History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s14.22

v1.c6.s14.22

Before proceeding to discuss the age of the Kauṭilīya, it is advisable to say a few words on the form, style and contents of the work. The work is divided into 15 adhikaraṇas, 150 chapters, 180 topics and contains 6000 ślokas (i. e. units of 32 letters). The work is in prose interspersed with a few verses. Each chapter has at the end at least one verse and sometimes more. A few verses occur also in the midst of some chapters as in I. 8, I. 15, II. 10, II. 24, V. 6, VII. 5, VII. 6, VII. 9, VII. 13, X. 3, XIII. 4. There are about 340 verses excluding *mantras*. Almost all these verses are in the Anuṣṭubh metre, only eight verses being in the classical Indravajrā or Upajāti metres (in II. 9, II. 10 and X. 3). In our utter ignorance about the literature on Arthaśāstra prior to Kauṭilya it is impossible to say how many of these verses are borrowed and how many are of his own composition. There can be no doubt that some of these verses were composed by him (e. g. the two verses in I. 10, where the views of Ācāryas are given, and the words ‘etat Kauṭilya-darśanam’ occur). It appears that some verses are clearly quotations. For example, the verse ‘nāsya guhyam’ at the end of I. 15, and the verse ‘saṁvatsareṇa patati’ at the end of IV. 7 are Manu 7. 105 and 2. 180 respectively. The last occurs in Baud. Dh. S. II. 1. 62 and also in Vas. I. 22. The two verses in the Upajāti metre in X. 3 ‘yān yajñasanghaiḥ’ and ‘navam śarāvam’ occur respectively in the Parāśaradharmaśāstra (chap. III. p. 12 of Jīvānanda, part II) and in the Pratijñā (IV. 3¹⁶⁸). It is noteworthy that they are introduced with the words ‘apīha ślaukau bhavataḥ’ and follow a quotation from or summary of a Vedic passage. Twelve verses in VII. 9 are introduced with the words ‘tatraitad bhavati’ and may be quotations. A few of the verses bear a close resemblance to verses of other works; e. g. the verse ‘pṛṣṭaḥ priyahitam brūyāt’ (in V. 4) which is very similar to Manu. 4. 138. In some cases he connects verses with his own words, e. g. the words ‘kurvataśca’ with ‘nāsya guhyam’ (at the end of I. 15) and the last verse of II. 25. The style of the Kauṭilīya is simple and direct. It is not concise like that of the Vedānta or Vyākaraṇa sūtras. It resembles the dharmasūtras of Gautama, Hārīta and Śaṅkha-Likhita, but is not as archaic as that of Āpastamba. According to the commentaries the several headings of the prakaraṇas are sūtras and the contents of them the bhāṣya (vide Nayacandrikā pp. 137, 143-44 &c., edited by Dr. Jolly). It abounds in numerous technical and rare terms. It is generally in accordance with Pāṇini's grammar, though such un-Pāṇinean words as ‘pāpiṣṭhatama’ (in VII. 11) rarely occur. It employs the word ‘avyaya’ in the masculine (II. 10), while Pāṇini (I. 1. 37) employs ‘avyayam’.