History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c93.136

v7.c93.136

At one time Prabhākara appears to have occupied a very prominent position. The Gadag inscription of Vikramāditya VI (in 1098 A. D) refers to the founding of a school for teaching Prabhākaras' system at Lokkiguṇḍi (vide E I. vol. XV p. 348). This and the reference in the Mitākṣarā (on Yāj. II. 114) to the views of Guru on¹⁹⁴⁷ the Lipsāsūtra (PMS IV. 1. 2.) in the third alternative interpretation put on that sūtra, holding that the rules about the acquisition of wealth (in Gautama and other smṛtis) are *puruṣārtha* (addressed to the conscience of the performer of sacrifices) and not *kratvartha*, show the outstanding position that the Prābhākara school occupied in the 11th century A. D. in the Carnatic and Maratha countries. The Madanapārijāta, a north Indian work (1360-1390 A D.), quotes a half verse of Guru¹⁹⁴⁸ (on p. 89). The Smṛticandrikā (on Vyavahāra p. 257), the Vīramitrodaya (on vyavahāra p. 523) and the V. M. (p. 89) refer to the Nayaviveka of Bhavanātha, almost the last outstanding work of the Prābhākara school. Gradually, the Prābhākara School lost ground and the Bhāṭṭa school of Kumārila has been most predominant for several centuries. The present writer holds that Prabhākara is later then Kumārila but he is not in a position to say from whom he borrowed his peculiar views or whether they were started by him for the first time (though this appears more plausible) Pandit K. S Ramaswami Sastri (in Intro. to Tantrarahasya, G. O S., 2nd edition of 1956) holds that Prabhākara took his views from Bādari (p. XXV). The learned Pandit offers hardly any tangible evidence for his remark (on p. XIX of the Intro) that Bādari held views similar to those of Bhartṛmitra who so interpreted the PMS as to make it atheistic. Bādari's views on Mīmāṁsā matters are quoted only four times in PMS viz in III 1 3 (on what matters are *śeṣa*), VI. 1. 27 (that vedic sacrifices can be performed even by śūdras), VIII. 3 6. (purely sacrificial matter about application of Ṣaḍaha procedure), IX. 3. 33 (about method of singing *sāman*, Bādari's view being accepted by Jaimini). In none of these does one find the slightest touch of Bhartṛmitra's atheistic tendencies or of Prabhākara's special propositions.