Author: R C Pradhan
Publisher: D K Printworld
Year: 1997
Language: English
Pages: 380
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8124600759
Description
If not peerless as an Indologist, Pandurang Vaman Kane (1880-1972) may have barely a few equals. A legitimate recipient of many, many enviable awards, including the ‘Bharat Ratna’ — the highest national honour in India, he was the distinguished Sanskritist, National Professor of Indology, Vice-Chancellor of Bombay University, Member of Parliament (nominated), and entitled ‘Mahamahopadhyaya’. And was a prolific author too — his literary writings in English, Marathi and Sanskrit having been estimated to run across nearly 15,000 printed pages. Yet, M.M. Kane is to stay immortalized for his multivolume History of Dharmashastra: an encyclopaedic, at once authoritative work on ancient India’s religious and civil laws.
This volume puts together nineteen of his essays to reinforce Professor Kane’s unique insightfulness into Dharamashastra literature. Discreetly culled from the prodigious mass of his writings, these essays show how Dr. Kane conjures some of the most obscure, hitherto-unnoticed sources not just to dispel widely-accepted fallacies or straighten out distortions, but (importantly) to project the fabulous legacy of India’s Dharmashastra literature: in both its variegated richness and unflawed authenticity.
Pauranic legends to the Pauranic worldview of dharma and sacrifices, from the literary use of the Mahabharata citations to the questions of identity and chronology of Dharmashastra authors, Professor Kane’s collection shows how King Bhoja evidenced the relevance of Dharmashastras to astrology; how far the Matsyapurana is indebted to Kautilya’s Arthashastra; or how, in turn, Kautilya’s classic compares with Kamashastra or Manu-Smriti; and how Vijnaneshvara is positioned vis-a-vis his predecessors.
Contents
PREFACE
ABBREVIATIONS
1. Introduction
2. Dharmasutra of Shankha-Likhita
3. Asahaya, the Commentator of the Gautama-Dharmasutra and the Naradasmriti
4. The Tantravartika and the Dharmashastra Literature
5. Passages from the Rajamartanda on Tithis, Vratas and Utsavas
6. The Meaning of Acaryah
7. The Mahabharata Verses and Very Ancient Dharmasutras and Other Works
8. The Dvaitanirnaya
9. Vedic Mantras and Legends in the Puranas
10. The Predecessors of Vijnaneshvara
11. Kalivarjya (Actions Forbidden in the Kali Age)
12. Tilaka Mark
13. The Parijata and the Madana-Parijata
14. Paurana-Dharma
15. The Arthashastra of Kautilya
16. King Bhoja and His Works on Dharmashastra and Astrology
17. Mahabharata Citations in the Shabara-Bhashya
18. Utpala and the Arthashastra of Kautilya
19. The Kautiliya and the Mastya Purana
20. Naming a Child or a Person
21. Prof Kane’s Method and Interpretations - A Review
TOPICAL INDEX
AUTHOR/TITLE INDEX