Chapter 8.5 - The Nandi-purana (study)

The Nandi-purana is also known as Nanda-purana; Saukeya-upapurana; Skanda-upapurana.—No Manuscript of this work has been discovered up to the present time. There is a work called Kedara-kalpa³⁴ which, in one Manuscript, 35 claims to be a part of the Nandisvara-purana or Nandi-purana, but it can be little doubted that this Kedarakalpa is really an independent work having nothing to do with the Nandisvara-purana or Nandi-purana The total absence of any Manuscript of the Nandi-purana has compelled us to base our present account of this Purana on the information contained in the

34 Haraprasad Shastri, V, pp. 794-799 (No. 4143) and pp. 792-794 (No. 4142). In the former Manuscript the work consists of three parts of which the first part claims to belong to the Rudra-yamala; but in the latter Manuscript the work claims to be a part of the Vikhyadapurana. 35 Theodor Aufrecht, pp. 81-82, No. 137. In this work Samkara speaks to Nandikesvara o. Mahapatha. It is the same as Patalas 11 ff. of Shastri's Manuscript No. 4143, but in Shastri's Manuscript Isvara (i.e. Siva) speaks to Karttikeya.

extant Puranas and the Smrti-Nibandhas as well as on the verses quoted from the 'Nandi-purana' in the latter works. In all the printed editions of the Matsya-purana, the Nandi-purana is described as follows: nandaya yatra mahatmyam karttikeyena varnyate / nandi-puranam tallokair akhyatam iti kirtyate³ || 'It is said that [the Purana], in which the glory of Nanda (i.e. Gauri) is declared by Karttikeya, is called Nandi-purana by the people'. The above verse of the Matsya-purana, of which the second line has obviously defective readings, occurs in Aufrecht's Manuscript of the Matsya-purana with the reading 'nandapuranam' for 'nandi-puranam' in the second line." This verse is also found quoted in Caturvarga-cintamani, II. i, p. 21, Krtya-ratnakara, p. 32, Nityacara-pradipa, p. 18, and Viramitrodaya, Paribhasa-prakasa, p. 15; but in these four Smrti-Nibandhas the text of the second line is given respectively as follows: and 'nandi-puranam talloke nandakhyam iti kirtyate',38 'nandi- (v.l. nandi-) puranam talloke nandyakhyam iti kirtyate', 'nandi-puranam talloke nandakhyam iti cocyate', 'nanda-puranam talloke nandakhyam iti kirtyate'. It is obvious that the text of the second line of the above verse, as preserved in the Smrti-Nibandhas, is better than that found in the printed editions and in Aufrecht's Manuscript of the Matsya-purana The Prabhasa-khanda (i. 2. 81) of the Skanda-purana, on the other hand, describes the Nandi-purana as follows: nandine yatra mahatmyam karttikeyena varnyate / loke nandi-puranam vai khyatam etad dvijottamah // 'Oh best of the twice-born, [that Purana], in which 36 Matsya-purana, Vangavasi Press (Calcutta) ed., 53.60; Anandasrama Sanskrit Series (Poona) ed., 53.61; Venkatesvara Press (Bombay) ed., 53.60 (v.1 'akhyanam' for 'akhyatam'); Jivananda Vidyasagara's ed., 53. 60. 37 Theodor Aufrecht, p. 40, No. 95. 38 This line, as quoted in Caturvarga-cintamani, I, p. 533, reads 'tallokair vyakhyatam' in place of 'talloke nandakhyam'.

