History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.32

v4.c62.32

Sanskrit literature on rājadharma is very extensive. Apart from the meagre materials contained in such ancient dharma-sūtras as that of Āpastamba, the following works deserve close study and have been utilized in this section; the Mahābhārata (Vanaparva 150, Sabhā 5, Udyoga 33-34, Śānti 1-130, Āśrama-vāsika 5-7), the Rāmāyaṇa (Ayodhyā, chap. 15, 67, 100; Yuddha 17-18, 63), Manusmṛti VII-IX, Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya (which is the leading work on rājadharma), Yāj. I. 304-367, Vṛddha-Hārīta-smṛti chap. VII. verses 188-271, Bṛhat-Parāśara chap. X. pp. 277-285, Viṣṇudharmasūtra III, the Nītisāra of Kāmandaka, Agnipurāṇa chap. 218-242, Garuḍapurāṇa 108-115, Matsya 215-243, Viṣṇudharmottara II, Mārkaṇḍeya 24, Kālikā 87, the Nītiprakāśikā attributed to Vaiśampāyana (ed. by Oppert), Śukranītisāra (ed. by Jīvānanda, 1890), the Abhilaṣitārthacintāmaṇi or Mānasollāsa (first four viṁśatis) of Someśvara, Yukti-kalpataru of Bhoja, Nītivākyāmṛta of Somadeva (959 A. D.), Bārhaspatyasūtra (ed. by Dr. F. W. Thomas), the Rājanītikāṇḍa of the Kṛtyakalpataru of Lakṣmīdhara (edited from a single ms. by Jagadish Lal Shastri at Lahore, 1942), Rājanīti-ratnākara of Caṇḍeśvara, Rājanīti-prakāśa of Mitramiśra, Nītimayūkha of Nīlakaṇṭha, Rājadharmakaustubha of Anantadeva, Budhabhūṣaṇa of Prince Sambhāji (between A. D. 1675-1680, ed. by Prof. H. D. Velankar), Daṇḍanīti of Keśavapaṇḍita (edited by V. S. Bendrey, Poona, 1943). In recent times there is a deluge of works mostly inspired by the publication of the Kauṭilīya dealing with ancient and medieval Indian polity in its various branches. The most important of these and a few other works independent of Kauṭilya are mentioned in the note below.¹⁹