17. Ushanas

Volume I: Part I pp. 264–272

17. Ushanas

17. Uśanas

Kāvya Uśanas is an ancient sage in the Ṛgveda ; vide Rg. I. 83. 5, where Kāvya Uśanas is said to have been an helper of Indra and brought out the cows ( carried away and concealed by the Paṇis ). In Rg. VIII. 23. 17 that sage is said to have established Agni for Manu and in Rg IX. 87. 3 Uśanas is called a ṛṣi and vipra and one who knew the hidden place where cows were concealeḍ

That Uśanas wrote a work on politics follows from seve-ral circumstanceṣ The Kauṭilīya quotes the Auśanasāḥ seven timeṣ It is almost certainly referring to a work. That work contained directions on the administration of justice also, as Kauṭilīya speaks of Auśanasa method of partition (in allowing a tenth additional share to the eldest son, III. 6 ), as Auśana-sāh prescribed fines in cases where witnesses proved stupid &c. ( III. 11, 44 ). The Mahābhārata, Śāntiparva³ ( chap. 56, 29-30 and 57. 3) refers to a work on politics by Uśanas and quotes three verses, the last being found in Sabhā 55. 14. In other places also we have a Nītiśāstra ascribed to Bhārgava (Śānti. 210. 20) and certain verses are ascribed to him (Śānti. 57. 40–41 and 139. 70–71). The Anuśāsana–parva (139. 8–9) states ‘The Śāstras known to Uśanas and Bṛhaspati cannot surpass the (innate) intelligence of women; how can men guard them (completely)’. This verse occurs in Pañcatantra (B. S. S. eḍ of 1873 p. 41 and Hertel’s eḍ p. 30). Bhārgava is said to be the first expounder of Nītiśāstra in Śānti. 210. 20. Two verses from Śāntiparva, chap. 138. 113 and 139. 71 are interesting as having been declared by Uśanas to Prahlāda viz.⁴ those that confide in persons who were once inimical are destroyed by the latter and that one should proceed cautiously even after making an alliance (sandhi). The Ādiparva (76. 6) says that Kāvya was the purohita of the asuraṣ The Śalyaparva (39. 6) says that Kāvya performed austerities at Kajālamocanatīrtha and the whole science of Nīti (Rājanīti) appeared to hiṃ The Udyogaparva states that everyone except Bhārgava follows the wrong nīti (39. 30). The Śāntiparva (210. 20) states that Bhārgava expounded Nītiśāstra which is beneficial to the world and Śuka (289. Ch. eḍ) explains how Uśanas came to be called Śukra. Vide under ‘Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya’ for further informatioṇ The Nītiprakāśikā of Janamejaya refers to a succession of teachers of politics from Brahmā down to Janamejaya and says that Śukra was one of those who abridged the enormous extent of rājaśāstra.⁵ The Mudrārākṣasa (I. p. 71 Telang's eḍ) also speaks of Auśanasi Daṇḍanīti. Viśvarūpa (on Yaj. I. 307) asks the king to appoint ministers in accordance with the views propounded in the śāstras of Bṛhaspati and Uśanas and quotes a long passage in prose from Bṛhaspati in which the śāstras of Manu, Bṛhaspati and Uśanas are joined together. This work on politics probably contained verses also. Medhātithi on Manu (7. 15) quotes two verses speaking of eight activities of a king.⁶ So Medhātithi cites from Uśanas the words 'prakṛtinām balam rājā,' which are an Anuṣṭubh pāda. This sūtra work on politics by Uśanas has not yet been discovereḍ The Tāṇḍya-Mahābrāhmaṇa says that Kāvya Uśanas was the purohita of the Asuras (7. 5. 20).

