- Śrīdatta Upadhyāya
Mithilā has made extremely valuable and substantial contri butions to Dharmaśāstra Literature. From the days of the Yajñavalkya smrti down to modern times the land of Mithilā has produced writers whose names are illustrious. Sridatta Upadhyāya
1133 एको लुब्धस्तु साक्षी स्यादिति कुल्लूकभट्टधृतपाठः, एको लुब्धस्त्वसाक्षी स्यादिति
BUCTURETTET 7 : 1 500 (vol. IIp. 213 ); FIAT: समभागा एव भवेयुर्नोद्धारः कस्यचिद् देय इति कुल्लूकभट्टः । दायतत्त्व ( vol.
II. p. 193 ). 1134 अत एव कुल्लूकभट्टः-राजशब्दोपि नात्र क्षत्रियजातिपरः किं त्वभिषिक्तजनपदपाल
fa5997: 1 Galfari ( ed. by Mr. Jayasval, 1921 ) p. 2.
These are the wt rds of कुल्लूक on मनु. 71.
760
is one of the earliest among the mediaeval Maithila nibandhakaras. He is the author of several works which will be briefly noticed,
The Acārādarśa of Sridatta was printed in Benares at the Divakara Press and by the Venkateśvara Press in Bombay in saṁvat 1961. It is a manual of the daily religious duties of the followers of the white Yajurveda ( Vājasaneyins ),1135 such as ācamana, brushing the teeth, morning bath, saindhyā, japa, brahma yajña, tarpana, daily worship of gods, vaiśvadeva, feeding guests etc. Among the works and writers named are the following 138.– Ācāra-cintāmani, Kalpataru, Kamadhenu, Kālikāpurana, Ganesa mjśra, Rājā (probably Bhojadeva ), Smstimahārṇava, Harihara and Halāyudha-nibandha. There is a commentary on this work called Ācārādarsabodhini composed by Gauripati or Gaurjśa, son of Dāmodara Maithila, at Benares in 1640 A. D. (Dr. Bhandar kar’s report, 1883-84, p. 347). In this work he uses several vernacular words; e. g. he says that ‘Sāla’ tree is known as Sagavanal137 ( in the vernacular ).
Sridatta’s work called ‘Chandogāhnika’ was printed by the Niruayasāgara Press (Bombay, 1930 ). It summarizes at the end the principal topics viz, rinsing the mouth, bath, morning sandhyā, five daily yajñas, bhojana (midday meal), resting thereafter, evening sandhya, evening meal, repeating the Veda, going to bed. In the Introductory verse he states: looking into the smstis, Puranas, Grhyasūtras and the nibandhas of Bhūpāla (i.e. king Bhoja) and Gopāla ( the author of the Kāmadhenu ) I shall set out the alinika ( daily rites prescribed ) for Sāmavedins. At the end also he states that he studied all the pibandhas of Bhupūla and others. It is a small work (63 printed pages), but it quotes, besides the well-known sūtras, smstis and the Mahābhārata the following works : Karma pradipa (frequently pp. 19, 47, 50, 53, 60), Kamadhenu (pp. 5, 7, 8, 12, 46 &c.), Kalpataru (pp. 4, 5, 36, 58,63 &c.), Chandoga
1135 अहोरात्राश्रितो धर्म इह वाजसनेयनाम् । निबध्यते निबद्धो यो धर्मशास्त्रनिबन्द्धभिः ।।
2nd intro, verse is D), C. Vs. N.), 342 of 1975-76; GT
भोगो मीमांसान्यायनिर्मल: । श्रीदत्तेन सतामेष आचार दर्पणः कृतः ।। 1136 Vide for गणेशमिश्र and राजा शिरस्कं मानमिति गणेशमिश्रा:’ folio
15 b of 31121 (D. C. Ms. Vo. 3+2 of 1875-76); ’ TT Targi #7140114TTEE 77 7911THTIE:’ folio 26 a; ‘ga
191476517 TOEFTETHIT TE FÅ Tiglaani folio 29 a. 1137 47644: 44 4ā giHai” fiio 3 lb (of the HRT ai. Compare
Marathi #7217!.90. Áridarta Upadhyāya
761
paddhati (p. 53 ), several Purūṇas (such as Narasimha, Devi, Nandi, Padma, Brahma, Bhaviṣya. Mārkandeya, Matsya, Linga, Vāmana, Varāha, Vāyu, Viṣṇu, Skanda), Mahārṇavaprakasa (pp. 4, 15), Mitākṣarā (p. 31), Ratnakarandıkā (p. 11), Yogi yājñavalkya (many verses quoted on pp. 9, 10, 13, 17, 19, 27, 41, 44), Haribhakti (p. 36 ), Haribhaktidipika (p. 37), Smstimañjūsā (p. 2 said to be Daksinadesiya). He referes to his own work
Sraddhakalpa’ (p. 53). For a small work like the Chando gāhnika the author quotes a very large number of authorities. It may be noted that this work specifies (on pp. 45-46) at some length the Aparādhas that Bhagavatas should not be guilty of and explains the word Bhagavata in several ways.
