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History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s80: 95. Śūlapāṇi

History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s80

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95. Śūlapāṇi

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Next to Jīmūtavāhana, Śūlapāṇi is the most authoritative Bengal writer on dharmaśāstra. Rai Bahadur M. M. Chakravarti gave a very interesting account of his works and time in JASB for 1915, pp. 336-343.

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The earliest work of Śūlapāṇi appears to have been his Dīpakalikā, a commentary on the smṛti of Yājñavalkya. It is a very brief commentary. The portion on the dāyabhāga section (Yājñavalkya II, verses 114-149) is contained in five printed pages (vide Ghose’s Hindu Law, edition of 1917, vol. II. pp. 550-554). In this commentary, besides the sages he names only a few writers and works deceased has reference to property acquired by the deceased from his father or grand-father. He explained the word 'apratiṣṭhitā' in the sūtra of Gautama 'strīdhanam duhitt̄nām-aprattānām-apratiṣṭhitānāṁ ca' in the same way as Aparārka, Jīmūtavāhana and the Smṛticandrikā.⁹⁵¹ He says that a full brother though not re-united succeeded before a half-brother though re-united.⁹⁵² This explanation of the much canvassed verse of Yāj. offered by Śūlapāṇi is refered to by the Vīramitrodaya.⁹⁵³ The Vyavahāratattva of Raghunandana several times refers to Śūlapāṇi's explanations of Yāj.⁹⁵⁴

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⁹⁵¹ अनपत्या निर्धना अभर्तृका दुर्भगाश्च। ता विना अन्वयः पुत्रपौत्रादिः।

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⁹⁵² असंसृष्ट्यपि सोदर एव गृह्णीयान्न तु संसृष्टः सापत्नभ्राता।

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⁹⁵³ 'याज्ञवल्क्यस्मृतिटीकायां शूलपाणिः। अन्योदर्यः संसृष्टी नान्योदर्यधनं गृह्णीयात्। असंसृष्ट्यपि सोदर एव गृह्णीयात्। न तु संसृष्टः सापत्नभ्राता &c.' वीर. pp. 682-683.

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⁹⁵⁴ e. g. वेदयति चेदित्यनेन स्वयं विवादोत्थापनं राज्ञा न कर्तव्यमिति शूलपाणिमहामहोपाध्यायाः। व्यवहारतत्त्व.

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Śūlapāṇi wrote several small treatises on topics of dharmaśāstra and intended them to form part of a huge digest called Smṛtiviveka. Fourteen such works are known to have been so written with titles ending in the word 'viveka,' viz. Ekādaśī-viveka, Tithi-viveka, Dattaka-viveka, Durgotsavaprayoga-viveka, Durgotsava-viveka, Dolayātrā-viveka, Pratiṣṭhā-viveka, Prāyaścitta-viveka, Rāsayātrā-viveka, Vratakāla-viveka, Śuddhi-viveka, Śrāddha-viveka, Saṁkrānti-viveka, Saṁbandha-viveka (on marriage). Of these the Durgotsavaviveka seems to have been amongst his latest works, since he names therein five of his *vivekas* on durgotsava-prayoga, pratiṣṭhā, prāyaścitta, śuddhi and śrāddha. The Śrāddha-viveka is the most famous of his works and has been printed. His Prāyaścittaviveka and Durgotsava-viveka have also been published, the former by Jivananda (1893) and the latter by the Sanskrit Sāhitya Pariṣad at Calcutta in Bengali characters. In the Durgotsava-viveka he deals with the worship of Durgā in Āśvina and also in spring (hence the deity is called Vāsantī). In the Durgotsava-viveka, besides such purāṇas as the Kālikā, Bhaviṣyottara, Bhāgavata, Devī, he names a host of writers and works as noted below.⁹⁵⁵ In spite of Aufrecht's view the Saṁvatsara-pradīpa is not his own work. A Sārasamuccaya is also mentioned in Hemādri (Dāna-khaṇḍa page 135). The Smṛtisāgara is probably the same as the Govindārṇava of Śeṣa Nṛsiṁha or the work of the same name which Kullūka appears to have composed. Śrīkaramiśra is probably the ancient author referred to even by the Mitākṣarā.