476 STUDIES IN THE UPAPURANAS the glory is described by Karttikeya to Nandin, is well-known as Nandi-purana on earth.' In Devi-bhagavata I. 3. 15 the twelfth Upapurana is called 'Nandi-krta', and there is no mention of any 'Nandi-purana', 'Nandi-purana', 'Nanda-purana', 'Nanda' or 'Skanda' in the Devi-bhagavata. An examination of the texts of the verses mentioned above shows that the Nandi-purana was originally declared by Karttikeya to Nandin³ (who, then, narrated it to some other person addressed as 'king' in some of the quoted verses), 40 that it dealt primarily with the glorification of Nanda (or Nandi, i.e. Gauri), and that it was also called 'Nandi-purana' and 'Nanda-purana'41 The Nandi-purana (or Nanda-purana), being originally declared by Karttikeya, was also called 'Skanda'. In giving a list of the eighteen Upapuranas the Kurma-purana, the Garuda-purana, and the Saura-samhita of the Skanda-purana name the third Upapurana as 'Skanda' and describe it as follows: 'trtiyam skandam uddistam kumarena tu bhasitam.'42 'But the third [Upapurana] which was spoken out by Kumara (i.e. Skanda), is called Skanda'. That this 'Skanda' Upapurana is the same as the Nandi-purana (or Nanda-purana) is shown by the following facts: (1) the chief speaker in both these Upapuranas is Karttikeya; (2) the Caturvarga-cintamani and the Viramitrodaya quote all the verses of the Kurma-purana containing the list of Upapuranas but reads 'trtiyam nandam uddistam kumarena * Cf. Devi-bhagavata I. 3. 15 in which the twelfth Upapurana is called 'Nandikrta'. In Caturvarga-cintamani, I, p. 917 two of the quoted verses are ascribed to a work called 'Nandi-prokta', but this 'Nandi-prokta' Upapurana may be the same as the Sivadharma which is called 'Nandi-prokta Sivadharma' or 'Nandikesvara-prokta Sivadharma' in its chapter-colophons. (See Haraprasad Shastri, V, pp. 718 and 723-8, Nos. 4084 and 4085 respectively). 40 Dana-kaumudi, p. 40 (nrpa); Smrti-tattva, I, p. 131 (rajan); Caturvargacintamani, III. i, p. 668 (visampate); and so on. 41 In Visvakosa (a Bengali encyclopadia), IX, p. 546 the Nandi-purana and the Nandap. have been regarded as different works. 4ª Kurma-purana I. 1. 17 b; Garuda-purana I. 227. 18 a; Julius Eggeling, VI, p. 1382. All the printed editions of the Kurma-purana read 'skandam'; but in Jivananda Vidyasagara's edition (I. 215. 18 a) of the Garuda-purana the reading is wrongly given as 'skandam'.

THE LOST SAKTA UPAPURANAS 477 tu bhasitam' for the above line of the Kurma-purana; 43 (3) in the lists of the eighteen Upapuranas given in the Parasaraupapurana, Madhusudana Sarasvati's Prasthana-bheda, and the Siva-mahatmya-khanda of the Suta-samhita of the Skanda-purana, the third Upapurana is named 'Nanda' (i.e. the Purana on Nanda); (4) 'Skanda' is the name for the third Upapurana in some of the Manuscripts of the Prabhasakhanda of the Skanda-purana, but 'Nanda' in the rest; 45 and (5) Narasimha Vajapeyin, who quotes Kurma-purana I. 1. 16 (anyany upapuranani etc.) and then gives, in his Nityacarapradipa, p. 19, the titles of the eighteen Upapuranas according to the list contained in the Kurma-purana, names the third Upapurana 'Nandi-purana' and not 'Skanda'. The Nandi-purana was also called 'Vayaviya'. In his Malamasa-tattva Raghunandana quotes the line 'anyany upapuranani etc.' with the mention of the Kurma-purana as its source and then says that this line refers to the 'Narasimhap., Nandi-purana, Aditya-purana, Kalika-purana etc.'46 Raghunandana then reproduces those lines of the Kurma-purana which contain the list of the Upapuranas. According to the second of these quoted lines 'the third Upapurana is the Vayaviya spoken out by Kumara'," there being no mention of any 'Nandi-purana', 'Nanda-purana', 'Nanda-purana' or 'Skanda-purana' in any of these quoted lines. So, it is evident that according to Raghunandana the Vayaviya-upapurana (spoken out by Kumara) and the Nandi-purana were the same. The mention 4ª Caturvarga-cintamani, II. i, p. 21, and Viramitrodaya, Paribhasa-prakasa, p. 13. In Caturvarga-cintamani, I, p. 532, the erroneous reading 'naradam' is found in place of 'nandam'. 44 Julius Eggeling, VI, p. 1230. Prasthana-bheda(ed. Vani Vilas Press, Srirangam, 1912), p. 10. Julius Eggeling, VI, p. 1378. In the list of Upapuranas given from the 'Brahmavaivarta' in Gopaladasa's Bhaktiratnakara, the second Upapurana is called 'Nanda'. (See R. L. Mitra, IX, p. 32). 45 Skanda-purana, VII. i. 2. 11 b-trtiyam skandam (v. 1, 'nandam' in the Venkat, and Vangavasi Press (Calcutta) editions) uddistam kumaren-anubhasitam. * Smrti-tattva, I, pp. 792-3 kaurme-'anyany upapuranani munibhih kathitany api'/tani ca narasimha-nandy- aditya-kalikapuranadini, yatha-'adyam sanatkumaroktam.. 47 , 'trtiyam vayaviyam ca kumarena ca bhasitam'.-Smrti-tattva, I, p. 793. The Vanga, ed. of the Malamasa-tattva (p. 264) reads 'kumarenabhibhasitam'. So also does Candicarana Smrtibhusana's edition (p. 213).

