108 Nārāyaṇabhatta
Nārāyaṇabhatta 1364 was the most famous of the celebrated family of the Bhattas of Benares. For a biography of the Bhātta
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The work of Śhaṅkarabhatta is called Gadhi-vamśānucarita. The first leaf of the ms, is missing and the work comes abruptly to an end. Even in ancient times there appears to have been
a rivalry between the two great sages of the ægveda viz. Vasiṣtha (to whom and his family are ascribed the verses in the VII Mandala of the Rgveda ) and Viśvāmitra (to whom are ascribed the verses of the 3rd Mandala of the same Veda ). It appears from æg. III. 53. 9-12 that Viśvāmitra’s ancestor was Kuśika and that his prayers helped Bhārata people. At least as early as the Mahābhāṣya (vol. II p. 254 of Kielhorn’s ed.) of Patañjali ( on Pāṇ IV.1.101 ) the pedi gree was Kuśika-Gādhi-Viśvāmitra. The name Gādbi does not occur in the Rgveda, The Mabābhārata and some of the Purāṇas are full of stories about the rivalry between Viśvā mitra and Vasiṣtha. For enmity (vaira ) between the two sages, vide Ādi chap. 175-176, Chitrashala ed. The gotra of the family was Viśvāmitra and the family is known as Gādhivamśa. In Rg. III, 33. 5 Viśvāmitra is said to be sūnu (son) of Kusika. The plural of Kuśika ocourg frequently in the Rg. Sarkarabhatta also composed a work called Dvaitanirṇaya, an account of which contributed by the present author will be found in ABORI vol. III pp. 67-72 ( for 1921-22 ). The Gādhivaiśānucarita of Sarkarabhatta does not mention the fact of the re-establishment of Viśveśvara by bis father Nārāyaṇabhatta. It is later descendants of Nārāyaṇabhatta that refer to this deed of Nārāyaṇabhatta. It is possible that Śhaṅkarabhatta wrote the Gādbivaman ucarita before the restoration of Visreśvara shrine. Nārāyaṇabhatta appears to have composed a work called
jivac-chrāddhavidhi’( based on the Brahmapurāṇa and other works) enabling a person to perform his own śrāddha while he was alive. Vide Prof. G. V. Devasthali’s Deg, Cat. of Sanskrit and Prakrit Mss, in the Library of the Bombay University No. 1045 p. 376 and Prof. Velankar’s Des. Cat, of the Sanskrit Mss. in the Iccharam Desai Collection of the Bombay Universsty Nos. 292-294 pp. 60-61. No. 292 begins : तत्र ब्रह्मपुराणे । अथ जीवच्छ्राद्धविथि: । देशकालधनश्रद्धाव्यवसायसमुट्टितः ।
(Continued on the next page)
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family of Benares, vide I. A. vol. 41 pp. 7-13 and for a detailed account of some members of that family and their works ( particularly on Dharmaśāstra ), vide the present author’s Intro duction to the Vyavahāramayukha (pp. V-XLv) published by the B. O. R. I. in 1926. From several references it appears that Nārāyaṇabhatta wrote a bhāṣya on the Gobhila-gshya-sūtra; vide Smṛtitattva (vol. 1 )-Tithi p. 14 ‘Kuśāntarapratinidhir-Bhattana rāyanair - Gobhila-bhāṣya uktaḥ); Samskāratattva pp. 878 and 904; (vol. II) Udvahatattva p. 130. A few more examples of the use of the honorific plural Bhatta-Nārāyaṇacaranāh’ by Raghu, may be added here. Vide (vol. I) Śrāddha pp. 201, 245; Samskāra p. 868; (vol. II) Mathapratisthā 620, Suddhi 251. M. M. Haraprasad Sastri has broght to light a biography of this family written by Sarkarabhatta, a son of Nārāyaṇabhatta (Ind. Ant. for 1912 vol. 41, pp. 7-13). Nārāyanabhatta’s father Rame svarabhatta whose gotra was Viśvāmitra migrated from Prati sthāna (Paithan ) in the Deccan to Benares. Rameśvarabhatta was a very learned man and his learning drew to him students from the whole of India. Nārāyaṇabhatta was born according to Śankarabhatta’s biography in sake 1435 in the month of Caitra (i. e. about March 1513 A. D.). Nārāyaṇabhatta was the eldest of three sons, the other two being Sridhara and Madhava. Nārāyapabhaṭṭa learnt all the śāstras at the feet of his father. Pandits all over India looked up to him as their leader and patron and he was an assiduous collector of Sanskrit mss. It is said that Nārāyaṇabhatta brought down by his holiness rain in a season of drought and thereby induced the Mahomedan ruler that had razed the temple of Visvesvara at Benares to the
(Continued from the previous page) sfag afa var4 91 FM TT: 11; the present author in his youth knew sone persons in the honkan that had performed Jivac-chrādılha. This was a perverse extension of the original idea of Srāddha. It may however be noted that the Vāyu purāṇa ( on Gaya ) chap. 83. 34 refers to the offering of śrāddha to oneself at Gayā. 311HGATTI Tri g fares fortifquefaafqui
alert #1749 175T: 11 quoted in frothT p. 350 from fa रत्नावली: vide also पिण्डो देयस्तु सर्वेभ्यः सर्वे कुलतारकैः । आत्मनस्तु तथा antaa f l att 105. 12 aud afro 115.68 The Farty ta p. 350 remarks’ TETE TEHOTT a tag: fecti TITTER एव कार्य न तु गयातीर्थमाने ।
- Narāyanabhatta