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⁹⁵⁵ They are: कालकौमुदी, कालमाधवीय, कालविवेक, कालादर्श, चक्रनारायणी, जिकन, जीमूतवाहन, ज्योतिषार्णव, बालक, महाकपिलपञ्चरात्र, वर्षकृत्य, वसन्तराज, शारदातिलक, श्रीकरमिश्र, श्रीदत्तोपाध्याय, संवत्सरप्रदीप, समयप्रदीप (of श्रीदत्त), सारसमुच्चय, स्मृतिसागर.

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The Śrāddha-viveka has several commentaries by eminent writers such as Śrīnātha Ācāryacūḍāmaṇi and Govindānanda. So there are commentaries on the Prāyaścittaviveka. Besides the above, the works and authors mentioned in the other vivekas are noted below.⁹⁵⁶ The Śrāddha-viveka of Śūlapāṇi is referred to (as Gauḍīya-śrāddhaviveka) by Rudradhara,⁹⁵⁷ by Vācaspati in his Śrāddha-cintāmaṇi, by Govindānanda in his Śrāddhakriyākaumudī and by Raghunandana in several of his *tattvas*.

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⁹⁵⁶ कल्पतरु, कामधेनु, कृत्यचिन्तामणि, गोविन्दराज, धर्मप्रदीप, पारिजात, भवदेव, भुजबलभीम, भोजदेव, महार्णवप्रकाश, मिताक्षरा, मेधातिथि, रत्नाकर, शङ्खधर, स्मृतिमञ्जरी, हलायुध.

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⁹⁵⁷ Vide folio 25 a of the Benares edition of रुद्रधर's श्राद्धविवेक (printed in संवत् 1920).

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We know very little about the personal history of Śūlapāṇi. In the colophons of his works⁹⁵⁸ he is styled Sāhuḍīyāla (or -na) Mahāmahopādhyāya and Raghunandana also calls him Mahāmahopādhyāya. The Sāhuḍīyāla was a degraded section of the Rāḍhīya Brāhmaṇas in Bengal from the days of Ballālasena. As Rudradhara calls him Gauḍīya, it follows that Śūlapāṇi was a Bengal Brāhmaṇa. There is a tradition that he was the Judge of king Lakṣamaṇasena of Bengal. But this is impossible as the following discussion about his date will show.

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⁹⁵⁸ Vide I. O. cat. p. 371 No, 1287 and D, C. ms. No. 98 of 1895-98.

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There is some uncertainty about the exact age of Śūlapāṇi. As Śūlapāṇi names the Ratnākara of Caṇḍeśvara and the Kālamādhavīya, he must be later than about 1375 A. D., since some time must have elapsed before a work from Vijayanagar came to be regarded as an authority in Bengal. As Śūlapāṇi's works are mentioned by Rudradhara, Govindānanda and Vācaspati, the former must be earlier than about 1460. In this connection it has to be noted that Govindānanda not only comments upon Śūlapāṇi's works but probably looks upon Śūlapāṇi as an old writer along with Aniruddha.⁹⁵⁹

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⁹⁵⁹ यच्च मैथिलैरासमान्नदानयोर्यं बाध त्वेति मन्त्रो नास्तीत्युक्तं तदनिरुद्धशूलपाणिप्रभृतीनां प्राचामसंमतम् । p. 71 of श्राद्धक्रियाकौमुदी. The word प्राचां may here mean 'eastern writers.'

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A ms. of the Prāyaścittaviveka was copied at Benares in *śake* 1410 (i. e. 1488 A. D.).⁹⁶⁰ From all these data it follows that Śūlapāṇi flourished between 1375 and 1460 A. D.

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⁹⁶⁰ शाके गते दशसमुद्रहिमांशुसंख्ये मासे त्विषे शिवमुदे शिवशर्मणा यः ।

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From the Śuddhittatva it appears that Śūlapāṇi wrote Pariśiṣṭadīpakalikā (probably a commentary on a Gṛhyapariśiṣṭa)⁹⁶¹.

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⁹⁶¹ अत एव पितृदयिता-परिशिष्टप्रकाश-शूलपाणिकृत-परिशिष्टदीपकलिकाप्रभृतिषु मन्त्राभिधानपूर्वकवाक्येन वृषोत्सर्ग इत्युक्तम् । शुद्धितत्त्व (vol. II, p. 380).

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