478 STUDIES IN THE UPAPURANAS of the 'Vayaviya narrated by Kumara' as the third Upapurana is also found in the list of the eighteen Upapuranas given from the Kurma-purana in Sabda-kalpadruma. In the Reva-mahatmya, 48 the third Upapurana is named 'Nanda-purana', and is connected with the Visnu-purana thus: nanda-puranam ca tatha trtiyam vaisnave matam. But in the Reva-khanda (of the Skanda-purana), which is practically the same as the Reva-mahatmya mentioned above, the above line occurs with the mention of the 'Saukeya' as the third Upapurana.49 So, it seems that the Nandi-purana was also sometimes called 'Saukeya-purana' Thus, the Nandi-purana was known under different titles, viz., Nandi-purana, Nandi-purana, Nanda-purana, Nanda-purana, Skanda-purana, Vayaviya-purana and Saukeya-purana For some of these titles we find clear reasons; viz., it was called Nandi-purana, because it was reproduced by Nandin; its title 'Skanda' was due to its original narrator Skanda; and it was called Nanda-purana, Nanda-purana or Nandi-purana, as it dealt primarily with the praise of Nanda or Nandi (i.e. Gauri). But we do not know how it came to be known as 'Vayaviya' and 'Saukeya' also. Whatever different titles our Nandi-purana might have had in early times, the Smrti-writers refer to it very often as 'Nandip.', and sometimes as 'Nandi-purana'50 Numerous verses are found quoted from the 'Nandi-purana' (or 'Nandi-purana') in Nilakantha's Acara-mayukha, Gadadhara's Kalasara, Gopalabhatta's Hari-bhakti-vilasa, Narasimha Vajapeyin's Nityacara-pradipa, Raghunandana's Smrtitattva, Govindananda's Dana-kaumudi and Varsa-kaumudi, Ganapati's Ganga-bhakti-tarangini, Vidyapati's Durgabhakti-tarangini and Ganga-vakyavali, Madhavacarya's commentary on the Parasara-smrti, Candesvara's Krtyaratnakara and Grhastha-ratnakara, Sridatta's Acaradarsa, 48 Theodor Aufrecht, p. 65. matam. Skanda-purana, V. iii (Reva-khanda). I. 48 b-saukeyam hi trtiyam tu purane vaisnave 50 See, for instance, Acara-bhusana (of Tryambaka Oka), p. 183; Smrti-ratnahara (of Brhaspati Rayamukuta), fol. 56 b (Haraprasad Shastri, III, No. 2138, p. 228); Gangavakyavali (of Vidyapati Upadhyaya), pp. 206, 212, 213, 230; and Acaradarsa (of Sridatta Upadhyaya), p. 37 b (twice).

