History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s5.1

v1.c6.s5.1

This has been printed several times (there is Dr. Stenzler's edition of 1876, the Calcutta edition of 1876, the Ānandāśrama edition with the commentary of Haradatta, and the Mysore Government edition with the bhāṣya of Maskari ; it was translated by Bühler in S. B. E., Vol. II. with an introduction ). The Ānandāśrama edition of 1910 which is incorrect in a few places ( e. g. 21. 7 ) has been used in this work. This dharmasūtra is, as we shall see, the oldest of those we have. The Gautama-dharmasūtra was specially studied by followers of the Sāmaveda (see note 55 above). The commentary on the Caraṇavyūha tells us that Gautama was one of the nine subdivisions of the Rāṇāyanīya school of the Sāmaveda. A teacher Gautama is mentioned frequently in the Lātyāyanaśrautasūtra ( e. g. I. 3. 3 and I. 4. 17 ) and in the Drāhyāyaṇaśrauta ( e. g. I. 4. 17, IX. 3. 15 ) of the Sāmaveda. The Gobhilagṛhya ( III. 10. 6 ) which belongs to the Sāmaveda cites Gautama as an authority. Therefore it is not improbable that a complete Gautamasūtra embodying Śrauta, Gṛhya and Dharma doctrines once existed. There are other indications pointing to the close connection of the Gautamadharmasūtra with the Sāmaveda. Chapter 26 of the dharmasūtra about *Kṛcchra* penance is the same, almost word for word, as the Sāmavidhāna⁵⁹ Brāhmaṇa ( I. 2, Burnell's ed. ). Among the purificatory texts ( 21 in number ) mentioned in Gau. Dh. S. ( 19. 12 ) there are nine that are Sāmans. The mention of the five utterances ( ' Vyāhṛtis ' ) resembles the number in the Vyāhṛtisāma⁶⁰ though the order is different. It is however to be noted that Gautama is a generic name. In the Kaṭhopaniṣad, both Naciketas ( II. 4. 15, II. 5. 6 ) and his father ( I. 1. 10 ) are styled Gautama. In the Chāndogyopaniṣad there is a teacher Hāridrumata Gautama ( IV. 4. 3 ).