Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s16.t11: 26. Bṛhaspati

History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s16.t11

Language
English

26. Bṛhaspati

v1.c6.s16.t11.1

That Bṛhaspati was an ancient teacher of Arthaśāstra follows from the Kauṭilīya, wherein the Bārhaspatyas are cited six times. In the Mahābhārata (Śānti, chap. 59. 80-85) Bṛhaspati is said to have compressed into 3000 chapters the work on dharma, artha and kāma composed by Brahmā. The Vanaparva (32. 61) speaks of Bṛhaspati-nīti. The Mahābhārata several times cites verses (*gāthās* or *ślokas*) said to have been sung by Bṛhaspati²³⁴ (*vide* Śānti. 23. 25, 56. 38-39, 57. 6-7). *Vide* also Śānti. 58. 13-16, 69. 23-24. The Anuśāsana (39. 10-11) speaks of the Arthaśāstra composed by Bṛhaspati and others. In some of these places there are distinct references to a śāstra or *mata* of Bṛhaspati and sections of his work are referred to (as e.g. rājādhikāra). The Śāntiparva (170. 12) describes how a king could, according to Bṛhaspati's views, secure his goal in four ways.²³⁵ In the Vanaparva (150. 29) men are said to be upheld by the *nayas* proclaimed by Bṛhaspati and Uśanas. Vide also Sabhā 50. 9, 55. 6, 73. 7-8, Udyoga 33. 71-72, 55. 66. The Kāmasūtra repeats the tradition that Brahmā composed a work in one hundred thousand chapters on *dharma*, *artha* and *kāma* and that Bṛhaspati dealt with a portion of that work, viz. on *artha*.²³⁶ Vide note 196 above. Aśvaghoṣa (Buddhacarita I. 46) speaks of the rājaśāstra of Śukra and Bṛhaspati. According to the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya some of the special views of Bṛhaspati's school were that there were only two vidyās for kings viz. vārtā and daṇḍanīti and that the council of ministers should comprise 16 members. According to Kāmandaka and the Pañcatantra (II. 41) 'aviśvāsa' was the sheet-anchor of royal policy according to Bṛhaspati. The Yaśastilaka (p. 13) says that the nīti of Bṛhaspati had no place for Gods.²³⁷ The commentary on the Nītivākyāmṛta gives the first verse of Bṛhaspati.237a Viśvarūpa contains several prose quotations which from their context must have been taken from Bṛhaspati about the qualifications of a senāpati, pratīhāra, dūta, &c. It is somewhat strange that in this quotation the *mantrin* is required to be deeply conversant with the śāstras of Manu, Bṛhaspati and Uśanas. For similar prose quotations, *vide* Viśvarūpa on Yāj. I. 323, II. 154. That Bṛhaspati also wrote a sūtra work on vyavahāra and other topics of dharma follows from the quotations contained in Viśvarūpa and Haradatta. For example, Viśvarūpa cites a prose passage from Bṛhaspati (on Yāj. II. 38) about the duty of the king to restore property stolen from his subjects if he could not recover it from the thief, about the rising scale of the rates of interest according to the castes, about the debts of a deceased man being payable by those who took his wealth, by his wife or by his son, about a surety being made to pay when the principal died, about the illegitimate son of a śūdra getting a share on his father's death and about his taking the whole estate with the king's permission if there were no legitimate issue of the śūdra.²³⁸ Haradatta on Gautama 22. 18 quotes a prose passsage from Bṛhaspati on the prāyaścitta for killing a cow. These quotations establish that Bṛhaspati wrote a sūtra work on dharma also (i. e. at least on vyavahāra and prāyaścitta). Viśvarūpa also quotes a few verses from Bṛhaspati on vyavahāra and prāyaścitta and in one place at least indicates that the verse he attributes to Bṛhaspati occurred in the same work in which a prose passage quoted by him occurred.²³⁹ From this it follows that the sūtra work of Bṛhaspati on dharma contained verses also in Viśvarūpa's time. Whether the two works on arthaśāstra and dharma were composed by the same Bṛhaspati cannot be determined. It looks probable that they were composed by different authors. Yāj. (I. 4-5) mentions Bṛhaspati among the expounders of dharma. He is probably referring to the sūtra work on dharma disclosed by quotations from Viśvarūpa.