THE LOST SAKTA UPAPURANAS 479 Hemadri's Caturvarga-cintamani, Vallalasena's Danasagara and Adbhuta-sagara, Apararka's commentary on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, and Laksmidhara's Krtya-kalpataru. Vallalasena, who was extremely cautious about the authenticity of the Puranas he used in his Danasagara, utilised its contents without the least shade of doubt. Further, a 'Nanda-purana' is mentioned by Alberuni in that list of Puranas which he committed to writing from dictation." In his Raja-tarangini Kalhana says that 'having heard the Nandipurana from some pupil of Vyasa the king (Jalauka) frequented Sodara and other [sacred springs] as vying [in holiness] with Nandisa'.52 These evidences, as well as the facts that the Nandi-purana, as known from the quoted verses, was nonTantric, and that its name is mentioned in the Matsya-purana and is found included in all the early lists of the eighteen Upapuranas, show definitely that it was an early work and must have been written before 700 A.D. As not even a single Manuscript of this work has been discovered up to the present time, it is not possible to say anything definitely about the upper limit of its date. From an examination of the quoted verses, however, we feel inclined to take it as a work of the sixth or seventh century A.D. It has already been said that the Reva-mahatmya and the Reva-khanda of the Skanda-purana connect the Nandi-purana with the Visnu-purana as a part of the latter and are thus inclined to regard it as a work of the Vaisnavas. This Vaisnava character of the Nandi-purana is supported by a verse which has been quoted from the 'Nandi-purana' in the Nityacarapradipa and in which Krsna appears as an object of worship.53 There is another verse, quoted in Hari-bhaktiSachau, Alberuni's India, I, p. 130. That this 'Nanda-purana' was the same as the 'Nandi-purana' is shown definitely by Alberuni himself when he says: 'Nanda-purana i.e. a servant of Mahadeva". 5* Raja-tarangini, I. 123-- 59 sruta-nandipuranah sa vyasantevasino nrpah/ sevanam sodaradinam nandisa-spardhaya vyadhat// na sallakajyam na trnam na siktha-vasa-sambhutam/ dhupam pratyanga-nirmuktam

480 STUDIES IN THE UPAPURANAS vilasa, p. 677, which says that sinners may attain the highest abode of Visnu by singing his name.54 But this last-mentioned verse must not be taken seriously, because there are other quoted verses in which the regions of Brahma, Varuna, Brhaspati, Rudra and others have been mentioned as places capable of being attained by certain pious acts. 55 On the other hand, Narasimha Vajapeyin calls the 'Nandi-purana' a part of the Skanda-purana,56 which is pre-eminently a Saiva work. More detailed information in this direction is furnished by Kalhana when he says that after hearing the Nandi-purana from a pupil of Vyasa, king Jalauka frequented Sodara and other holy springs with a view to being equal with Nandisa. We know that Nandisa (or Nandikesa) was an attendant of Siva; and Sodara (in Kashmir) has been shown by Stein to have been situated in close proximity to the temple-ruins of Bhutesvara,57 which is a Saiva Tirtha. Hence, it is clear that according to Kalhana the Nandi-purana was a Saiva work; otherwise, it could not be said to make the king so much zealous in his devotion to Siva. The Saiva character of the Nandi-purana is also shown by a large number of quoted verses in which Siva (also called Sarva, Rudra, Samkara, etc.) is regarded as the object of worship, 58 the Linga-worship is prescribed, the sectarian mantra 'om dadyat krsnaya buddhiman/ / (quoted in Nityacara-pradipa, p. 647). 54 sarvada sarva-kalesu ye 'pi kurvanti patakam/ nama-samkirtanam krtva yanti visnoh param padam/ / (Hari-bhakti-vilasa, p. 677). 55 See, for instance, the verses quoted from the 'Nandi-purana' in Ganapati's Gangabhakti-tarangini, p. 49 b; Vidyapati's Durga-bhakti-tarangini, p. 172; Candesvara's Krtya-ratnakara, pp. 566-7; Apararka's com. on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, p. 366; Krtyakalpataru, V. p. 251; Danasagara, pp. 280, 312, 410, 437, etc.; and so on. 50 Nityacara-pradipa, p. 18-matsye- .nandaya yatra mahatmyam karttikeyena varnyate / nandi-puranam talloke nandakhyam iti cocyate//' tacca skandaikadesah/ 67 M. A. Stein, Kalhana's Raja-tarangini, I, pp. 20-21 and 23-24. See notes on verses 107 and 123 of Chapter I. 68 For such verses see Nityacara-pradipa, pp. 685-6; Danasagara, pp. 312, 476, 477, etc.; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, pp. 907, 957; Krtya-kalpataru, V, pp. 212, 213, etc.; and so on. 59 Smrti-tattva, I, p. 129; Nityacara-pradipa, pp. 685-6; Nirnaya-sindhu, p. 243; Acara-mayukha, p. 94.

