History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c92.329

v7.c92.329

At the end of this chapter on Tāntrik doctrines and practices reference must be made to a remarkable circumstance. The Sarvadarśanasaṁgraha of Sāyaṇa-Mādhava (14th century A.D.), that deals with 15 *Darśanas* (points of view or philosophical views), has not a word to say about Tantras, though it devotes considerable space to the atheistic Cārvāka-darśana and the unorthodox Bauddha and Jaina systems It is impossible to believe that the most learned brothers Sāyaṇa and Mādhava were unaware of the works on Tantra. The silence must be due to some special reason. If one may make a conjecture, it appears that Tāntrik doctrines were discarded for the same reasons that induced the Bengal king Ballālasena in his Dānasāgara to exclude the Devīpurāṇa from the authorities on which he meant to rely. At the time when Sāyaṇa and Mādhava flourished (about middle of 14th century A. D.) Tāntrik doctrines and practices had come into great disrepute. Therefore, Tāntrik doctrines were probably passed over in silence by Sāyaṇa-Mādhava.