In the Deccan College collection there are two msṣ of an Auśanasa-dharmaśāstra in prose with a few verses, viz. No. 644 of Viśrāmbāg (i) and No. 191 of A 1881-82. The first contains only two folios (2 and 4) and the available portion begins in the midst of the 2nd chapter. In the second mṣ also the first folio is wanting and there are gaps in the fourth chapter. It is noteworthy that the second folio of the first mṣ begins just at the beginning of the 2nd folio of the first. The work is a brief one (8 folios) in seven adhyāyaṣ Their contents are :— II. impurity on birth and death; purification of certain things in certain ways such as with water, ashes &c. III. the four varṇas and the mixed castes such as Rathakāra, Ambastha, Sūta, Ugra, Māgalha &c., the Vrātyas; IV. no bodily injury to be done to brāhmaṇas; prāyaścittas for killing a brāhmaṇa or a man of the other varṇas and for other Mahāpātakas, prāyaścitta for eating the flesh of certain animals and for eating plants like garlic, prāyaścitta for adultery; discussion whether a Brāhmaṇa could marry a śūdra woman ; prāyaścittas for killing various beasts and birds; fourteen vidyās ; V. śrāddhakalpa; what Brāhmaṇas are puńkti-pāvana; details of śrāddha; food and flesh at śrāddha; who are unfit to be invited at śrāddha; VI. what things a Brāhmaṇa could not sell; VII. punishments for the Mahā-pātakas; what are pure things at all timeṣ Some of the views of the Auśanasa-dharmaśāstra are worth special notice. The son of a Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya or Vaiśya from a wife of the varṇa immediately next to it belonged to the caste of the father.⁷ No sin or punishment attached to one if one killed an ātatyī (armed) Brāhmaṇa. The fourteen vidyās are said to be the six angas and the four Vedas, Mīmāmsā, Nyāya, Dharmaśāstra and Purāṇa.⁸

The work very often quotes the views of others with the words 'eke'; for example it says 'the impurity on birth is ten nights for the parents of the child, but according to some only for the mother.'⁹ The son of a Brāhmaṇa from a śūdra woman is called pārasuva, but according to some he is niṣāda. The whole of the portion in the mṣ about the mixed castes bears a very close resemblance to Baudhāyana (Dh. S. I. 9) except in a few particularṣ¹⁰ At the end of all chapters from the second (except the third) there are verses and also in the midst. There are verses introduced with the words 'there is a śloka on this point' ('bhavati cātra ślokaḥ) or with the words 'api codāharanti'.

