History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.170.5

v7.c90.170.5

6 the story of the birth of Vasiṣṭha and Agastya as the sons of Mitra and Varuṇa, the story of Yama and Yamī are comparatively late additions. The story of the birth of Vasiṣṭha from Urvaśī and Mitra and Varuṇa is alluded to even in the Ṛgveda (VII 33. 11) and in the previous verse (10) of the same hymn Vasiṣṭha, Agastya and Mitrāvaruṇau are brought together. The story of Yama and Yamī occurs in Ṛg. X. 10. The Narasiṁha itself states (in chap. 14 1) that the story of Yama and Yamī is Vaidikī. The Purāṇa may have added some fringes and embellishments, but the main theme is the same in both. On p. 254-255 and note 330 Prof. Hazra was constrained to admit that the Narasiṁhapurāṇa had been revised more than once, remarks that Hemādri had a more extensive purāṇa before him than the printed one and that a comparison of the verses quoted from the Narasiṁhapurāṇa by the Madanapārijāta pp. 301-302, Smṛtītattva on āhnika (vol. I. p. 411) and Nityācārapradīpa (vol. I p. 617) show that the text of the Narasiṁha used by Raghunandana and Narasiṁha-vājapeyin agrees more with the printed text than the text used by Madanapāla (about 1375 A. D.), less than 200 years before Raghunandana.