History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s98: 113. Jagannātha Tarkapañcānana
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s98
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113. Jagannātha Tarkapañcānana
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After the British took over the administration of Bengal from the Nabobs, attempts were made to compile easily accessible digests of the personal law of the Hindus. The Vivādārṇavasetu¹¹⁶⁵ compiled in 1773 for Warren Hastings by several *paṇḍits* was translated into English from a Persian rendering and was published in 1774 A. D. as Halhed's Gentoo Code. But this was a very unsatisfactory work. Another attempt was made at the instance of Sir William Jones by Trivedi Sarvoruśarman who compiled in 1789 A. D. a digest of civil law called Vivādasārārṇava¹¹⁶⁶ in nine *taraṅgas*. But the most famous of such digests that owed their inspiration to the British is the Vivādabhaṅgārṇava compiled by Jagannātha Tarkapañcānana of Triveṇī on the Ganges, son of Rudra Tarkavāgīśa. This digest was suggested by Sir William Jones and two parts of it on contracts and succession were translated by Colebrooke in 1796. The translation was first published in 1797 A. D. and is known to the legal profession as Colebrooke's Digest. This work exercised great influence over the courts in their administration of Hindu Law in the early days. The work is divided into *dvīpas*, each *dvīpa* being subdivided into *ratnas*. The principal topics dealt with are: recovery of debts, deposits, sale without ownership, partnership, rescission of gifts, non-payment of wages, rescission of sale and purchase, emancipation from slavery, disputes between master and servant, duties of man and wife, inheritance and partition. Jagannātha is said to have died at the venerable age of 111 in 1806.¹¹⁶⁷ Though Jagannātha exercised great influence in moulding Hindu Law in Bengal, his work has been held from very early times not to have any binding authority in Western India.¹¹⁶⁸
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¹¹⁶⁵ The विवादार्णवसेतु is published by the Veṅkaṭeśvara Press in Bombay (śake 1810) ; vide also I. O. cat. p. 458.
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¹¹⁶⁶ Vide I. O. cat. p. 457 for विवादसारार्णव.
Linked texts (1)
- Vivādārṇavasetu — Several paṇḍits 1748, Sanskrit