are the products of different and widely separated ages. Some of them are entirely in prose or in mixed prose and verse, while the large majority are in verse. A few of them are very ancient and were com posed centuries before the Christian era. Such are the dhar

masutras of Gautama, Apastamba, Baudhāyana, and the Manusmṛti. Some were composed in the first centuries of the Christian era such as the smṛtis of Yājñavalkya, Parisara, Nāraila. Most of the smṛtis other than the above fall between the period from 400 A. D. to 1000 A. D. The chronology of all these smṛtis presents perplexing problems. Some of the metrical smṛtis are remodellings of older sūtras as in the case of Saṅkha. There are sometimes as many as two or three

( Continued from the previous page) गार्यः कार्णाजिनिस्तथा ॥ जाबालिर्जमदनिश्च लौगाक्षिब्रह्मसंभवः । इति धर्म प्रणेतारः षट्त्रिंशदृषयः स्मृताः॥ quoted in the रमृतिचन्द्रिका and संस्कार

मयूख. 313 ताश्च मनविणुयमदक्षाङ्गिरोत्रिबृहस्पत्युशनापस्तम्बवसिष्ठकात्यायनपराशरव्यास

शङ्खलिखितसंवर्तगौतमशातातपहारीतयाज्ञवल्क्यप्रचेतोबुधदेवलसोमजमदग्नि विश्वामित्रप्रजापतिनारदपैटीनसिपितामहबौधायनछागलेयजाबालिच्यवनमरीचि

कदयपा इति षट्त्रिंशदेव स्मृत्यन्तरे पठिताः । अपरार्क p. 7. 314_The 18 principal स्मृतिकार’ according to the प्रयोगपारिजात are-मनु,

बृहस्पति, दक्ष, गौतम, यम, अङ्गिरस , योगीश्वर, प्रचेतस् , शातातप, पराशर, संवर्त, उशनस् , शङ्ख, लिखित, अत्रि, विष्णु, आपस्तम्ब, हारीत. The उप स्मृतिs have been onumerated above ( in n. 311 ). The other l smrtis are: वसिष्ठो नारदश्चैव सुमन्तुश्च पितामहः । विष्णुः कार्णाजिनिः सत्यव्रतो गार्ग्यश्च देवलः ॥ जमदानिर्भारद्वाजः पुलस्त्यः पुलहः क्रतुः । आवयश्च गवेयश्च मरीचिर्व स एव च ॥ पारस्करश्चर्यशृङ्गो वैजवापस्तथैव च ॥ येते स्मृतिकर्तार एकविंशतिरीरिताः ॥ वरि०, परिभाषाप्र• p. 18,

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different smṛtis going under the same name, e. g. Śatātapa, Hārīta, Atri. Then the confusion is worse confounded by the fabrications of sectarian zeal, such as the Hārītasmṛti which is full of Vaiṣṇa vite teachings. There are several works going under the naines of well-known smṛtikāras with the prefixes Vrddha, Bșhat, Laghu. In many cases the works going under these names are different from the smrtis that are without these prefixes and this differentiation took place at a very early date in certain cases; for example, so early a writer as Viśvarūpa distinguishes between Yājsavalkya and Vpildha-Yājuavalkya, Gārgya and Vṭddha-Gārgya. Similarly, Viśvarūpa quotes (on Yāj. I. 69 ) Vrddha-Manu and (on Yāj. I. 19 ) Vrddha-Vasistha, which latter probably was different from the Vasisthadharmasūtra, as the latter does not contain the details given by Viśvarūpa.815 In some cases the works designated Vrddha or Bṛhat are larger and in all cases later than the works without those prefixes. For exam. Ple, vide Parisara aud Br̥hat-Parāśara (Jivananda part II. pp. 53-309), Glutaina and Viddha-Gautana (Jivananda Part II. pp. 497-038). Some of the works with the prefix Vśddha are versified compilations of prose works e. g. Mit. on Yāj. III. 267 quotes a verse from Vrddha-Viṣṇu which is merely the versified equivalent of Visuu-dharmasūtra chap. 50. 6, 12-14. It appears that sometimes the same work is cited with the prefix Vrddha or Bșhat, e. g. the Mit. on Yāj. II. 135 quotes a passage from Brhad-visnu which is the same as the Viṣṇudharmasūtra 17. 4-7.

As most of the writers quote from memory and had recou rse to mss. and not to standard editions, even well-known verses are ascribed to different authors in different works. The verses ‘bhrātrnām-aprajāh’ &c. which are quoted as Nārada’s (Nārada 16. 25-26 ) in the Vyavahāramayukha are attributed to Sarkha in the Madana pārijāta (p. 680). The three verses about bundhus are ascribed to Baudhāyana by Madhava and to Vṛddhaśātāta pa by the Madanapārijāta (p. 674 ).

In spite of all these drawbacks, an attempt will be made in the following pages to arrange some of the leading versified smṛtis in chronological order beginning from the Manusmṛtit.

818’ allegativa pret sariata g fakta:. Vide farge. Th. In ..*84-68 for the five-pito on one’s hand,

306

All these smṛtis are not equal in authority. Most of them are obscure and are only rarely cited by ancient commenta tors. Exclusive of the dharmasutras hardly a dozen emptis have found commentators. If we are to judge of the authority of a smrti by the commentaries thereon, then the Manusmrti stands pre-eminent. Next to it is the Yājsavalkyasmrti.