Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.75

c7.75

Much more correct than the H.-Ms. is Bühler’s Ms. of the Vaikhānasa-sūtra in the Vienna University Library, consisting of a “Gṛhya” in 7 Praśnas and a “Gṛhyadharma” in 4 Praśnas. The latter chiefly deals with the four Āśramas in which 4 kinds of Brahmacārins and Gṛhasthas respectively and 2 kinds of Vānaprasthas along with numerous sub-divisions, have been distinguished (Pr. 1), and it also deals with the special religious duties of the Vānaprastha, Snāna, Bhojana, Snātakadharma, the ways of life of the Vānaprastha and the Bhikṣu, mixed castes etc. (2,3) and the pravaras (4). The law proper is not touched in this work which of course is a Gṛhyadharma and not a Dharmasūtra; the duties of the forest hermits who, as is well-known, are called Vaikhānasa after Vikhanas appearing in this work as an authority (ityāha vikhanāḥ), are more exhaustively dealt with in this work. The term Vaikhānasa occurs already in Gaut. 3 2, and Baudh. 2, 11, 14 and M. 6, 21 refer to the vaikhānasa-śāstram or matam when describing the duties of the forest hermit, by which, accordtng to the commentators, is meant a Sūtra-work of Vikhanas about the duties of the Vānaprastha¹. Has this work been preserved in our Ms.? The Śrāmaṇakāgni or the establishment of the fire śrāmaṇakīyena vidhānena, the exact time for retiring into the forest (putraṃ pautraṃ ca dṛṣṭvā), distinction between the Sapatnīka, who is accompanied by his wife, and the Apatnīka who goes alone into the forest (1, 6-8; 2, 1 ff.) and many other rules characteristic of our work are actually seen in the Smṛtis, while other things, such as the Phenapa, Audumbara, Kuṭicaka and other kinds of hermits, may be, on the other hand, traced only in the Purāṇas or in the Mah. in the present state of our knowledge. The numerous passages connected with the cult of Nārāyaṇa appear to be very recent which like a red band stretches over the whole length of this Sūtra-work. Further, the expression budhavāra too occurs in it (Bühler)². The allusion to widow-burning too in Vai. gṛ. 7, 2 should be considered as a sign of its late origin: sahamaraṇe...dampatī dāhayati, if sahamaraṇa here is not to be explained in any other way (§20). The Vaikhānasa school is clearly considered one of the youngest schools of the Black Yajurveda according to Mahādeva (WIL 110). The connection of this work with this Veda is proved by the quotations of Mantras from it and the reference to the Yajuḥsaṃhitā. Many Mantras, however, a point emphasised to me by Dr. Caland¹, appear to be quite post-Vedic and in the case of Yajus texts, mere Pratikas would have been sufficient. If this work forms the counterpart of the still unpublished Vaikhānasa-śrautasūtra², it may be reckoned among the class of proper Dharmasūtras. As the prospect of a treatment of the whole Vaikhānasa-sūtra has been announced from a certain quarter, I shall not go deeper into this matter.