History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s87.1

v1.c6.s87.1

Raghunandana is the last great writer of Bengal on dharmaśāstra. He compiled an encyclopædic work on the different branches of dharmaśāstra styled Smṛtitattva, divided into 28 sections called *tattvas*. He cites the names of over 300 authors and works in his encyclopaedia, which have been collected together by M. M. Chakravarti (JASB for 1915 pp. 363-375). His wonderful mastery over *smṛti* material and his erudition displayed in the Smṛti-tattva earned for him the appellation *smārtabhaṭṭācārya* or simply '*smārta*' from later writers. For example, the Vīramitrodaya refers to him in that way and so does Nīlakaṇṭha in his Vyavahāramayūkha.¹⁰¹⁷ His Smṛtitattva was printed at Serampore in Bengali characters so far back as 1834-35 A. D. and it has also been published by Jivananda (in two volumes). Some *tattvas* have been separately published as e. g. the Vyavahāra-tattva and the Dāyatattva (published at Calcutta in 1828 by the Department of Public Instruction). His Dāyatattva was translated into English by Golapcandra Sarkar. In his Malamāsatattva the names of his *tattvas* are given.¹⁰¹⁸ Vide Mitra's Notices, vol. III. p. 50 No. 1081 and I. O. cat. p. 420 No. 1405 for an enumeration of the *tattvas* and for reference to the volumes and pages in the Serampore edition. The *tattvas* are not arranged in the verses quoted below according to their chronological order, but according to the exigencies of the metre. In this work I have used Jivananda's edition.