History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s17.6

v1.c6.s17.6

In ancient times the number of smṛtis (i. e. works on dharmaśāstra) must have been very small. Gautama mentions by name no smṛtikāra except Manu, though he speaks of dharmaśāstras (XI. 19). Baudhāyana names seven (besides himself) authors on dharma, viz. Aupajaṅghani, Kātya, Kāśyapa, Gautama, Prajāpati, Maudgalya and Hārīta. Vasiṣṭha names only five authors, Gautama, Prajāpati, Manu, Yama, and Hārīta. Āpastamba mentions a large number, viz. ten, some of whom like Eka, Kuṇika and Puṣkarasādi are no more than mere names to us. Manu speaks of only six (besides himself) viz. Atri, the son of Utathya, Bhṛgu, Vasiṣṭha, Vaikhānasa (or. rather Vikhanas) and Śaunaka. But in all these works the writers are mentioned only casually and there is no regular enumeration or list of writers on dharma in one place. Aparārka quotes (p. 7) a sūtra of Gautama (not found in the printed G. Dh. S.) in which sixteen authors of dharmaśāstras including himself are enumerated.²⁵⁷ The same sūtra with slight variations is ascribed to Śaṅkha-Likhita in the Vīramitrodaya (Paribhāṣāprakāśa p. 16). Yājñavalkya is probably the earliest writer who enumerated in one place (I. 4-5) twenty expounders of dharma (including himself and counting Śaṅkha and Likhita as two distinct persons). It will be noticed that Yāj. omits Baudhāyana. Parāśara also gives a list of 19 expounders of dharma (excluding himself), but his list differs slightly from that of Yāj. Parāśara omits Bṛhaspati, Yama, and Vyāsa and adds Kāśyapa, Gārgya and Pracetas. The Tantra-vārtika (p. 125) of Kumārila speaks of eighteen dharmasaṁhitās. Viśvarūpa quotes a verse of Vṛddha-Yājñavalkya, who adds ten names to the list of Yājñavalkya (vide note 219 above). The Caturviṁśatimata is a work which professes to give the views of 24 sages on dharmaśāstra, viz. all those listed by Yāj. (except Kātyāyana and Likhita) and six more, viz. Gārgya Nārada, Baudhāyana, Vatsa, Viśvāmitra, Saṅkha (Sāṅkhyāyana?). Aṅgiras as quoted in the Smṛticandrikā (I. p. 1), Hemādri (Dānakhaṇḍa p. 528), the Sarasvatīvilāsa (p. 13) and other works mention Upasmṛtis.²⁵⁹ There is a smṛti called Ṣaṭtriṁśanmata quoted by the Mit., Aparārka and other works. Paiṭhīnasi as quoted in the Smṛticandrikā, the Saṁskāramayūkha and other works enumerates 36 smṛtis.²⁶⁰ Aparārka says that the Bhaviṣyatpurāṇa speaks of 36 smṛtis and his enumeration of them is slightly different from that of Paiṭhīnasi.²⁶¹ The Vṛddhagautamasmṛti (Jīvānanda part II. pp. 498-499) gives a list of 57 dharma-śāstras. The Prayoga-pārijāta as quoted in the Vīramitrodaya enumerates 18 principal smṛtis, 18 upasmṛtis and 21 other smṛtikāras.²⁶² If all the smṛtis cited in the later *nibandhas* such as the Nirṇayasindhu, the Mayūkhas of Nīlakaṇṭha and the Vīramitrodaya be taken into account, the number of smṛtis will be found to be about 100.