Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.284

c7.284

The Mīmāṃsā school has therefore certainly strongly influenced the opinions of the commentators, so that even the colossal Manubhāṣya of Medhātithi, opening the way up for the long line of commentaries on M.², quotes Kumārila; Medhātithi therefore could not have lived before the end of the eighth century but on the other hand he must be dated before the time of Bhojarāja (eleventh century) and Vijñāneśvara (11.—12. cent.); he thus belongs to the 9. or the 10. century A.D. at the latest.³ Very probably his native country is to be sought in Kashmir, although already in early times he is quoted in South Indian works. The Manuṭīkā of Govindarāja, is very useful for the interpretation of the text as it contains a full paraphrase of the text and is marked by a conciseness of expression and philological accuracy, but it is considerably later, and in consideration of its posteriority to Bhojarāja and anteriority to Śrīdhara, Dharaṇidhara, Nārāyaṇasarvajña, Jīmūtavāhana, Śūlapāṇi and Kullūka, it should be placed in the 12. century.