Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.174

c7.174

While by means of the sources made use of by Y. the upper limit of the age of his Smṛti may be fixed, his acquaintance with Greek astrology, according to Jacobi³, authorises us to hold that he should be assigned to the third century A.D. at the earliest. In 1, 295 he enumerates the 7 planets in the astronomical order, and in 1, 80 too (sustha indau) he gives an astrological reference though without using any Greek term. The word nānaka already referred to, is not without importance for chronological purposes; at all events, it is not one of the most ancient coin-names. For the terminus ad quem, besides the oldest commentaries (§ 11) and the Garuḍa and Agnipurāṇas with their numerous borrowings¹ from Y. (§ 10), the other metrical Smṛtis are important, whose posteriority will be proved below. Y. therefore falls approximately in the fourth century A. D. The statement in Y. 1, 2 as well as the Vedic references indicate that his home is to be sought in Mithilā (Videha), and the Vājasaneyins also generally belong to the North.