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ground to allow him to rebuild it. For his erudition and piety Nārāyaṇabhatta was honoured with the title “Jagadguru’ and his family was given the first place of honour in the assembly of learned Brāhmaṇas and at the recitations of the Vedas. It was Nārāyaṇabhatta and bis equally worthy descendants that raised dā kṣiṇātya pandits to the position of high eminence at Benares which they still hold. Nārāyanabhatta wrote numerous works on dharmasastra among which may be mentioned the Antyestipaddhati ( printed by Nirnayasagara Press ), the Tristhali setu ( dealing with the ceremonies to be performed generally at all sacred places and particularly at Prayaga, Kāsi and Gaya) and the Prayogaratna (printed at the Nirnayasāgara Press, 1915 A. D.). This last contains detailed descriptions and rituals of the samskāras from garbhādhana to vivāha. His are standard works on the subjects they deal with and are used even now almost throughout the whole of India. He composed a com mentary on the introductory verses contained in the Kālamadhava ( vide Madras Triennial Cat. vol. III. Sanskrit C. p. 4114 No. 2852) and a commentary on portions of the Sāstradipikā of Parthasarathimiśra. He composed a work on ordeals which is referred to in the Vyavahāratattva of Nilakartha (vide p. 457 of my edition of the Vyavahāramayukha and Bikaner cat. p. 387 No. 832 for a Divyānuṣthāna-paddhati of Nārāyaṇabhatta) and also paddhatis on the dedication of gardens, tanks etc. For a Jalāsayotsargavidhi of Nārāyana, vide I. O. Cat. No. 1717 and Mitra’s Notices V. p. 146 and Prof, Velankar’s Cat. of the Bombay University’s Desai Collection of Mss. pp. 41-42 No. 204. He exercised a profound influence over later writers directly and indirectly through his sons and grand-sons. Vide Cat. of India Office Sanskrit Mss. (part III p. 547 where the girl (T?) grafisa 578113 of Farm son of Acha says so) and Hultzsch’s Report on South Indian Sanskrit mss. vol. III. p. 106 which quotes a verse from staat about the re-installation of Visveśv.lra by Nārāyaṇa bhatta : STTTÀ 77aa: HAHETHEdIT:40: TENIFA1447140: C#7491 न्तैकविद्रावणः । काश्यां पातकिविद्रुतं भगवतो विश्वेश्वरस्याचलं लिङ्गं भाग्यवशात्सुखाय जगा
FYTYYTHTH 9:11 5th verse at the end of the work.
Those interested in the several eminent writers of this gifted Bhatta family of Benares may refer to the present author’s Introduction to the Vyavahāramayukha of Nilakaṛtha (published
H, D, 114
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by the Bhandarkar Oriental Institute, Poona, in 1926 pp. V-XXVII). Only a brief pedigree of the family is added here: 1366
As he was born in 1513 A. D. and composed the commentary on the Vșttaratnākara in 1545 A. D., his literary activity must be placed between 1540 and 1570 A. D. This is further corrobora ted by the fact that his grandson Kamalakarabhatta composed the Nirnayasindhu, one of his earliest works, in 1612 A. D.
It appears that Kāntānāthabhatta, a descendant of Kamala karabhatta, published a work called ‘Bhatta-vamsa-Kāvyam’ in 1903 at the Ananda-kadambini press of Mirzapur. Kāntānātha Bhatta was head Pandit at the Sanskrit Pathasaļā at that place. In the Hindi Preface to that work he said that he saw Śhaṅkara bhatta’s work called Gadhivañśavarṇana and Mandlik’s edition of the Vyavahāramayūkha and that induced him to write the work. It is in 10 sargas and contains 429 verses in several
1365 Nāgapāśa – son Cāngadeva - son Govinda – sou Rāmeśvara
Nārāyana
Śrīdhara
Madhava
L
Raghunatha
Govinda
Rāmakrsna
Śhaṅkara
Four sons
Raiganātha
Damodara
Nșsinha
Nilakantha
Siddhesvara
Śhaṅkara
I
Bhānu
Daughter
Dinakara Kamalākara Lakṣmaṇa alias Divakara
son Divākara surnamed Kāla (or Kāle of modern days ).
Visveśvara alias Gāgābhatta.
Ananta
Prabhākara
śyāma
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metres. The pedigree he gives differs from Śhaṅkarabhatta’s work in several respects. It is unnecessary to pursue this matter here.
There is a work on dharmaśāstra called Dharmapravștti composed by a Nārāyaṇa. Mr. K. P. Jayasval holds that this was composed by jagadguru Nārāyaṇabhatta (JBORS for 1927, vol. XIII, parts III-IV, p. XI). The same view is held by M. M. Haraprasad Śāstri (Ind. Ant. for 1912 p. 7). Prof. Velankar in hjs Cat. of the Sanskrit Mss, in the Iccharam Suryaram Desai Collection of the Bombay University (p. 45) appears to identify Nārāyapa, author of Dharmapravștti (mss. No. 217 and 218 on p. 45) with the famous Nārāyanabhatta, author of Prayogaratna. But this identity is extremely doubtful. The benedictory verses1366 in the Dharmapravītti are diffierent from those of the Prayo garatna and Tristhalisetu, the method of treatment and the style are different and the colophons are also different. The author of the Dharmapravștti does not mention his ancestors as Nārāyaṇabhatta does. Nilakantha in his Vyavahāramayūkha finds 1387 fault with the Dharmapravṛtti by saying that certain quotations therein are unauthoritative.