History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s48.3

v1.c6.s48.3

Bhāruci, being mentioned by the Mit., is certainly older than 1050 A. D. Rāmānujācārya in his Vedārthasaṁgraha (reprint from the *Pandit*, ed. of 1924, p. 154) mentions six *ācāryas* that preceded him as expounders of the Viśiṣṭādvaita system, viz. Bodhāyana, Ṭaṅka, Dramiḍa, Guhadeva, Kapardin and Bhāruci. Similarly the Yatīndramatadīpikā⁵⁵⁵ of Śrīnivāsadāsa (Ānandāśrama ed.) enumerates (p. 2) a host of teachers as the predecessors of Rāmānujācārya in propounding the Viśiṣṭādvaita system. Vyāsa is the reputed author of the Vedāntasūtras, Bodhāyana is said to have composed a *vṛtti* on the Vedānta-sūtras, called Kṛtakoṭi according to the Prapañca-hṛdaya (p. 39, Trivandrum ed.). Ṭaṅka and Brahmanandin are identical. Dramiḍa is credited with the authorship of a *bhāṣya* on the Vedānta-sūtras (which is quoted by Rāmānuja in his *bhāṣya* on II. 2. 3). Nāthamuni is said to have been the grand-father of Yāmunamuni, who was born about 916 A. D. Rāmānuja refers to him with great reverence as his teacher's teacher (*parama-guru*, vide Vedārtha-saṁgraha, p. 149) and is said to have been young when Yāmuna died (vide J R A S for 1915, p. 147 and I. A. for 1909, p. 129). It is therefore obvious that the teachers are arranged by the Yatīndramatadīpikā in chronological order. Hence Bhāruci, being placed earlier than even Dramiḍa and Nāthamuni, was comparatively an ancient author and could not have flourished later than the first half of the 9th century. Bhāruci the jurist also flourished before 1050. It is difficult to believe that there were two famous writers of the same name nearly about the same time. Hence it may provisionally be held that Bhāruci the writer on dharmaśāstra and Bhāruci the Viśiṣṭādvaita philosopher are identical. If this identity be accepted, then Bhāruci the writer on dharmaśāstra becomes comparatively an early writer, being at least as old as Viśvarūpa. His views agree on several points with those of Viśvarūpa, which is a circumstance that lends some corroboration to the date proposed for him.