v1.c6.s16.t11.2

²³⁴ भूमिरेतौ निगिरति सर्पो बिलशयानिव । राजानं चाविरोद्धारं ब्राह्मणं चाप्रवासिनम् ॥ शान्ति. 23. 15. This verse (with the reading द्वाविमौ ग्रसते भूमिः सर्पो &c.) is ascribed by शान्तिपर्व 57. 3. to Uśanas; vide note 195 above. बार्हस्पत्ये च शास्त्रे च श्लोको निगदितः पुरा । ... क्षममाणं नृपं नित्यं नीचः परिभवेज्जनः । हस्तियन्ता गजस्येव शिर एवारुरुक्षति ॥ शान्ति 56. 38-39 ; मरुत्तेन हि राज्ञा वै गीतः श्लोकः पुरातनः । राजाधिकारे राजेन्द्र बृहस्पतिमते पुरा ॥ गुरोरप्यवलिप्तस्य कार्याकार्यमजानतः । उत्पथप्रतिपन्नस्य दण्डो भवति शाश्वतः ॥ शान्ति 57. 6-7.

v1.c6.s16.t11.3

²³⁵ चतुर्विधा ह्यर्थसिद्धिर्बृहस्पतिमते यथा । पारम्पर्यं तथा दैवं काम्यं मैत्रमिति प्रभो ॥ शान्ति० 170. 12.

v1.c6.s16.t11.4

²³⁶ प्रजापतिः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा तासां स्थितिनिबन्धनं त्रिवर्गस्य साधनमध्यायानां शतसहस्रेणाये प्रोवाच । तस्यैकदेशिकं मनुः स्वायम्भुवो धर्माधिकारिकं पृथक् चकार । बृहस्पतिरर्थाधिकारिकम् । 5-7

v1.c6.s16.t11.5

²³⁷ बृहस्पतिनीतय इवादेवमातृकाः ।

v1.c6.s16.t11.6

237a वाचा कायेन मनसा प्रणम्याङ्गिरसं मुनिम् । नीतिशास्त्रं प्रवक्ष्यामि भूपतीनां सुखावहम् ॥

v1.c6.s16.t11.7

²³⁸ तथा च बृहस्पतिः 'चोरापहृतं तु सर्वेभ्योन्विच्यार्पणीयम्। अलाभे स्वकोशाद्वा। अददच्चोरकिल्बिषी स्यात्।' on याज्ञ. II. 38; तथा च बृहस्पतिः- पादोपचयात् क्रमेणेतरेषाम्-इति on याज्ञ. II. 39; बृहस्पतिश्च धनस्त्रीहारिपुत्राणां पूर्वाभावे यथोत्तरमाधमर्ण्यं तदभावे क्रमशोऽन्येषां रिक्थभाजाम् । on याज्ञ. II. 47; तथा च बृहस्पतिः उपस्थाप्य विपत्तावुपस्थाप्यस्य पुनः प्रतिभूर्दाप्यः इति । on याज्ञ. II. 55; तथा च बृहस्पतिः-'कामतश्च शूद्रावरोधजस्य भ्रातुरंशं समानमात्रं प्रेते पितरि दद्युः शुश्रूषुश्चेत्' इति । on याज्ञ. II. 138.

v1.c6.s16.t11.8

²³⁹ on याज्ञ. III. 263 विश्वरूप says 'बृहस्पतिना तु द्वादशाहेन, गोष्ठाती तस्मात्पापान्मुच्यते । क्षीराहारो भवेत्तत्र क्षीरदभ्यशनोपि वा ॥' तथेदमन्यत् 'गायत्र्या दशसाहस्रं &c. (two verses)' । तथेद्ं तत्रैवान्यत् 'द्वादशरात्रं पञ्चगव्याहारः षड्रात्रं वा यावकाहारो गोष्ठे वसेत् । ... ब्राह्मणान् भोजयित्वा शुध्येदित्याह बृहस्पतिः' इति। The words द्वादशरात्रं पञ्चगव्याहारः are attributed to बृहस्पति by हरदत्त also,

v1.c6.s16.t11.9

In the Mit. and other commentaries and nibandhas over seven hundred verses on vyavahāra and a few hundred more on ācāra and prāyaścitta are cited from Bṛhaspati. That seems to have been an independent work composed between 300 and 500 A. D., which will be discussed later on (vide sec. 37).

v1.c6.s16.t11.10

In Jivananda's collection (part I. pp. 644-651) and in the Ānandāśrama collection there is a Bṛhaspatismṛti in 80 verses in which Bṛhaspati is represented as instructing Indra about gifts. Several mss. in the Deccan College Collection contain this smṛti, but in an abridged form in 70 and 49 verses (No 130 of 1884-86 and No 147 of 1895-1902). Vide also I. O. cat. p. 386 No. 1324, 1325-1328. Aparārka quotes (p 1225) verse 7 of this smṛti (in verse) and the Dānaratnākara quotes verses 6 and 7 as from Dāna-Bṛhaspati.

v1.c6.s16.t11.11

The Bārhaspatya Arthaśāstra edited by Dr. F. W. Thomas (Lahore, 1921) is a later work and does not deserve more than a passing notice. In six chapters it deals with the conduct, duties, studies of kings, omens, rules of policy &c.

Cites (10)