History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.211

v7.c90.211

The Brahmāṇḍa is one of the oldest of the 18 Purāṇas and has hundreds of verses in common with the Vāyu. Vide above p. 852. The Mit on Yāj quotes a verse from the Brahmāṇḍa¹⁴²² stating that a person, on touching Śaivas, Pāśupatas, Lokāyatikas and atheists, persons of the three varṇas following forbidden paths and śūdras, should bathe with the clothes on. Aparārka quotes about 75 verses from it of which 43 are concerned with śrāddha. The Sm. C quotes about 50 verses on Āhnika and Śrāddha, of which ten occur also in Aparārka The Kalpataru does not quote a single verse from it in the sections on vrata, gṛhastha, tīrtha, rājadharma, but quotes 16 verses from it on srāddha, and 16 on mokṣa, none from Niyata and from Vyavahāra If we may judge from some of the matters noted here it cannot be placed as early as the Matsya. In III 48 8 and 20 it employs long compounds,¹⁴²³ mentions Bhīmasena and Nārada¹⁴²⁴ as writers on music (III 61. 42-43), contains a chapter (III. 62) on Gāndharva, refers to the opinions of former ācāryas, to 30 alaṅkāras of nāṭya and four purposes of such alaṅkāras (chap. 62, verse 22). It may be placed between the 4th and 6th century A D. For discussion on Brahmāṇḍa, vide Pargiter in AIHT pp. 23, 77 and H. in PRHR (pp 17-19). The Brahmāṇḍa is very fond of etymologies, vide for example, those of vaiśya and śūdra (II 7 157-158), of deva, manuṣya-prajā, rakṣas and yakṣa (II. 8 9-10, 20, 34), of Tryambaka and Rudra (II. 9 3-4 and 78), of rājan (in II 29 64), of Vasudhā, Medinī and Pṛthivī (II 37. 1-3), of Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Pulaha and Pulastya (III. 1. 44-46), of Kubera (III. 8 44-45).