History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t2.573.3

v4.c63.t2.573.3

558 and 684 for Rāma and the golden image of Sītā. As to Yudhiṣṭhira's bringing about the death of his brāhmaṇa teacher the explanation is that the former performed Aśvamedha after the end of the war by way of prāyaścitta (vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 147 n. 333 and pp. 1236-37 notes 2674-75 for Aśvamedha as the re mover of all sins). As to Draupadī being the wife of five brothers Kumārila quotes Ādiparva 198. 14 (=cr. ed. 190. 14) and offers several explanations (p. 209), the most astounding being that there were five wives of the five brothers who were so similar that they were all referred to as one. As the Nyāyasudhā (p. 194) remarks, these various explanations were offered to show off great resourcefulness of interpretation (parihāra-vaibhavārtham), the proper one being that the practice of the Pāṇḍavas was an evil one and was not to be imitated. A blind man could not perform sacrifices and was excluded from inheritance. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 157 n. 369 and vol. III. p. 609 n. 1154. But Kumārila says that as Dhṛtarāṣṭra was blessed with sight for a while and saw his deceased sons through the miraculous power of Vyāsa (Āśramavāsiparva chap. 32-37) he might have been endowed with sight at the time of the sacrifices or what is meant is that he made gifts which are spoken of as sacrifices. As regards Subhadrā, Kumārila asserts that in spite of the fact that Subhadrā was said in the Ādiparva (219. 18 = cr. ed. 211.