History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c5.68
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c5.68
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v1.c5.68.1
Yājñavalkya, a name most illustrious among Vedic sages - stories about strained relations between Vaiśampāyana and Yājñavalkya - Yājñavalkya and Janaka in the Śatapathabrāhmaṇa - Yājñavalkya, a great philosopher in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka - Yājñavalkya smṛti claims that the Āraṇyaka and Yogaśāstra were composed by the author of the smṛti - slight variation in the number of verses contained in Yājñavalkyasmṛti according to Viśvarūpa, Mitākṣarā and Aparārka - arrangement of verses different in Viśvarūpa and Mitākṣarā, particularly in the prāyaścittakāṇḍa - readings of the two commentators also differ - Agnipurāṇa affords excellent check for consideration of text of Yājñavalkya - Readings of Agnipurāṇa compared with those of Viśvarūpa and the Mitākṣarā - conclusion is that the Agnipurāṇa represents a text midway between Viśvarūpa and that of the Mitākṣarā - So Agnipurāṇa represents a text of Yājñavalkya current about 900 A. D. - total number of verses on vyavahāra in the Agnipurāṇa is 315, out of which the first 31 are not taken from Yājñavalkya - almost all of these 31 taken from Nārada - Garuḍapurāṇa (chap. 93) expressly says that the dharma promulgated by Yājñavalkya was imparted therein - Garuḍa (chap. 93-106 contains dharmaśāstra material taken from ācāra and prāyaścitta sections of Yājñavalkya - Garuḍa (93-102) deals with ācāra and 102-106 with prāyaścitta-Garuḍapurāṇa omits rājadharma section of Yājñavalkya - only a few verses of Yāj.
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are repeated word for word, while a summary only is given of several verses - comparison of the text of the Garuḍapurāṇa with Viśvarūpa's text and that of the Mitākṣarā - Garuḍapurāṇa represents text intermediate between Viśvarūpa and Mitākṣarā - are there different strata in Yājñavalkya? text mainly the same from 700 A. D. and little evidence to show that the text of Yājñavalkya as we have it contains several strata - comparison of Yājñavalkyasmṛti with Manusmṛti - close agreement in phraseology between the two - Yājñavalkya usually tries to compress Manu's dicta - Yāj. adds Vināyakaśānti and Grahaśānti and ordeals, while Manu omits first two and cursorily refers to two ordeals - Yāj. silent on origin of world which we have in Manu - style of Yājñavalkya - contents of smṛti - literature known to Yājñavalkyasmṛti - enumerates 19 authors on dharma - close agreement between Viṣṇu Dh. S. and Yājñavalkya and between Kauṭilya and Yāj. - Manu and Yāj. differ on several points and Yāj. represents a more advanced state of thought than Manu - Manu allows brāhmaṇa to marry śūdra girl, Yāj. does not - Manu condemns niyoga, Yāj. does not - same case with gambling - Yāj. takes Vāyakaśānti from Mānavagṛhya - Yājñavalkyasmṛti in intimate relation to white Yajurveda and literature appurtenant to it - Yājñavalkya closely agrees with Pāraskaragṛhya - Dr.
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Jolly's theory that Yājñavalkya's work goes back to a dharmaśūtra of White Yajurveda is without foundation - date of Yājñavalkyasmṛti - Viśvarūpa separated from the smṛti by several centuries - probable date of Yājñavalky between 100 B. C. and 300 A. D. - Laṅkāvatārasutra (gāthās 814-816) refers to Yājñavalkyasmṛti - Dr. Jolly thinks that Yāj. shows acquaintance with Greek astrology - Dr. Jacobi's theory that naming of week days after planets first introduced by Greeks and borrowed by Indians - these theories untenable - Yāj. does not mention week days, but only the nine planets (in I. 296) - Yāj. does not mention the zodiacal signs - he arranges the nakṣatras from Kṛttikā to Bharaṇi (I. 268) as the Taittirīyabrāhmaṇa does - 'susthe ṛkṣadau' in Yāj. explained by Viśvarūpa without reference to zodiacal signs-from Vedic times nakṣatras divided into auspicious and inauspicious-Yājñavalkya's reference to nāṇakas - Yāj. regards sight of yellowrobed people as an evil omen - Dr. Jolly's date of 400 A. D. for Yājñavalkya is far too late - there is a Vṛddha-Yāj., a Yoga-Yāj., and a Bṛhad-Yāj. - Yoga-Yājñavalkya existed much earlier than 800 A. D. as Vācaspatimiśra quotes a halt verse from Yoga-Yāj. and Aparārka quotes profusely from him - mss. of Yoga-Yājñavalkya in Deccan College collection in 12 chapters and 495 vereses and of Bṛhad-Yogi-Yājñavalkya in 12 chapters and 920 verses - Yoga-Yājñavalkya and Bṛhad-Yogi-Yājñavalkya of the mss.
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are entirely different works - several commentaries on Yājñavalkya, viz. of Viśvarūpa, Vijñāneśvara, Aparārka and Śūlapāṇi.