History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.19

v4.c63.19

It will be noticed that Yāj. omits the duties of husband and wife from the 18 topics of vyavahāra as he had already dealt with them in his section on *ācāra*, adds *abhyupetyāśuśrūṣā* and *prakīrṇaka* (miscellaneous wrongs) and splits krayavikrayānuśaya into two and thus gives 20 topics. Nārada (I. 16-19) has the same 15 topics as those of Manu (in some cases under slightly different names), omits svāmipālavivādā, steya and strīsaṅgrahaṇa, adds abhyupetyāśuśrūṣā and another topic viz. prakīrṇaka and splits krayavikrayānuśaya into two, viz. *krītānuśaya* and *vikrīyāsampradāna*. He includes *steya* under *sāhasa* (*sāhasa* verse 21) and also in what is an appendix. Bṛhaspati as quoted in the Smṛti-candrikā (vyavahāra p. 9) names the 18 vyavahārapadas and adds prakīrṇaka. Kauṭilya also adds prakīrṇaka and omits 'steya' under his dharmasthīya section, though he deals with theft elsewhere (as in IV. 8 and 11). It is not to be supposed that the 18 topics were first started by the Manusmṛti. Gaut. XII. 1 mentions *vākpāruṣya* and *daṇḍapāruṣya*, treats of some of the topics without specifying the technical names e. g. he refers to the subjects of saṅgrahaṇa (in XII. 2-3), of theft (XII. 12-13), of svāmipālavivāda (in XII. 16 ff), of ṛṇādāna (in XII. 26-33), of nidhi (in XII. 39), of dāyavibhāga (in XXVIII). Similarly the Āp. Dh. S. speaks in scattered places of some of the topics of vyavahāra such as murder (i. e. *sāhasa*) in I. 9. 24, of adultery in I. 9. 25. 1-2 and I. 10. 28. 15-20, II. 10. 26. 18 ff, theft in I. 9. 25. 4-11, dāyavibhāga in II. 6. 14, vākpāruṣya in II. 10. 27. 14. Vas. also mentions the word dāyavibhāga (in XVII. 40) and sets out rules about it and about means of proof (XVI. 13-15), about *ṛṇādāna* (XVI. 31), about the twelve kinds of sons (XVII. 12-39). The Baud. Dh. S. (II. 2. 8) employs the word dāyavibhāga and gives several rules on that subject. Thus some at least out of the eighteen vyavahārapadas (such as vākpāruṣya, daṇḍapāruṣya, dāyabhāga, steya) were distinctly recognized centuries before the present Manusmṛti was composed. Someśvara in Mānasollāsa (II. 20. verses 1265-1273) enumerates 22 vyavahārapadas, by splitting dattasyānapākarma into two as *datta* and *dattāpahāraka*, adds svāmibhṛtyavivāda after svāmipālavivāda, counts krayavikrayānuśaya as two and dyūtasamāhvaya as two distinct topics.