PREFACE
The second volume of the History of Dharmaśāstra was published in the third quarter of 1941. In the Preface to that volume I held forth hopes that the next volume dealing with the remaining subjects comprised in Dharmaśāstra might be placed before scholars in about three years thereafter. The Great War was then being fought in Europe and it was generally believed that India would remain free from the fear of actual invasion. But such fond hopes were shattered by the sudden attack on Pearl Harbour by Japanese bombers on 7th December 1941. Japan gained rapid and phenomenal victories and within about three months from the attack on Pearl Harbour vast territories from the Philippines to Burma fell into the hands of the victors. Calcutta and Trincomalee were bombed. Serious fears were entertained about an invasion of the mainland of India by land, sea and air. There was great panic in such coastal cities as Madras, Bombay and Karachi. The matters uppermost in the minds of Government officials and the members of the public were A. R. P. measures, the recruiting of men for the army, navy and air force and the removal of families and valuables to places of safety in the interior. Important and rare books froin the libraries of the Bombay Asiatic Society and of the Univer sity of Bombay were taken to distant places for reasons of security. During almost the whole of 1942 it was very difficult for me to work on the preparation of the third volume in the midst of a general atmosphere of panic caused by the fear of invasion and the removal of valuable reference books from Bombay. Owing to the war there has been great scarcity of paper and printing also has become very costly. I decided upon writing only on a few of the several subjects that remained to be dealt with and chose Rājadharma, Vyavahāra and Sadāoāra, the treatment of which is now placed before the public. Scarcity of paper and labour is responsible for the fact that this third volume has been in the press for nearly three years. The present volume increased in bulk beyond expectation. The fourth and last volume will deal with the following subjects: Pataka, karmavipāka and prāyascitta; antyeṣti, aśauca and śrāddha ; tirtha; vrata; kāla and muhurta, śānti; Paurana dharma; the influence of the Pūrvamīmārsā and other gāstras on dharma sastra; the religious and philosophical background of dharma sāstra; the essentials of our culture, its future, the coming
History of Dharnuatastra
social and other trends and their impact on the dogmas and ideals of Dharmasastra, I am personally anxious to finish all the remaining work as early as possible. But looking to my age (I am nearly 67 now ), to my ailments and to the number of subjects that remain to be dealt with, it is impossible for me to say when the next and last volume may be published. This volume also is full of quotations, refers to many inscriptions, judicial decisions and legislative enactments. The reasons for this have been stated at length in the Preface to the second volume and I do not desire to repeat them here. In the general index to the second volume full references to works like the Manusmrti were not given, because such works were quoted on almost every page. But some critics found fault with this ; therefore in the index to this volume full references to all works are inserted.
All that now remains is the pleasant duty of acknowledg ing my obligations to others. Bloomfield’s Vedic Concordance, the Vedic Index of Professors Macdonell and Keith and several volumes of the Sacred Books of the East have been very useful in preparing this volume as in the case of the preceding one. I wish to mention specially the debt I owe to the late Maha mahopādhyāya Kamalakṇṣṇa Smrtitirtha for his editorial work on twelve volumes on the different branches of dharmaśāstra, which have been of great use to me in writing all the volumes of my History viz. Hāralata, Vivā daratnākara, Gphastharatnā kara, Kṛtyaratnākara, Tirthacintā maṇi, Varṣakriyākaumudi, Danakriyākaumudi, Sraddhakriyakaumudi, Suddhikaumudi, Dandaviveka, Rājadharmakaustubha and Agastyasamhita. I am highly obliged to Paramahamsa Svāmi Kovalānanda Sarasvati of Wai for frequent help and guidance in solving some intricate problems of Dharmaśāstra, to Prof. N. A. Gore, M. A. of Poona for help in the careful correction of proofs, to Tarkatirtha Raghunathasāstri Kokje of Lonavla and Mr. N. G. Chapekar, B. A., LL. B. (retired F.C. Sub-judge ), of Badlapur for reading through the whole volume and suggesting some additions and corrections.
Assistance in various ways during the progress of the work for the last four years was very kindly rendered by a host of “friends and acquaintances, among whom I should like to make special mention of Prof. H. D. Velankar, Dr. R. N. Dandekar, Dr. S. K. Belvalkar, Rao Bahadur Prof. Rangaswami Aiyangar, Dr. A. 8. Altekar, Mr.P. K. Gode, Dr. Raghavan, Mr. S. N. Joshi of Bharata-itihasa-samsodhaka-mandala at Poona, Mr. Bhabatosh
Preface
Bhattacharya (son of M. M. Kamalakrśṇa Smṛtitirtha ), Mr. S. L. Katre of Ujjain, Prof. A. M. Paramasivanandan of Pacchaiappa College at Madras, the late Pandit Rangacarya Raddi. Thanks are due to all these and many others for help and interest in this volume. It need not be expressly stated that I alone am responsible for the views and mistakes contained in this volume. I sincerely thank the Manager of the Aryabhushan Press, Poona, for carrying out the work of printing with care and promptitude in spite of difficulties caused by war conditions and paper and labour shortage.
In a work bristling with thousands of quotations and references it is likely that many slips have escaped attention, The indulgence of the reader is sought for forgiveness in the matter of several misprints in the footnotes caused by loss or displacement of the parts of letters in the process of printing.
BOMBAY, 2 1st October, 1946.)
P. V. KANE