History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.145.3

v7.c90.145.3

1-2 and completely misunderstands the great ācārya when he observes "Śaṅkara's use of the word 'rātri' in the plural (in 'rātriṣu') shows that in his opinion the *Itihāsa and Purāṇa were employed every night* during the Pāriplava and *not merely on the 8th and 9th nights respectively, as the Śatapatha Br. and Śāṅkhāyanaśrautasūtra say*" (Italics author's). The Aśvamedha sacrifice lasted for a year and listening to the Pāriplava went on for a year, each Pāriplava being a cycle of ten days (or rather nights, as the recitation by the hotṛ priest was to take place after the morning, mid-day and evening iṣṭis to Savitṛ were finished). The texts to be recited and the nature of the legends to be narrated on each of the cycle of ten days are fixed and Itihāsa and Purāṇa are to be recited only on the 8th and 9th nights. As each cycle was of ten days, there would be 36 cycles of Pāriplava in a year and Itihāsa would be recited on 36 nights in the year and Purāṇa also would be recited on 36 nights in the year. It is for this reason that Śaṅkarācārya speaks of 'Pāriplavāsu rātriṣu' in the plural, but he does not say that Itihāsa and Purāṇa were to be recited on 'all' nights (*sarvāsu* rātriṣu), while Prof. Hazra represents him as so saying. There is absolutely no warrant in the ancient texts for saying that on each day (or night) of the Pāriplava Itihāsa or Purāṇa was to be recited or that Śaṅkarācārya said anything of the kind.