History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.t2.104

v5.c74.t2.104

¹⁴¹⁵ Dr. Fitz-Edward Hall (Introduction to Sherring's work p. XXXII n. 3) criticizes Dr Wilson for holding that the greater part of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa is anterior to the first attack on Banaras by Mahmud of Gazni and holds that it is later than the Gaznivide invader Dr. Hall advances hardly any convincing reasons The work of Alberuni is definite that Sultan Mahmud of Gazni had not spread his depredations as far as Banaras (vide Sachau, vol. I p. 22) 'This is the reason why Hindu Sciences .. have fled to places which our hand cannot yet reach, to Kashmir, Benares and other places' The Kalpataru on Tīrtha quotes about one hundred verses on Vārāṇasī *(Continued from the last page)* from the Skandapurāṇa and holds the latter work to be as authoritative as the Matsyapurāṇa, Liṅgapurāṇa and other Purāṇas The Kalpataru of Lakṣmīdhara was composed about 1110 A D. (*vide* Prof Aiyangar's Introduction to Tīrthakāṇḍa pp XVIII-XIX). Therefore a century or two at least before 1100 A D. there existed a Skandapurāṇa, part of which contained a eulogium of Banaras. Unfortunately the present printed Kāśīkhaṇḍa of the Skanda does not agree with the quotations from the Skanda given by the Kalpataru. A curious state of things is divulged as regards the quotations from Skanda in the Kalpataru. For example, on pp 36-37 of the Kalpataru on Tīrtha, about 19 verses are quoted from Skanda which occur verbatim in the Liṅgapurāṇa, chap. 92. 120-142 (with the addition of some half verses) Similarly, on p 44 of the Kalpataru three verses are quoted from Skanda, which are the same as Liṅga. 92 87-89 On p 42 Kalpataru quotes one verse about Goprekṣeśvara from Skanda which is quoted from the Liṅgapurāṇa by Trı S. p 171. Some of the Purāṇas say that the Skanda has 81101 verses (Matsya 53. 42-43) But the Skanda printed at the Veṅkaṭeśvara press contains several thousand verses more It appears that there were different recensions of the Skanda. The Trı S. quotes verses from specific chapters of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa which are generally found in the printed work. *Vide* p 193 (for chap. 30), 190 (for chap. 32), p. 144 (for chap. 34), p 160 for chap 45, p. 154 for chap. 49, pp 157 and 200 for chap 61 etc