History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s21.16.1

v1.c6.s21.16.1

The Garuḍapurāṇa affords, like the Agnipurāṇa, material help towards examining the authoritativeness of the text of the first and third sections of Yāj. The Agnipurāṇa does not expressly say that it drew upon Yāj., but the Garuḍapurāṇa is explicit on the point. In chap. 93. 1. it is expressly said that the *dharma* formerly promulgated by Yājñavalkya is being narrated 'Yājñavalkyena yat (yaḥ?) pūrvam dharmam (dharmaḥ?) proktam (°taḥ?) kathaṁ Hare । tan me kathaya keśighna yathā tattvena Mādhava ॥'. Chapters 93-106 contain dharmaśāstra material more or less taken from the Yājñavalkysmṛti. There are 376 verses in these chapters. Considerations of space forbid any detailed examination of this material. A few salient facts only are brought out here. Chapters 93-102 deal with the several topics (prakaraṇas) of the first kāṇḍa in the same order, the only exception being the topic of rājadharma (I. 309-368), which is omitted in the Garuḍapurāṇa. Chapters 102-106 treat of topics that occur in the third kāṇḍa of Yāj. and contain 121 verses only. In these chapters the order of the prakaraṇas in Yāj. is not observed at all, but Garuḍa speaks of them in the following order, vānaprastha-prakaraṇa, yati, karmavipāka, prāyaścitta, aśauca and āpaddharma (the last two being the first two prakaraṇas in Yāj.). A feature which strikes one as regards the Garuḍapurāṇa (particularly chap. 102-106) is that a few verses only of Yāj.