History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s7.24

v1.c6.s7.24

The dharmasūtra of Āpastamba has been quoted from very ancient times as authoritative. Śabara in his *bhāṣya* on Jaimini VI. 8. 18 quotes one sūtra of Āpastamba and a paraphrase of another.⁹⁶ The Tantravārtika refers to the sūtras of Āpastamba about local and family usages,⁹⁷ about drinking wine and about the conflict between the views of Baudhāyana and Āpastamba (vide above page 26 also). Śaṅkarācārya in his *bhāṣya* on Brahmasūtra IV. 2. 14 quotes Āpastamba I. 7. 20. 3 (about the planting of trees for fruit as a meritorious act and the collateral benefits of shade and fragrance). He also cites (on Brahmasūtra II. 1. 1.) about the supreme soul a half verse from Āpastamba (I. 8. 23. 2)⁹⁸. In his bhāṣya on Bṛhadāraṇyaka, he cites Āp. Dh. S. I. 5. 15. 1 (upāsane gurūṇām &c.). The two *paṭalas* of Āpastamba (I. 8. 22 and 23) dealing with *adhyātma* (philosophy) were commented upon by Śaṅkarācārya, who, from the general style and method of the commentary (vide Trivandrum edition of the adhyātmapaṭala), seems to be the same as the great ācārya. Sureśvara in his *Vārtika* (I. 1. 97) on Śaṅkara's *bhāṣya* on the Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad quotes the sūtra about the planting of mango (Āpastamba I. 7. 20. 3⁹⁹) trees. Viśvarūpa, who according to Mādhava, was the same as Sureśvara,¹⁰⁰ quotes (Trivandrum edition) in his commentary on Yājñavalkya (ācāra and vyavahāra only) Āpastamba's sūtras about twenty times. The quotations show that the text of Āpastamba was identical with the one printed, barring a few variations that are no more than mere slips on the part of the scribes of Mss. In his commentary on Yāj. III 237 Viśvarūpa quotes eighteen sūtras of Āpastamba (I. 9. 24. 6-23) consecutively which are the same as those in the printed text. Medhātithi quotes Āpastamba II. 5. 11. 2, II. 4. 7. 16, II. 8. 19. 20, I. 4. 14. 30-31 on Manu II. 247, III. 102, III. 273 and VIII 357 respectively and appears to refer to Āpastamba I. 4. 13. 6 (about "om") on Manu II. 83. The Mitākṣarā has several quotations and Aparārka contains about two hundred sūtras of Āpastamba, though rather in a mutilated form. But it is not necessary to refer to these and other later works in detail, since Haradatta's commentary, as will be shown later on, was wtitten about the time of Aparārka. Thus from the days of Śabara (500 A. D. at the latest) to 1100 A. D. we have a host of writers who vouch for the authenticity of the extant text of Āpastamba.