History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s80.12

v1.c6.s80.12

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.