History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s21.47

v1.c6.s21.47

Besides the Yājñavalkyasmṛti we have to reckon with three other works connected with the name of Yājñavalkya, viz. Vṛddha Yāj., Yoga-Yāj., and Bṛhad-Yāj. All these three works are comparatively ancient. Viśvarūpa quotes (vide note 219 above) two verses of Vṛddha-Yājñavalkya saying that many writers on dharma have been born and will be born and enumerating ten such writers. The Mit. and Aparārka quote Vṛddha-Yājñavalkya frequently. One quotation cited from Vṛddha-Yāj. by Mādhava refers to the means of proof in case of doubt whether there was a partition.³³¹ So Vṛddha-Yāj. wrote also on Vyavahāra. Most of the quotations occur in the prāyaścitta section. It is interesting to note that one of these quotations in Aparārka³³² regards the touch of Pārasikas as on the same level with that of Cāṇḍālas, Mlecchas and Bhillas. The Dāyabhāga³³³ says that Jītendriya cited the words of Bṛhad-Yājñavalkya (viz. "sodaro nānyamātṛjaḥ"). The Mit. cites Bṛhad-Yājñavalkya on prāyaścitta. So this also is a work that must be held to be earlier than 1000 A. D. Yāj. himself is styled Yogīśvara by the Mit. and other works, but Yoga-Yājñavalkya is a different work from the Yāj. smṛti and existed probably prior to the latter work. Yāj. (in III. 110) claims the Yogaśāstra to be his own work. So either Yāj. the author of the smṛti composed such a work or the author of the smṛti in order to glorify it claimed that he was the same as the author of a well-known Yogaśāstra ascribed to a Yājñavalkya. At all events Yoga-Yājñavalkya existed certainly much earlier than 800 A. D. Vācaspatimiśra in his commentary on the Yogasūtrabhāṣya quotes a half verse from Yogī-Yājñavalkya.³³⁴ Vācaspati wrote his Nyāyasūcinibandha in 898 (of the Vikram era) i. e. 841-42 A. D. Aparārka quotes profusely from Yoga-Yājñavalkya. One of the quotations (on III. 198-201) is an Āryā (on the duration of a mātrā³³⁵). The quotations refer to prāṇāyāma, Gāyatrī, bathing, tarpaṇa and jñāna. His position is that even a householder becomes *mukta* by performing his duties, by contemplating on *ātman* and by knowledge of the Vedānta, that the highest goal is reached by a combination of jñāna and *karma* and that the view that *mokṣa* results from knowledge alone is a sign of indolence.³³⁶ The Parāśaramādhavīya quotes a verse from Yogī-Yāj. saying that only the Brāhmaṇas can pass through the four āśramas, the Kṣatriya through three (excluding the last), the Vaiśya through two and the Śūdra only through one (viz. that of householder).³³⁷ Kullūka on Manu (3. 1) quotes the view of Yogī-Yāj. that Brahmacarya extended to twelve years or five for each of the four Vedas.³³⁸