History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s77.1

v1.c6.s77.1

Mādhavācārya is the brightest star in the galaxy of *dakṣiṇātya* authors on dharmaśāstra. His fame stands only second to that of the great Śaṅkarācārya. He had a most versatile genius and either himself wrote or inspired his brother Sāyaṇa and others to write voluminous works on almost all branches of Sanskrit literature. As an erudite scholar, as a far-sighted statesman, as the bulwark of the Vijayanagara kingdom in the first days of its foundation, as a *saṁnyāsin* given to peaceful contemplation and renunciation in old age, he led such a varied and useful life that even to this day his is a name to conjure with. Among his numerous works two deserve special mention here, viz : the Parāśara-mādhavīya, his commentary on the Parāśarasmṛti and the Kālanirṇaya.