Essay name: Devala-smriti (critical study)
Author:
Mukund Lalji Wadekar
Affiliation: Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda / Department of Sanskrit Pali and Prakrit
This essay represents an English study of the Devala-smriti—an ancient text attributed to sage Devala classified as belonging to the Dharma-Shastra branch of Indian literature which encompasses jurisprudence and religious law. This study deals with the reconstructed text of the Devala-smriti based on surviving references, emphasizing Devala’s unique viewpoints on social, religious, and philosophical aspects, particularly the Sankhya and Yoga philosophies.
Chapter 1 - Introductory Remarks regarding the Devala Smriti
7 (of 11)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
7
ATTEMPTS TO RECONSTRUCT THE LOST TEXT OF DEVALA :
(1) Pandita Udayavira Shastri was also very much attracted
by the interesting quotations of Devala, dealing with the Sankhya
& Yoga philosophy & collected & published some such passages in
his book, namely "Sankhyadarsanaka Itihasa". He wished to collect
& publish all such quotations of Devala in a separate book 10.
+
(2) Dr.S.C.Banerji has tried to reconstruct the lost Dharmasutra
of Devala. (1) He collected together only prose quotations (about 77)
from some digests & commentaries. (2) He has arranged them in the
Sanskrit alphabetical order & published in English transliterated
11 form in the Journal of the Oriental Institute of Baroda and in
12 his book (3) He has given only the beginning & end of the lengthy
passages (about 37 out of 77), instead of giving the complete text.
(4) There is no attempt for arrangement or topic-wise classification
of the passages. (5) Some half-lines of verses (about 8) one mis-
understood as prose quotations. (6) There is also repetition of some
passages (about 3) in the collection. (7) The works on
-
Dharmasastra, also sometimes quote verses, that explain the
prose-passages. Hence such verses are inseparable from the prose.
But the verse-passages have been completely neglected. (8) His
attempt of reconstruction is thus unsystematic, incomplete & inexha-
ustive. 9) Mm.P.V.Kane has criticized him in the first vol. of
H.D.S. He remarks, "He is more a collector than a scholar doing
original & thorough research on his own account.....He often
13 writes rather pompously & does little arduous or valuable research
himself 14"
kalpana's
