History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s6.1

v1.c6.s6.1

This has been edited several times (text by Dr. Hultzsch at Leipzig in 1884, text in the Ānandāśrama collection of smṛtis and in the Mysore Government Oriental Series in 1907 with the commentary of Govindasvāmin; translated in S. B. E., Vol. 14, with an Introduction). The Mysore edition has been used in this work. Baudhāyana is a teacher of the Kṛṣṇayajurveda. A complete set of the Baudhāyanasūtras has not yet been recovered and has not been as carefully preserved as the sūtras of Āpastamba and Hiraṇyakeśin. Dr. Burnell arranges Baudhāyana's sūtras into six sutras, the Śrautasūtra in 19 praśnas (probably); Karmāntasūtra in 20 adhyāyas; Dvaidhasutra in four praśnas; Gṛhyasūtra in four praśnas; Dharmasūtra in four praśnas; Śulvasūtra in three adhyāyas. The commentators offer no indication as to the place originally assigned to the *gṛhya*, *dharma* and *śulva sūtras* in the whole collection. Dr. Caland in his monograph (A. D. 1903) ‘Uber das Rituelle sūtra des Baudhāyana’ gives on p. 12 the contents of the Baudhāyanasūtra as follows:—Praśnas I–XXI Śrauta, XXII–XXV Dvaidha, XXVI–XXVIII Karmānta; XXIX–XXXI Prāyaścitta, XXXII Śulvasūtra, XXXIII–XXXV Gṛhyasūtra, XXXVI Gṛhyaprāyaścitta; XXXVII Gṛhyaparibhāṣā, XXXVIII–XLI Gṛhyapariśiṣṭa; XLII–XLIV Pitṛmedha, XLV Pravara, XLVI–XLIX Dharma. Dr. Caland edited nine *praśnas* of the Śrautasūtra for the B. I. Series (A. D. 1904). Dr. R. Shamsastri published for the Mysore University (in 1920) the Baudhāyanagṛhyasūtra with *paribhāṣā*, *gṛhyaśeṣa*, Pitṛmedhasūtra. The Gṛhyasūtra cites the view of Baudhāyana himself (I. 7). The Baudhāyana-dharma refers to the Gṛhya and presupposes it in several places (vide note 54). In the Baudhāyanagṛhya (III. 9. 6) we have a reference to *padakāra* Ātreya, Vṛttikāra Kauṇḍinya, pravacanakāra Kaṇva Bodhāyana, and Sūtrakāra Āpastamba.68a A similar passage occurs in the Bhāradvāja Gṛhyasūtra. In the Baudhāyana-dharmasūtra (II. 5. 27 Ṛṣitarpaṇa) we have Kaṇva Bodhāyana, Āpastamba sūtrakāra and Satyāṣāḍha Hiraṇyakeśin one after another. These references show that Kaṇva Bodhāyana was an ancient sage when the Baudhāyana-dharmasūtra was written and that he could not have been the author of the gṛhya or the dharma sūtras of Baudhāyana. Baudhāyana may have been a descendant of this Kaṇva Bodhāyana. This surmise is supported by Govindasvāmin who explains Baudhāyana occurring in Baudhāyanadharmasūtra I. 3. 13, as Kāṇvāyana. In the dharmasūtra Baudhāyana is himself cited as an authority several times (e. g. I. 4. 15 and 24, III. 5. 8, III. 6. 20). In all these places the Mysore edition reads Bodhāyana, while the Ānandāśrama reads Baudhāyana. In one or two places he is styled 'bhagavān' (III. 6. 20). Several explanations are offered by the commentator Govindasvāmin (on I. 3. 13). He says that it is the practice of the Ācāryas to refer to themselves in the third person (as Medhātithi says on Manu⁶⁹) or that the author of the dharmasūtra is a pupil of Baudhāyana as the Manusmṛti is promulgated by Bhṛgu, the pupil of Manu, or there was some other Baudhāyana whose works have not come down to us.