History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s18.47

v1.c6.s18.47

For example, Vasiṣṭha's oath occurs in Ṛgveda (VII. 104. 15²⁹³) and the Bṛhaddevatā (VI. 32-34), Ajīgarta figures in the Aitareya-brāhmaṇa (VII. 16) and Āṅgirasa's story occurs in the Tāṇḍya-mahā-brāhmaṇa (13. 3. 24). Besides the Manusmṛti does not say that the stories are taken from the great epic. The Mahābhārata also was not the first to originate these stories but is only a storehouse and encyclopaedia of the numerous popular traditions that were current in ancient India. When our Manu (9. 227) says that gambling was seen to have produced in former ages deep-rooted enmities, it is unnecessary to suppose that there is a reference to the Mahābhārata, for from Vedic times the evil effects of gambling were known (vide Ṛgveda X. 34) and even the Mahābhārata contains the same verse (Udyoga 37. 19), though this fact was not noticed by Bühler. On the other hand there are numerous passages in the Mahābhārata scattered over almost all the *parvans*, where occur such expressions as, 'Manur-abravīd,' 'the rājadharmas of Manu,' 'the *śāstra* of Manu' etc. Some of these passages agree with the extant Manusmṛti, while some do not. Besides there are hundreds of verses in the Mahābhārata that are identical with the verses of the Manusmṛti, though they are not expressly attributed to Manu. Dr. Bühler says that in the Vana, Śānti and Anuśāsana *parvans* alone he could identify either wholly or partly 260 verses with those of our Manu. What then is the conclusion? *Prima facie* it should be, on account of all these abovementioned facts, against the Mahābhārata and in favour of the Manusmṛti being the earlier of the two. Hopkins at all events holds that the Anuśāsana-parva knew a Manusmṛti essentially the same as we have now. Bühler expresses himself more cautiously and says that the Śānti and Anuśāsana *parvans* knew a Mānava-dharmaśāstra closely connected with the extant one, though not identical. Both are agreed that the earlier books when they speak of Manu are either referring to the Mānava-dharmasūtra or to the floating mass of popular verses, but not to our Manu.