THE LOST SAKTA UPAPURANAS 60 481 namah sivaya' is praised, and the Siva worshippers are given preference to other sectaries."¹ In his Caturvargacintamani (III. ii, p. 691) Hemadri quotes from the 'Nandip.' an extract in which Isvara (i.e. Siva) speaks on the result of avoiding meat; 2 and in the Adbhuta-sagara Vallalasena quotes from the same Purana seven metrical lines on Siva's burning of Tripura.63 So, the Saiva character of the Nandi-purana is unmistakable. But as we have already seen that the Matsya-purana describes the Nandi-purana as a work dealing with the praise of Nanda, it seems that the Nandi-purana was originally a Sakta work dealing with the praise of Nanda and that, like the Nandikesvara-purana, it had also chapters on the praise and worship of Siva, to whom Nanda was associated as his Sakti. The prevalence of Saiva elements in this Upapurana must be due to the interfering hands of the Puranic Saivas, who appear to have utilised this work for popularising Sivaworship. The Vaisnava character of the Nandi-purana was most probably the last stage in its change. The Nandi-purana must not be taken to be the same as the The distinct Nandikesvara-purana (also called Nandisvara-purana) 64 character of these two Puranic works is shown by the following facts. (1) In the list of the eighteen Upapuranas given by Raghunandana in his Malamasa-tattva there is mention of a 'Vayaviya Upapurana' (which we have already found to be the same as the Nandi-purana) and the 'Nandikesvarayugma' (i.e. the two Nandikesvara-puranas, which the commentator Kasirama Vacaspati takes to mean the 'Brhannandikesvara-purana' and the 'Nandikesvara-p'.); 65 (2) the Sabdakalpadruma quotes from the 'Kurma-purana' a few verses on the list of the eighteen Upapuranas which includes the 'Vayaviya' 6º Smrti-tattva, I, pp. 130-1; Nirnaya-sindhu, p. 243; Acara-mayukha, p. 95. 61 Apararka's com. on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, p. 399; Danasagara, pp. 476-7. 62 For the verses of this extract see also Krtya-kalpataru, III, pp. 359-360, Krtyaratnakara, pp. 548-9, and Grhastha-ratnakara, p. 390. *3 Adbhuta-sagara, p. 485. "In Visvakosa, IX,pp.547 and 549 the Nandi-purana has been wrongly identified with the Nandisvara-purana or Nandikesvara-purana ** Malamasa-tattva (ed. Candicarana Smrtibhusana with Kasirama Vacaspati's commentary), p. 213 nandikesvara-yugmam brhannandikesvara-puranam nandikesvara-puranam ca. _ 31

482 STUDIES IN THE UPAPURANAS and the 'Nandikesvara-yugma'; 66 (3) the Caturvargacintamani, Vrata-khanda, gives from the Kurma-purana a list of the eighteen Upapuranas in which the third Upapurana is the 'Nanda', but the fourth is named as 'Siva-dharma' in some Manuscripts and as 'Nandikesvara-yugma' in others; 67 (4) the same Smrti-writers are found to draw upon both the Nandi-purana and the Nandikesvara-purana, but there is not a single verse which has been ascribed by any one of them to the Nandi-purana in one place of their work and to the Nandikesvara-purana in another, nor is there a second instance in which the same verse has been ascribed to the Nandi-purana by one writer and to the Nandikesvara-purana by another. It is only in Sulapani's Durgotsava-viveka (p. 8) that the verse'rksa-yoganurodhena', really belonging to the Nandikesvara-purana, has been ascribed 'to the 'Nandi-purana' That Sulapani's ascription of this verse to the Nandi-purana is wrong is shown by the facts that this verse occurs only in some of the Manuscripts on which the printed edition of the Durgotsava-viveka is based, and that the verse 'bhagavatyah pravesadi-', which belongs to the group of those eight verses (including the verse 'rksa-yoganurodhena' mentioned above) which are found quoted as from 'Nandikesvara-purana' in Raghunandana's Durga-puja-tattva (pp. 2-3), is ascribed to the Nandikesvara-purana by Sulapani himself in his Durgotsava-viveka (p. 9) and Vasanti-viveka (p. 28). A similar instance of wrong ascription is found in the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Calcutta) edition of the Dana-kaumudi (p. 46) in which there is a verse 68 which is ascribed to the 'Nandikesvara-purana' in only one Manuscript and to the 'Nandi-purana' in the rest. But this difference in ascription is simply due to scribal mistake, because this verse is found quoted in many other Nibandhas with the mention of only the 'Nandi-purana' as the source." See Volume I, p. 6. 87 See Volume I, p. 6. 68 Dana-kaumudi, p. 46-nandi-purane (v. 1. 'nandikesvara-purane' in Manuscript) trsnarta-jala-dane- so on. yo 'pi kascit trsartaya jala-danam prayacchati/ sa nitya-trpto vasati svarge yuga-satam nrpa// * See Kalasara, p. 584; Danasagara, p. 345; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, p. 989; and

