Indian Epigraphy c13.5

c13.5

The verses are sometimes quoted without any introduction³ and often without any reference to the source, merely introducing them by a passage like uktañ=ca, "It has also been said”.¹ But they are very often assigned to Vyāsa² and are sometimes attributed specifically to the Mahābhārata.³ Some of the stanzas quoted in the inscriptions are actually found in the Mahābhārata (especially in the Dānadharma section⁴ of the Anuśāsana-parvan) as well as in the Purāṇas. In some cases, they are stated to be the sayings of Manu,⁵ Brahman⁶ or Bṛhaspati⁷ and often of the sages.⁸ They are represented in a few cases as quotations from the Mānava-Dharmaśāstra⁹ or Vaiṣṇava-Dharmaśāstra,¹⁰ but often from the Dharmaśāstras and rarely from the Smṛtis and the Purāṇas.¹