History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s57.1

v1.c6.s57.1

The Mitākṣarā of Vijñāneśvara occupies a unique place in the Dharmaśāstra literature. Its position is analogous to that of the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali in grammar or to that of the Kāvyaprakāśa of Mammaṭa in Poetics. It represents the essence of dharmaśāstra speculation that preceded it for about two thousand years and it became the fountain head from which flowed fresh streams of exegesis and developments. Under the decisions of the Courts in British India, the Mitākṣarā is of paramount authority in several matters of Hindu Law (such as adoption, inheritance, partition etc.) throughout India except where, as in Bengal, the Dāyabhāga prevails.