THE LOST SAKTA UPAPURANAS 483 It has already been said that not a single Manuscript of the Nandi-purana has been found as yet. So, we do not know exactly what its contents were. We shall, however, try to give an idea of its Smrti contents from an examination of those of its verses which are found quoted in the SmrtiNibandhas. Regarding the Adya-purana, Samba-purana, Kalika-purana, Nandi-purana, Aditya-purana, Narasimha-purana, Visnudharmottara etc., Vallalasena says in his Danasagara that these works dealt prominently with donations." As a matter of fact, the great majority of the verses quoted from the Nandi-purana in the commentaries and Nibandhas deal with various topics on gifts; viz., praise of donations; results of following the right procedure in making donations; 72 bad effects of making gifts to an unworthy person;7 benefits of giving water (to a thirsty person for drinking, or to a Brahmin for washing his feet), horse, elephant, chariot, cows which are well-decorated or are in the course of delivery (the best recipients of such cows being the spiritually developed persons, the Agnihotrins and the deities), well-furnished house, clothes, umbrella, turban (usnisa), shoes (especially to a Brahmin going on a journey), collyrium (to the eyes of a Brahmin), stick (to an old man), ornaments, sacred thread, coins called Survarna as daksina (a Suvarna being said to be equivalent to 16 Masas), land (which is productive or is shining with crops such as sugarcane, wheat, barley etc.), food (to all without distinction of castes, except in sraddha ceremonies), drink (panaka, prepared with water mixed with molasses), milk, ghee, curd, molasses, fruit-bearing trees, orchards, gardens, pleasure- 70 ... . . kurmapuran-adipuranayoh/ uktany upapuranani vyakta-dana-vidhini ca // adyam puranam sambam ca kalikahvayam eva ca/ nandam aditya-samjnam ca narasimham tathaiva ca// Danasagara, p. 3. 71 Danasagara, pp. 13-14; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, pp. 5, 49; Apararka's com. on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, p. 406; Krtya-kalpataru, V, p. 21. 7 Caturvarga-cintamani, I, p. 102. 7ª Apararka's com. on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, p. 296; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, pp. 102, 450; Krtya-kalpataru, V, p. 170.

484 STUDIES IN THE UPAPURANAS gardens etc.;74 results of making gifts of land, cows, elephants and gold on the bank of the Ganges; 75 and so on. It is needless to say that, except in a very few cases, the recipients of these gifts are only the Brahmins. More interesting is the topic on Vidya-dana, on which about 300 metrical lines are found quoted in Laksmidhara's Krtya-kalpataru, Apararka's commentary on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, Vallalasena's Danasagara, Hemadri's Caturvarga-cintamani, Raghunandana's Smrti-tattva, Govindananda's Dana-kaumudi, and Anantabhatta's Vidhanaparijata. According to these verses, there are fourteen kinds of Vidyas, viz., the four Vedas, the six Vedangas, Dharmasastra, Purana, Mimamsa, and Tarka (Logic). Besides these, there are other secondary sciences which have grown out of the principal Vidyas mentioned above, viz., Ayurveda (medical science), Sasya-veda (science of agriculture), Kala-vidya, Silpa-vidya etc. All these sciences (including Sasya-vidya) have been highly praised; and though the benefits of teaching these Vidyas as well as Slokas, Prahelikas, Gathas etc. to worthy students and of giving books on these sciences (including Sasya-vidya) to gods or worthy Brahmin recipients have been described elaborately, greater importance has been attached to donation of books on Atmavidya (i.e. philosophical treatises), Paurani Vidya (i.e. Puranas) and Dharmasastratmika Vidya (i.e. Dharmasastras). The whole procedure of copying and giving books, which has been elaborately described in these verses, consists 74 Krtya-kalpataru, V, pp. 160, 166, 170, 191, 194-5, 248-9, 267-8, 277-8, 303-4, 308; Apararka's com. on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, pp. 296, 379, 406; Danasagara, pp. 279, 279-280, 312-3, 320, 331-2, 344, 345, 360, 366-7, 381, 382-3, 384-5 386, 393, 410, 414, 416, 417, 419, 437, 445, 459, 460, 509, 512, 536, 537, 542, 545, 548, 551, 560, 662, 663, 672-3; Acaradarsa, p. 37 b; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, pp. 456, 477, 507, 571-2, 892, 904, 907, 909-910, 957, 960, 984, 984-5, 989, 1041, 1050; Krtya-ratnakara, pp. 562, 566-7; Grhastharatnakara, p. 305; Durga-bhakti-tarangini, p. 172; Dana-kaumudi, pp. 46, 83; Kalasara, p. 584; Smrti-tattva, I, pp. 502, 503; II, pp. 366, 628; Hari-bhakti-vilasa, pp. 316, 317; and so on. 75 Ganga-bhakti-tarangini, fol. 49 b. 76 Krtya-kalpataru, V, pp. 207-222; Apararka's com. on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, pp. 396-403; Danasagara, pp. 473-488; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, pp. 511, 513-6, 526, 526-7, 547-556, 559, 561; Smrti-tattva, I, pp. 347, 348, 502, 503, 656, 657, 658; II, pp. 362, 588; Danakaumudi, p. 67, Vidhana-parijata, III, pp. 291-6, 299, 312-4.

