19. Kashyapa and Kāshyapa
Volume I: Part I pp. 274–276
The influence of Kāśyapa in the early Dharmaśāstra tradition is clearly evident, with Baudhāyana, in his Dh. S. I. 11.20, citing a specific verse that encapsulates Kāśyapa's perspective. This citation, alongside other references, strongly suggests the existence of a distinct dharmasūtra attributed to Kāśyapa. Further evidence points to a Kāśyapa smṛti, composed in prose, which is preserved within the Deccan College Manuscripts. This smṛti, the contents of which address various aspects of dharma, further solidifies Kāśyapa's standing as an authority on Hindu law and custom. Beyond these direct works, Kāśyapa's authority is further underscored by references in later commentaries and epic literature. Maskarin, for instance, quotes a verse attributed to Kāśyapa, indicating its recognized status. The Vanaparva, in sections 29.35-40, also preserves five gāthās, or verses, ascribed to Kāśyapa, highlighting the reach of his teachings into epic narratives. Significantly, Aparārka makes multiple references, mentioning 'Kāśyapa' thirteen times and 'Kashyapa' six times, suggesting a potential distinction or different traditions associated with these names. The Smṛticandrikā, furthermore, includes Kāśyapa among the eighteen principal upasmṛtis, affirming the enduring recognition of his contributions within the larger corpus of Dharmaśāstra literature.
— Synopsis by P.V. Kane, from History of Dharmaśāstra
19. Kashyapa and Kāshyapa
19. Kaśyapa and Kāśyapa
Baudhāyana (Dh. S. I. 11. 20 ) cites a verse which con- tains the view of Kaśyapa that a woman who is bought can- not be a patnī and that she is not authorised to take part in religious ( daiva ) rites or rites for the Maneṣ1 This verse is ascribed to Kātyāyana in the Smṛticandrikā (I. p. 87 ). The Vanaparva quotes gāthās of Kaśyapa on forbearance (29. 35-40 ). Whether Kaśyapa and Kāśyapa are two different writers of dharmaśūtras it is rather difficult to say. Probably they are identical. It appears that the dharmasūtra of Kaśyapa comprised all the usual topics of dharmaśūtras, such as daily duties, śrāddha, āśauca, prāyaścitta. This sūtra has been quoted by all eminent writers from Viśvarūpa down- wardṣ Viśvarūpa quotes Kaśyapa (in prose ) on the prāya- ścitta for contact with caṇḍālas2 and for killing a cow when the sinner is a brāhmaṇa or a member of another caste.3 The Mit. (on Yāj. III. 23 ) quotes a prose passage from Kaśyapa on freedom from impurity on death of infantṣ4 The quotations in the Smṛticandrikā on āhnika and śrāddha are all in verse. Haradatta on Gautama (22. 18 ) quotes a sūtra on the prāyaścitta for govadha,5 which is also quoted by Viśvarūpa. Haradatta (on Gaut. 23. 26 ) quotes a very long sūtra on the prāyaścitta for eating several things and doing several forbidden actṣ6 Haradatta (on Āp. Dh. S. II. 6. 13. 2) quotes several verses mentioning the seven kinds of punarbhūṣ The Hāralatā quotes a sūtra from Kāśyapa on āśauca. Aparārka quotes several sūtras and a few verses under both names Kaśyapa and Kāśyapa (vide Yāj. I. 64, III. 265, III. 21, 25, 251, 288, 290, 292). In the Deccan College collection there are two msṣ (No. 200 of 1884–87 and No. 122 of A. 1881–82) which contain a Kāśyapasṃṛti in prose (4 folios having 8 lines on each side). It begins ‘athātaḥ Kāśyapīyān gṛhasthadharmān vyākhyāsyāmah’. It deals with the duties of householders, with prāyaścittas for doing mischief to wells, dikes, ponds, temples and houses of Brāhmaṇas, for killing a cow and other beasts and birds, with rules on mourning after death and impurity on birth, with prāyaścittas for eating garlic and other similar things, with the five mortal sins, with prāyaścittas when such portents as earthquakes, lightning flashes occur, or for such accidental occurrences as the breaking of the milk pot, with purification of vessels of wood and metals, with the visible physical sins and sins committed in previous lives, with the seven punarbhūṣ In this work some of the sūtras quoted as Kāśyapa’s in the commentaries are found (e. g. the quotation No. 259 ‘laśuna’ &c. above). So also the verses about punarbhūs of seven kinds quoted by Haradatta are found in the msṣ In this smṛti, Kāśyapa is frequently cited as an authority. Maskarin on Gaut. 23. 19 quotes a verse of Kāśyapa providing prāyaścitta for homo-sexuality and masturbatioṇ “Pumsi maithunamāsevya yatnotsarge kṛte tathā | brahmacāri tathābhyāsāt snātvātha haviṣā yajet ‖” The Vanaparva (29. 35–40) sets out five gāthās which Kāśyapa declared about kṣamā (forbearance or mildness). Two of the five verses on kṣamā are quoted below: * Prof. T. R. Chintamani contributed a paper (in which he edited a Dharma-śāstra based on four msṣ) to the J. O. R. (Madras) vol. XIII. pp. 267–282 with an appendix containing passages and verses attributed to Kāśyapa (pp. 283–292) by Viśvarūpa, Vijñāneśvara, Aparārka and others not found in those msṣ Aparārka mentions Kāśyapa 13 times (almost all verses except on p. 922 which is in prose) and Kāśyapa six timeṣ
It is to be noted that Kāśyapa is not mentioned by Yāj. as one of the dharmaśāstrapravojakas, though Parāśara (chap. I. 13) mentions Kāśyapā dharmāḥ. The Smṛticandrikā (I. p. 1) and the Sarasvativilāsa (p. 13) speak of 18 Upasmṛtis in which Kāśyapa's is includeḍ