The Pit;bhakti is a manual on the Sraddha rites for students of the Yajurveda. It was based 138 on the Katiyakalpa with Karka’s bhāsya thereon and on the works of Gopāla and Bhupala (i. e. Bhojadeva ). It is frequently quoted in the Śrāddhaviveka of Rudradhara. Among the writers named are (besides those that occur in the Acārādarsa also ): Pitphitākaraṇikāra, Nārāyaṇa vṛtti (on Asvalāyana Gr. S.), Mitākṣarā, Ratnakarandikā, Vidhi puspamālā (26 a), śubhākara, Smstimañjari, Smstimañjūsā, Halāyudha’s Sraddhādhyāya. This work first treats of the details of the Pārvanaśrāddha, then of ekoddista, of the monthly srāddhas, the srāddha on the 11th day after death, of Sapindi karana, of abhyudayika śrāddha. It then proceeds to consider the definition of śrāddha.
The Sraddhakalpa was composed by him for the Sama vedins. It is referred to in his Samayapradipal139 and Pitbhakti (folio 33b ).
1138 कातीयकल्पं सहकर्कभाष्यं गोपाल भूपालमतादि दृष्ट्वा । सतां च वाच्यानि निशम्य
सम्यग्यजुर्विदां श्राद्धविधि विधास्ये | first verse of पितृभक्ति ( D. C. Ms. No. 152 of 1892-95). The first verse oi Chandoyāhnika is : स्मृतीः पुराणानि विलोक्य गृह्यं भूपालगोपालनिबन्धनं च। छन्दोगकृत्यानि दिनेन qila Trai T T IH HRH | The Śrāddhakalpa begins : fafa गृह्यपुराणानि भूपगोपालसंमतम् । सतां मतानि चालोक्य छन्दोगश्राद्धमुच्यते ।। अथापराधाः । भेरीशब्दमकृत्वा तु भगवत्प्रतिबाधनम् । … भगवच्छास्त्राणि त्यक्त्वा वाक्यान्तरभाषणम् । इति एते चापराधा भागवतानामेव श्रुताः। भागवतपर्ट भगवद्भक्तवाचि योगात् । केचिद्भगवद्दीक्षाजन्यसंस्कारशाली भागवत इत्याहः ।
3 g ETIHISTATTFITTENTI 1749:1 5+ZITTO pp. 45–46. 1139 ‘FUTAH : 16 TT 774997, folio 49 a (D. C. Ms. No. 371
of 1875-76). H, D, 96
762
The Samayapradipa treats of the proper times for various vratas. 1149 It is divided into three chapters (paricchedas ). The first is called Samayapariccheda and dilates upon the definition of vrata, on the procedure about fasts, nakta and the vratas of Ganesa and other deities, the second is called Samvatsara krtya-pariccheda and treats of vratās from the pratipadā to the amāvāsya in the several months and the third is called prakirnaka (miscellaneous ) dealing with the vratas on sankranti (the Sun’s passage into another Zodiacal sign) etc. In this work Sridatta often refers to the views of the Gaudas and contrasts them with his own. He also refers to Gaudanibandha. No other writers or works except those that are already enumerated under Acārādarśa and Pit;bhakti are named in this work. On folio 7a there is a name which is somewhat indistinct and appears to be “Mitāmitrādibhiḥ’. The Samayapradipa is mentioned in the Kștya-ratnākara (pp. 400, 479, 505 ) of Candeśvara and in Śūlapāṇi’s Durgotsava-vivekall4i Sridatta is more frequently quoted in the Sraddhakriya-kaumudi of Govindānanda than almost any other author or work.
As Sridatta names the Kalpataru, Harihara and Halayudha’s work on sraddha he must have flourished later than 1200 A. D. As Candeśvara mentions his Samayapradipa, Sridatta must have flourished before the first quarter of the 14th century. If Ganesamiśra mentioned in the Acāradarśa be the same as Ganesvaramiśra, the author of Sugatisopana and uncle of Cande śvara ( which appears extremely probable), then Sridatta flouri shed a short time before Candeśvara and must have composed his works between 1275 and 1510 A. D.
Śridatta affords hardly any information about himself or his family. But as he refers to certain writers by the general word Gaudāḥ’ (pakvatailam na duṣyatiti Gaudāḥ p. 12 of Chandogāhnika) it may be assumed that he was not a Gauda but a Maithila.
1140 tagaratai Aithiau Freiht I verse 2 of F#79:19. 1141 समांसरुधिरदानमाह श्रीदत्तोपाध्यायकृतसमयप्रदीपे भविष्यपुराणम् । दुर्गोत्सवविवेक
p. 21 ( Calcutta Sanskrit Sahitya Parishad ed.).
11
IL
- Candeśvara
763
He was liberal enough to assert that a sūdra 142 can perform Vaiśvadeva and the offering of bali, but he cannot adopt the procedure of Sakala as it includes Vedamantras; he can, however, perform those rites with ’namaḥ’ as the Mantra and relies on Yāj. I. 12 and Vispupurāṇa in support. The Samayapradipa of Sridatta is quoted by Raghunandana in (vol. I), Mala p. 839 and (vol. II) in Ekādaśī p. 44.
It appears that there was another Maithila writer called Śridattamisra, son of Nāgeśvaraniśra, who composed the Ekāgnidānapaddhati and one or two other works (Hp. Nepal cat. p. 129). The Nepal Ms. of the Ekāgnidāna-paddhati was copied in La-Sam 299 (Lakṣmanasena era 299, i. e. 1418 A.D.). Vide Hp. Nepal cat. XII, 45 and 129. So this Sridatta flourished towards the end of the 14th century in the reign of Devasimha son of Bhavesa. Vide JASB for 1915 pp. 379-381 and 388-390 for Sridatta.