A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (in Perspective) c10.s8.4

c10.s8.4

Two Muhūrtapadavī-s, out of the seven texts that go under that name, have been widely known as the works of two brothers belonging to the Māttūr (Skt. Mahāvastu) family in the village of Pāññāḷ (Skt. Pāñcālagrāma), near Chelakkara in Cochin. These two works, comprising, respectively, of 36 and 43 verses, condense in themselves, independently, the prescription of auspicious times for all the major social and religious functions and indication of the baneful times which are to be avoided. Their popularity, as attested by their numerous manuscripts as available and the several commentaries on them is matched only by the obscurity that surrounded the names of their authors. It has now been possible to identify both these writers. A unique manuscript of the first of these two works, preserved in the India Office, London, (Catal. No. 8070), carries a colophon giving the name of its author as Puruṣottama :