History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c57.9

v4.c57.9

The second volume of the History of Dharmaśāstra was published in the third quarter of 1941. In the Preface to that volume I held forth hopes that the next volume dealing with the remaining subjects comprised in Dharmaśāstra might be placed before scholars in about three years thereafter. The Great War was then being fought in Europe and it was generally believed that India would remain free from the fear of actual invasion. But such fond hopes were shattered by the sudden attack on Pearl Harbour by Japanese bombers on 7th December 1941. Japan gained rapid and phenomenal victories and within about three months from the attack on Pearl Harbour vast territories from the Philippines to Burma fell into the hands of the victors. Calcutta and Trincomalee were bombed. Serious fears were entertained about an invasion of the mainland of India by land, sea and air. There was great panic in such coastal cities as Madras, Bombay and Karachi. The matters uppermost in the minds of Government officials and the members of the public were A. R. P. measures, the recruiting of men for the army, navy and air force and the removal of families and valuables to places of safety in the interior. Important and rare books from the libraries of the Bombay Asiatic Society and of the University of Bombay were taken to distant places for reasons of security. During almost the whole of 1942 it was very difficult for me to work on the preparation of the third volume in the midst of a general atmosphere of panic caused by the fear of invasion and the removal of valuable reference books from Bombay. Owing to the war there has been great scarcity of paper and printing also has become very costly. I decided upon writing only on a few of the several subjects that remained to be dealt with and chose Rājādharma, Vyavahāra and Sadācāra, the treatment of which is now placed before the public. Scarcity of paper and labour is responsible for the fact that this third volume has been in the press for nearly three years. The present volume increased in bulk beyond expectation. The fourth and last volume will deal with the following subjects: Pātaka, karmavipāka and prāyaścitta; antyeṣṭi, aśauca and śrāddha; tīrtha; vrata; kāla and muhūrta; śānti; Paurāṇa dharma; the influence of the Pūrvamīmāṁsā and other śāstras on dharmaśāstra; the religious and philosophical background of dharmaśāstra; the essentials of our culture, its future, the coming social and other trends and their impact on the dogmas and ideals of Dharmaśāstra. I am personally anxious to finish all the remaining work as early as possible. But looking to my age (I am nearly 67 now), to my ailments and to the number of subjects that remain to be dealt with, it is impossible for me to say when the next and last volume may be published. This volume also is full of quotations, refers to many inscriptions, judicial decisions and legislative enactments. The reasons for this have been stated at length in the Preface to the second volume and I do not desire to repeat them here. In the general index to the second volume full references to works like the Manusmṛti were not given, because such works were quoted on almost every page. But some critics found fault with this; therefore in the index to this volume full references to all works are inserted.