There are about 45 verses in the work, the 7th and last chapter being almost entirely in verse. As the msṣ are corrupt and full of gaps, it is often difficult to find out whether a particular passage is prose or verse. In several verses the words 'Manur abravīd' occur and in one place 'tan manor anuśāsanam'.¹¹ The latter closely agrees with Manu. Several verses are common to Manu and Uśanaṣ The verse 'gurutalpe bhagaḥ kāryaḥ' (Manu 9. 237) occurs in the msṣ So also the verse 'yena yena cidārgeṇa' occurs in both.¹² The words of Manu (V. 78) 'bāle deśāntarasthe' are expressly quoted with the words 'Manur-āha'. There are many other verses which, though not cited expressly as from a particular author, are found in other ancient workṣ For example, the verse 'āpah śuddhā bhūmigatāḥ' is Manu 5. 128 and Bauḍ Dh. S. I. 5. 57. The half verse 'kāruhastaḥ śucir nityam' is Manu 5. 126 and Bauḍ Dh. S. I. 5. 48. The verse 'yadekarātreṇa karoti pāpam' occurs in Āp. Dh. S. (I. 9. 27. 11) and Bauḍ Dh. S. II. 1. 42. The verse 'tryaham prātas tryaham naktam' is Manu XI. 211. It is a remarkable fact that some of the verses in this dharmasūtra agree closely with the verses in the Uśanas-smṛti in verse, published by Jīvānanda; e. g. the verse 'dattvā tu Vedānatyartham' occurs on p. 525 and the verse 'nimantritastu yo vipro adhvānam sampradadyate' on p. 527. Even the prose passages bear a close resemblance to the versified smṛti on many points, e. g. the prose passages about the duration of the satisfaction of the Manes by the offerings of the flesh of various animals occur almost in the same words in the versified smṛti of Uśanas (Jivananda, part I, p. 522 ). The Auśānasa-dharmasūtra contains several passages in prose which are the same as some verses in Manu.¹³ The sūtra quotes in one place the divergent views of Vasiṣṭha,¹⁴ Hārīta, Śaunaka, and Gautama on the question whether a brāhmaṇa could marry a śūdra womaṇ The view of Vasiṣṭha (as quoted in the mṣ) is that a Brāhmaṇa could take to wife girls of all the four castes, but in the printed text of Vasiṣṭha (I. 24) a Brāhmaṇa is allowed to marry girls of three higher castes only. It is possible that the ancient reading of Vasiṣṭha’s text was ‘catasraḥ’ (as quoted in the Auśānasa) which was changed into ‘tisraḥ’. The passage reminds us of Manu III. 16 (Śūdrāvedi patatyatreḥ), but the views ascribed to Śaunaka and Gautama in the mṣ differ from those ascribed to them in Manu. In another passage Vasiṣṭha’s views seem to be quoteḍ¹⁵ From quotations in Haradatta’s commentary on Gautama and from the Smṛticandrikā it appears that they had access to a sūtra work of Uśanas dealing with all branches of dharma viz. ācāra, vyavahāra and prāyaścitta. For example, the Smṛticandrikā quotes prose passages of Uśanas on anadhyāya (1, p. 59), on duntadhāvana (1, p. 106) and Haradatta quotes a prose passage on anadhyāya (on Ap. Dh. S. I. 3. 10. I) and a prose passage on the fine for a Kṣatriya abusing a śūdra (on Gau. Dh. S. 12. 10) and on Niyoga) on Gau. Dh. S. 18. 5). These passages are not found in the mṣ But there are others that are founḍ For example, the Smṛticandrikā quotes two passages, which occur in the msṣ¹⁶ It appears therefore that the msṣ either contain a portion only of the complete Auśanasa-dharma-sūtra or an independent sūtra work. The former alternative looks more probable. The foregoing discussion has shown that the sūtra work is later than the dharmasūtras of Gautama and Vasiṣṭha and also than the Manusmṛti, which it probably knew in a very ancient version slightly differing from the extant one.

In Jīvānanda's collection of smṛtis there is an Auśanasa-dharmaśāstra in 51 verses (part I. pp. 497-501). It deals with mixed castes and their avocations, such as sūta, māgadha cāṇḍāla, śvapaca, pulinda-&c. The same work occurs in the Ānandāśrama collection, pp. 46-48. The Mit. (on Yāj. 1. 94) remarks that the means of livelihood for the mixed castes should be sought for in the works of Uśanas and Manu.¹⁷ It is probably this smṛti that is meant. Kullūka on Manu. X. 49 says that the sale of hides and working on hides were means of livelihood for Dhigvaṇas according to the Auśanasa.

In the same collection (part I. pp. 501-544) there is another smṛti ascribed to Uśanas in 9 chapters and about 600 verseṣ It treats of Upanayana, daily observances like ācamana, Vedic study, occasions of anadhyāya, the dharmas of snātaka ; śrāddha, proper Brāhmaṇas for śrāddha, impurity on birth and death, rites after death, prāyaścittas for the mortal sins and lesser sinṣ This smṛti quotes Uśanas himself, also Manu, Bhṛgu ( Bhṛguputra III ), Prajāpati and speaks of dharmaśāstras, Purāṇas, Mīmāṁsā, Vedānta, Pāñcarātras, Kāpālikas and Pāśupataṣ Numerous verses from the Manusmṛti are found in it ( e. g. Manu II. 42, 49, 50, 125 ) and occur in the first chapter alone. There is a brief prose passage towards the end of the 9th chapter. It speaks of Kāpālikas, Pāśupatas and atheists together ( p. 525 ).

None of these smṛtis in verse contains the passages in verse on vyavahāra ascribed to Uśanas that occur in the Mitākṣarā, Smṛticandrikā and other workṣ

The Mit. ( on Yāj. III. 260 ) and Aparārka ( e. g. p. 158, 192, 255 ) contain prose passages ascribed to Uśanas and the same works contain numerous verses ascribed to Uśanas, most of which are not found in the two smṛtis in Jīvānanda. Some of the verses in Aparārka ascribed to Uśanas are found in the Auśānasasmṛti ( e. g. Aparārka p. 418 ‘kuryād-aharaḥ śrāddham’ is Jīvānanda I. p. 521 ).