THE LOST SAKTA UPAPURANAS 485 mainly of the following operations:- the donor's selection of an able scribe (whose qualifications have been given in some of the verses) as well as of an auspicious day; preparation of ink of different colours; preparation of pens; construction, in the prescribed manner, of a Sarapatra (also called Vidyadhara, i.e. a stool, on which a book to be copied is placed) with gold, silver, ivory or durable wood; collection of leaves (patra) required for the manuscript and furnishing their margins with lines drawn in black and red ink; construction of wooden covers for the Manuscript and furnishing the outer sides of these covers with ornamental paintings; decoration of the house in which the copying is to be made; honour to be shown to the scribe by presenting to him money, ornaments etc. before he begins his work; furnishing the scribe with knife and other requisites; the scribe's ceremonious beginning, with the sound of musical instruments, of his work of copying in the appointed house on an auspicious day after duly performing Punyaha-vacana and Svasti-vacana and worshipping Brahma, Visnu and Siva; feeding of Brahmins at the completion of the work of copying; comparison of the copied Manuscript with its original, and making necessary corrections in it; furnishing this new Manuscript with covers of wood and cloth; taking this Manuscript with pomp and ceremony to a temple of Siva, and dedicating it to the deity; appointment of qualified Brahmin readers (vacaka, pathaka, whose qualifications have been mentioned in a number of verses) for reading out the Manuscript and explaining its contents to the audience, the language used in explaining being Sanskrit, Prakrit, a local dialect, or a mixture of all these according to the language of the book; 768 presents to be made to the readers and to the donor's teacher, who is to attend the function; decorations and merry-makings in towns and villages on this occasion. If the Manuscript is to be given to some worthy Brahmin, it should be taken to his house in the manner described above, and formally given to him. One may also acquire the merits of Vidya-dana by building a house, inviting a learned teacher 76* For the relevant verses see Chapter I, footnote 344 above.

