History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c93.396

v7.c93.396

These sūtras (PMS I. 3. 11-14) have been interpreted by Kumārila in several different ways, firstly as referring to the authoritativeness of Kalpasūtras (as done by Śabara), secondly as referring to all the six Vedāṅgas and thirdly as referring to the so-called smṛtis of Buddha and others. That the Buddhist works claimed to be smṛtis is clear from the Manusmṛti²⁰⁷⁸ 'the smṛtis that are beyond the pale of the Veda and whatever other false systems may exist, they are all fruitless as to the (soul's) Hereafter (destiny after bodily death), since they are all based on *tamas* (ignorance).' Here some words will be said about the Vedāṅgas according to Kumārila. According to both Śabara and Kumārila, vyākaraṇa is dealt with in Jaimini I. 3. 24–29. In the Tantravārtika Kumārila launches an elaborate and telling (pūrvapakṣa) onslaught against Pāṇini himself, against Kātyāyana (the author of the Vārtikas) and Patañjali (author of the Mahābhāṣya) in which some very interesting points are made but they have to be passed over for reasons of space. Kumārila says that the proper subject of grammar is to determine what words are correct or incorrect. It is intersting to note that in the *prima facie* attack against grammar two Pūrvamīmāṁsā sūtras are said to offend against grammar.²⁰⁷⁹