Sanskrit scholar from Bengal
Raghunandana |
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Born | c. 16th century CE
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Other names | Raghunandan Bhattacharyya, Raghunandana Bhaṭṭācāryya |
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Occupation | Sanskrit writer |
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Raghunandana (c. 16th century CE) was an Indian
Sanskrit scholar from the
Bengal region. His writings include 28
Smriti digests on
Hindu law and a commentary on the Hindu law code prevalent in Bengal, the
Dayabhaga.
[1]
Life
Raghunandana was born at
Nabadwip to a
Bengali Brahmin named Harihara Bhattacharya. He was a pupil of Srinatha Acharya Chudamani.
[1] His writings mention the works of Brihaspati Rayamukuta, a contemporary of the
Bengali sultan
Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah &
Madhavacharya and are mentioned in the
Viramitrodaya of Mitramisra (early 17th century). Thus, it can be inferred that Raghunandana lived around the 16th century CE.
[2] Other earlier texts cited by him include the
Nirṇayāmṛta.
[3] Tradition has it that he was a junior contemporary of
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu & a batch-mate of
Navya-Nyaya scholar
Raghunatha Siromani.
[4]
The various estimates of his lifespan include:
[5]
Bani Chakravarti wrote a book on him titled the Samaj-samskarak Raghunandan (Raghunandan, Culture Giver/Enhancer) in 1964 in the
Bengali language.
[1]
Works
Astavimsati-tattva
Raghunandana authored 28
Smriti digests on civil law and rituals, collectively known as the Astavimsati-tattva.
[6] The English scholars compared Raghunandana's digests to the
Comyns' Digest, and called him the "
Comyns of India".
[5]
The titles of these digests end in the word
tattva (literally "essence"). 27 of these works are mentioned at the beginning of the Malamasa-tattva.
[2]
The 28 digests include:
[6]
[2]
- Ahnika-tattva which deals with daily rites (like bathing, sandhyavandana etc)
- Chandoga-vrsotsarga-tattva which deals with performance of the rite of vrishotsarga (a Hindu rite in which a bull stamped with the marks of trishula is let loose in the name of a deceased person with the aim of the dead obtaining salvation) by brahmins following the Samaveda (the Veda followed by most Bengali brahmins)
-
Daya-tattva which deals with laws of inheritance & property division, based on the Dayabhaga
- Deva-pratishtha-tattva which deals with the rite of consecrating idols for worship
- Diksha-tattva which deals with the rites of diksha
- Divya-tattva which deals with various
trials by ordeal
- Durgotsava-tattva which deals with the rite of
Durga Puja
- Ekadashi-tattva which deals with the rules & regulations related to ekadashi
- Janmashtami-tattva which deals with the rite of
Janmashtami
- Jyotisha-tattva which deals with timekeeping & determining the right time for performance of rituals
- Krtya-tattva which deals with the rites to be observed throughout the year
- Malamasa-tattva (or Malimluca-tattva) which deals the rules & regulations related to
adhika-masa
- Matha-pratishtha-tattva which deals with the rite of consecrating temples
- Prayashchitta-tattva which deals various expiatory rites
- Purushottama-kshetra-tattva which deals with special rites to be performed while on a pilgrimage to Puri & Bhubaneswar
- Rg-vrsotsarga-tattva which deals with the performance of the rite of vrishotsarga by brahmins following the Rigveda
- Sama-shraddha-tattva which deals with the performance of the rite of shraddha by brahmins following the Samaveda
- Samskara-tattva which deals with the rites of passage
- Shuddhi-tattva which deals with the rites of penitence
- Sudra-krtya-tattva which deals with the rights & privileges of shudras
- Taddga-bhavanotsarga-tattva which deals with the rite of consecrating waterbodies
- Tithi-tattva which deals with rites to be performed at specific tithis
- Vastuyaga-tattva which deals with the rite of vastuyajna
- Vivaha-tattva (or Udvaha-tattva) which deals with rules & regulations related to marriage
- Vrata-tattva which deals with performance of vratas
- Vyavahara-tattva which deals with judicial procedure
- Yajuh-shraddha-tattva which deals with the performance of the rite of shraddha by brahmins following the Shukla-Yajurveda
- Yajur-vrsotsarga-tattva which deals with the performance of the rite of vrishotsarga by brahmins following the Shukla-Yajurved
The Chandoga-vrsotsarga-tattva, Rgvrsotsarga-tattva and Yajur-vrsotsarga-tattva are collectively known as the Vrsotsarga-tattva. The Deva-pratishtha-tattva and Matha-pratishtha-tattva are collectively known as the Pratishtha-tattva.
[2]
Raghunandana's Dayabhaga-tika, also known as the Dayabhaga-vyakhya[na], is a commentary on
Jimutavahana's Hindu law treatise, the
Dayabhaga. During the
British Raj, when
Hindu law was used in the courts, the
Calcutta High Court termed Raghunandana's Dayabhaga-tika as the best commentary on the Dayabhaga.
[6]
William Jones, a
puisne judge at the
Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William, mentioned that the local Hindu scholars often referred to Jimutavahana's treatise, but it was Raghunandana's work that was "more generally approved" in Bengal.
[5]
The commentary quotes several other scholars and works, including
Medhatithi, Kulluka Bhatta, the
Mitakshara, the Vivada-Ratnakara of
Chandeshvara Thakura, Shulapani and the Vivada-Chintamani of
Vachaspati Mishra (often critically).
[5]
There have been some doubts about the authorship of this commentary. Both
Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1810) and
Julius Eggeling (1891) suspected that it was not authored by the writer of the Divya-tattva (that is, Raghunandana). However, Monmohan Chakravarti (1915) and Rajendra Chandra Hazra (1950) both attribute the work to Raghunandana. Pandurang Vaman Kane also ascribes the commentary to him, but not without hesitation.
[5]
Other works
His other works include:
[2]
- Gaya-shraddha paddhati which discusses special rites of shraddha to be performed while visiting
Gaya
- Graha-yaga-tattva (or Graha-pramana-tattva) which discusses the rite of grahayajna (a special yajna performed to appease the
9 planets)
- Tirtha-yatra-tattva (or Tirtha-tattva) which discusses the procedure & rites related to pilgrimage
- Tripuskara-santi-tattva which discusses rites of pacification to be performed at a specific Hindu astronomical moment called Tripuskara-yoga
- Dvadasa-yatra-tattva (or Yatra-tattva) which discusses the observance of 12 special festivals performed in Puri
- Rasa-yatra tattva (or Rasa-yatra paddhati) which discusses the rite of observing Rasa-purnima (a festival observed by Hindus in Bengal,
Odisha &
Manipur on
Kartika purnima commemorating the
Raslila)
References