486 STUDIES IN THE UPAPURANAS there, honouring him with wealth, raiments etc., and making him teach a number of students. Equally interesting are the 25 metrical lines, quoted by Apararka, Vallalasena, Hemadri and Anantabhatta," on the praise of foundation of hospitals (arogya-sala) for the suffering humanity and the poor. According to these lines, these hospitals should be furnished with qualified and experienced physicians and powerful medicines, and food, honey, ghee etc. should be supplied to the patients free of cost. There are also a large number of verses on the benefits of the following acts:- digging of tanks and wells, and dedication of these to a Brahmin or a deity, or for public use; 78 giving of food to cows; 79 feeding of a Brahmin who is visiting holy places; 80 avoiding of meat in the month of Karttika and under different Rasis, viz., Tula, Makara and Mesa; 81 worshipping of an earthen Siva-linga;82 offering of incense and flowers to gods and Brahmins; 83 furnishing of temples and houses of Brahmins with lamps;84 muttering of the six-syllabled Mantra 'om namah sivaya', and the use of this Mantra in worship, donations etc.;85 curing of a person of his disease with the help of one's knowledge of Ayurveda;85 assuring of safety to a person distressed with fear; 87 offering of incense to Krsna, gold to a Siva-linga, and madhuparka 77 See Krtya-kalpataru, V, pp. 250-1; Apararka's com. on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, pp. 365-6; Danasagara, pp. 558-9; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, pp. 892-4; Vidhana-parijata, III, p. 375. 78 Apararka's com. on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, pp. 408-9; Smrti-tattva, II, pp. 514, 516; Danakaumudi, p. 164; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, pp. 1002, 1004-5. " Danasagara, pp. 312-3. 30 Danasagara, pp. 366-7. 81 Kalasara, p. 26; Varsa-kaumudi, p. 458; Krtya-ratnakara, pp. 309, 399, 548-9; Grhastha-ratnakara, p. 390; Krtya-kalpataru, III, pp. 323-4, 359-360. * Smrti-tattva, I, p. 129; Acara-mayukha, p. 94. 83 Danasagara, pp. 400, 405; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, p. 922. 84 Danasagara, pp. 459, 460; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, p. 491; Durga-bhakti-tarangini, p. 164. 85 Smrti-tattva, I, pp. 130-1; Acara-mayukha, p. 95. 86 Smrti-tattva, I, p. 678. 87 Apararka's com. on the Yajnavalkya-smrti, p. 385; Danasagara, pp. 563-4; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, p. 946; Krtya-kalpataru, V, p. 252.

THE LOST SAKTA UPAPURANAS 487 to Siva;88 shampooing of the feet of a tired Brahmin traveller, and offering of ointments to him for use on his feet; 89 singing of the names of Visnu; 90 and so on. In Caturvarga-cintamani, III (Parisesa-khanda) a large number of verses¹ have been quoted from the Nandi-purana on the various topics connected with Sraddha; viz., classification of Pitrs; mention of the different classes of Pitrs whose satisfaction is created by the worship of Visnu, Brahma and Siva; determination of proper time for the performance of funeral ceremonies; persons who deserve to be invited and fed in a funeral ceremony; enumeration of the various objects to be given to Brahmins in a funeral ceremony, viz., gold, silver, ornaments of various kinds (such as armlets, necklace, earrings, waist-bands, anklets, bracelets etc. all set with gems), foot-wears (paduka), palanquins, vehicles, various kinds of food, clothes, fans, umbrellas, scents and other articles for toileting, cows, buffaloes, young elephants, bulls etc.; praise of giving gold coins (called Suvarna) and silver as daksina; origin of silver from the drop of tear fallen from one of the unblinking eyes of Siva when he was looking at Tripura with the intention of destroying it; and so on. In his commentary on the Parasara-smrti (II. ii, p. 242) Madhavacarya quotes from the Nandi-purana seventeen metrical lines on the innumerable rebirths (first as shrubs, plants etc., and next as various lower animals and members of lower castes) which a murderer of a Brahmin has to pass through after residence in hells for Kalpas, before he is born as a Brahmin. That the Nandi-purana contained the story of Siva's burning of the city of Tripura, is shown not only by the above account of the origin of silver but also by the seven metrical lines, quoted in Vallalasena's Adbhuta-sagara (p. 485), on the omens foreboding the destruction of Tripura. In some of the quoted verses Siva speaks most probably 88 Nityacara-pradipa, pp. 647, 685-6. 8º Danasagara, p. 396; Caturvarga-cintamani, I, p. 956. ** Hari-bhakti-vilasa, p. 677. *¹ Some of these verses have been given in Nirnaya-sindhu, pp. 279 and 307 with the words 'hemadrau nandi-purane'.

488 STUDIES IN THE UPAPURANAS to a king (who is addressed as 'visampate' and 'vatsa' in some other verses).92 The Nandi-purana seems to have been a non-Bengal work. The crops mentioned in connection with bhumi-dana exclude rice.93

92 See Caturvarga-cintamani, I, pp. 571-2; III. i, pp. 45, 64 and 668; and III. ii, p. 691. 93

93 See the verses of the Nandi-purana in Danasagara, pp. 331-2.