History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s21.18

v1.c6.s21.18

The above gives rise to an important question whether one can detect several strata in the Yājñavalkyasmṛti. From the fact that the sūtra of Śaṅkha-Likhita cites Yājñavalkya among the promulgators of dharmaśāstras (vide note 137), while Yāj. himself includes Śaṅkha-Likhita among the propounders of dharma (note 258), it may be plausibly said that Śaṅkha-Likhita refer to an earlier Yājñavalkyasmṛti than the extant one. Beyond this there is no evidence to establish that there was an earlier version of the present smṛti. A comparison of the readings of Viśvarūpa and the Mit.