History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s95.8

v1.c6.s95.8

Bhaṭṭojidīkṣita was a pupil of the Mīmāṁsaka Śaṅkarabhaṭṭa and of Śeṣa Śrīkṛṣṇa and almost a contemporary of Jagnnāthapaṇḍita. Bhaṭṭoji's pupil Nīlakaṇṭha Śukla wrote a work in saṁvat 1663 (Dr. Belvalkar in 'Systems of Sanskrit Grammar', p. 47). Therefore he flourished in the first half of the 17th century. Nāgojibhaṭṭa was a pupil of Bhaṭṭoji's grandson. Therefore Nāgojibhaṭṭa must have flourished towards the end of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century. Nāgojibhaṭṭa's literary activities, looking to his vast out-put, must have extended over a long period of more than 50 years. The pedigree¹¹⁴⁰ from Bhaṭṭojidīkṣita, through a succession of teacher and pupils or father and son, is given below. *Vide* introduction to the Rasagaṅgādhara (Nirn. ed); Trivedi's introduction pp. 18-20 to the Vaiyākaraṇabhūṣaṇa of Koṇḍabhaṭṭa, a nephew of Bhaṭṭoji (B. S. series); Dr. Belvalkar's Systems of Sanskrit grammar pp. 46-50 and Kielhorn's preface to the Paribhāṣenduśekhara p. xxv (where the succession of teacher and pupil is brought down to the days of Kielhorn himself) for further details. In the Indian Antiquary, vol. 41 p. 247, Mr. S. P. V. Raṅganātha Svāmi makes Bhaṭṭoji a pupil of Śeṣa Vīreśvara and not of Śeṣa Kṛṣṇa. But the passage of the Manoramākucamardana, if properly interpreted, makes it clear that Bhaṭṭoji was the pupil of Śeṣa Kṛṣṇa and not of Vīreśvara.¹¹⁴¹ A ms. of Nāgojibhaṭṭa's commentary on the Rasamañjarī is dated *saṁvat* 1769, Māgha 7th bright half, Wednesday, i. e. 21st January 1713 A. D. (vide I. O. cat. vol. III p. 365). It is not unlikely that Nāgojibhaṭṭa first composed his commentaries on the comparatively easy śāstra of poetics and that he then worked upon Dharmaśāstra and Vyākaraṇa. The edition of the Rasagaṅgādhara in the Kāvyamālā series says that there is a tradition that Nāgoji was invited by king Savai Jaising of Jaipur to a horse-sacrifice in 1714 A. D., but that Nāgoji declined on the ground of *Kṣetra-saṁnyāsa*. Therefore his literary activity must be placed between 1700 and 1750 A. D. Mahāmahopādhyāya Haraprasad Śāstri says (Ind. Ant. vol. 41 p. 12) that Nāgoji died about 1775. But this appears rather improbable. If one of his works was copied in 1713 A. D. he could hardly have lived up to 1775, unless he was about 100 years old at that time.