In other cases the verses quoted from Uśanas in Aparā-rka, though not quite identical, bear a very close resemblance ( e. g. the four verses in Aparārka on p. 450 closely resemble Jīvānanda I, p. 525 and have some verses in common ).

Among the views on Vyavahāra quoted from Uśanas are some interesting oneṣ It was he who said that a son was not bound to pay his father’s debt, if it was a fine or unpaid toll or what is not vyavahārika.¹⁸ He holds that even blind, deaf or old men, women, minors could be witnesses in charges of sāhasa ( Aparārka p. 671 ). He is quoted also on ordeals, on svāmipālavivāda and on steya.

Uśanas is quoted in Kalpataru ( Gṛhasthakāṇḍa ) 8 times, in Śrāddha 13 times ( 8 times in prose ), in Vyavahāra eleven times ( all verses, except one prose passage on p. 814 on anuloma unions ), 6 times in Nīyatakāla.

It is interesting to note that he states that the son of a brāhmaṇa from a kṣatriya wife is a brāhmaṇa and the son of a kṣatriya from a vaiśya wife is a kṣatriya ( p. 814 on Vyavahāra ). Aparārka quotes Uśanas dozens of times, about nine quotations being in prose ( most of them on prāyaścitta ). The Maskaribhāṣya on Gautama Dh. S. quotes prose passages from Uśanas in many cases e. g. on I. 64, 66. II. 17 (long), 18, 48; V. 9, X. 27 (about principles of taxation), 31, 36, 52; XII. 6, 10, 36, 42; XIX. 14 (long prose followed by six verses) and also some verses as on XII. 19 ‘Māso viṁśati-bhāgastu jñeyaḥ Kārṣāpaṇasya tu 1 Kākaṇi tu caturbhāgo māsasyāiva prakīrtitaḥ¹’. Smṛticandrikā quotes Uśanas 45 times on āhnika, vyavahāra and śrāddha; vide Mit. on Yāj. II. 159 quoting Nārada. A work styled Śukranītisāra was edited by Oppert (Madras 1882) and by Jīvānanda (Cal. 1892) and translated by Benoy Kumar Sarkar in S. B. H. Serieṣ That work is a very interesting one, but is comparatively of a late date. It is probable that at least some parts of Śukranītisāra edited by Oppert in 1882 are not older than about 1800 A. D. (viz. such as IV. 5. II prescribing fees for lawyers). Vide Mr. Lallanji Gopal’s paper in the Bulletin of the London School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 25 for 1962 pp. 524-556, in which it is strenuously urged that it is a fabrication of the 19th century). I do not agree that the whole work is later than 1800 A. D. The Śukranītisāra provides on p. 157 (of Oppert’s eḍ). ‘नियोगितस्यापि भृतिं विवादात् बोडशां- गिक़ीम्। विंशत्यंशों तदर्थी वा तदर्थी तदर्धिकांम्। यथा द्रव्याधिकं कार्यं हीना श्रुतिस्तथा²॥’ Such passages may be interpolations made in the first quarter of the 19th century. In the year 1793 the Governor-General-in-Council enacted Regulation VII of 1793 in order to induce men of education and character to take up the practice of law as a distinct professioṇ That Regulation applied only to the provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. In 1802 Regulation XIV of 1802 was enacted in Bombay which consisted of 33 sections providing among other matters for the appointment of pleaders, for the issue of sanads to them, for remuneration payable to them and for penalties in cases of misconduct or negligence. Vide Śāntiparva 57. 40-41 for a famous verse of Bhārgava ( i. e. Uśanas ); राजानं प्रथमं विन्देत्ततो भार्यां ततो धनम्। राजन्यसति कोऽकस्य कुतो भार्या कुतो धनम्॥