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History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s54: 67. Bālaka

History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s54

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67. Bālaka

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Bālaka like Jitendriya is no more than a name to us. Jīmūtavāhana's works make frequent reference to him. He held the view that the daughter's son, not being expressly mentioned as an heir by Yāj., came in after those expressly mentioned from the widow to the brother.⁶¹⁹ The Dāyabhāga notices that Bālaka read a text of Āpastamba in a wrong way.⁶²⁰ Bālaka said that the words of Śaṅkha 'svaryātasya-aputrasya bhrātṛgāmi dravyam...jyeṣṭhā vā patnī' apply either to a widow belonging to a caste other than her husband's or to a very young widow or in case her husband was undivided or re-united.⁶²¹ Bālaka says that when some property is acquired by one brother by means of learning, other brothers are not entitled to that wealth.⁶²² The Dāyabhāga refers to a passage from Bālaka in which the latter relies on the Pūrvamīmāṁsā example of *mudga* and *māṣa*.⁶²³ In the Vyavahāramātṛkā of Jīmūtavāhana (p. 346) it is stated that Bāla held the same views as those of Śrīkara-miśra on a certain point. In the Prāyaścitta-nirūpaṇa of Bhavadeva a writer named Vāloka is mentioned (vide JASB 1912 at p. 336). This seems to be a Bengali scribe's way of pronouncing the name Bālaka. Bālaka is mentioned in Raghunandana's Vyavahāratattva (p. 47) also as holding the view with Śrīkara and others that adverse possession for twenty years conferred ownership in the case of immovable property.⁶²⁴ Śūlapāṇi in his Durgotsaviveka twice quotes the views of Bālaka and once refutes the latter.⁶²⁵ Hence it appears that Bālaka was an eastern or Bengal writer, composed a work on several branches of dharmaśāstra (such as vyavahāra and prāyaścitta) and flourished before 1100 A. D.

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⁶¹⁹ यत्तु बालकवचनं पत्नी दुहितरश्चैव पितरौ भ्रातरस्तथा इत्यादि नियतक्रमादधस्तन एव दौहित्रस्याधिकार इति तद् बृहस्पतिविरोधाद् बालवचनमेव। दायभाग p. 282.

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⁶²⁰ इदं बालकेनाकुलीकृत्य पठितं यस्तु धर्मेण द्रव्याणि प्रतिपादयति ज्येष्ठस्तं पितृसमभागं कुर्वतीति तदनाकरम्। दायभाग p. 161. The sūtra is Āp. Dh. S. II. 6. 14. 15 'यस्त्वधर्मेण द्रव्याणि प्रतिपादयति ज्येष्ठोपि तमभागं कुर्वीत.'

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⁶²¹ यच्च बालकेनोक्तं—असवर्णाविषयं वा युवत्यभिप्रायं वा अविभक्तसंसृष्टविषयं वा शङ्खद्विवचनं इति तेनाव्यवस्थितशास्त्रार्थकथनेनात्मनो बालरूपत्वमेव प्रकटीकृतं सन्देहादेकतरानुष्ठानानुपपत्तेः। दायभाग p. 262. Here there is a play on the word बालक.

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⁶²² बालकेनाप्युक्तं न ह्येकेन भ्रात्रा विद्यादिना लब्धेऽपरेषामधिकारसंभवः प्रमाणाभावादित्यन्तेन । दायभाग p. 190.

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⁶²³ अतो यद्बालकवचनं यथा मुद्गपचारे माषप्रतिनिधौ मुद्गानां माषाणां च यज्ञसंबन्धे— अयज्ञिया वै माषा—इति माषा निषिद्धाः, तथात्मीयानात्मीयहरणेपि अनात्मीयापहारो निषिद्धः, तद्बालवचनमेव पूर्वव्याहृतस्य स्तेयपदार्थस्यैवाभावात् । दायभाग p. 356.

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⁶²⁴ तस्माद्याज्ञवल्क्यादिवचनाद्विंशतिवर्षदशवर्षादिकालेभोग एव स्वत्वं जनयति तथा कालप्राप्तिबलेन बीजमङ्कुरं जनयति तरवश्च कुसुममिति स्वामिना चापरित्यक्तेपि शास्त्रोक्तकालीनभोगात्स्वाम्यमन्यस्य भवति यथा जयेन राज्ञः परराष्ट्रधने इति । एवमेव श्रीकरबालकजोग्लोकभवदेवभट्टशूलपाणिकुल्लूकभट्टचण्डेश्वरमन्त्रिनव्यवर्धमानोपाध्यायप्रभृतयः । व्यवहारोपि तादृगेव । व्यवहारतत्त्व p. 223 (Jivananda vol. II).

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⁶²⁵ इति आश्विनाधिकारिविष्णुधर्मोत्तरवचनमात्रदर्शिना बालकेनात्र विषये पूर्वदिने नवमीकृत्यं युग्मादिति यदुक्तं 'भगवत्याः प्रवेशादिविसर्गान्ताश्च याः क्रियाः' इत्यादि वचनेन विरोधात्तद्धेयम् । दुर्गोत्सवविवेक p. 16 (Sanskrit Sāhityapariṣad ed.). Vide p. 9 also for reference to बालक's view on देवीपूजा.

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