29. Sumantu

Volume I: Part I pp. 296–299

A sūtra work on ācāra and prāyaścitta is traditionally ascribed to Sumantu. This important figure is recognised by Paithināsi, who includes him among the thirty-six eminent expounders of Dharmaśāstra. His authority is further evidenced by extensive quotations found in significant commentaries by scholars such as Viśvarūpa, Kalpataru, and Aparārka. Interestingly, however, both Yājñavalkya and Parāśara do not enumerate Sumantu among their lists of dharma expounders. Beyond the Dharmaśāstra tradition, Sumantu finds mention in epic and puranic literature, appearing in the Mahābhārata and the Bhāgavata. It appears that more than one work may be attributed to Sumantu. Aparārka, for instance, cites verses on dharma from a Sumantu text, which is distinctly noted as a different work from the sūtra mentioned earlier. Furthermore, the Sarasvatīvilāsa quotes numerous verses attributed to Sumantu, specifically focusing on aspects of vyavahāra. The fragments and references to Sumantu's contributions to Dharmaśāstra have been a subject of scholarly interest, leading to a notable reconstruction of his work by Prof. T. R. Chintamani.

— Synopsis by P.V. Kane, from History of Dharmaśāstra

29. Sumantu

29. Sumantu

For a Dharmasūtra of Sumantu vide Madras Tri. Cat. of Sanskrit Msṣ (1919–22) pp. 5160–62.

From Viśvarūpa, Haradatta and Aparārka it follows that Sumantu composed a sūtra work on dharma, particularly on ācāra and prāyaścitta. Viśvarūpa quotes prose passages from Sumantu on upapātakas,¹ on prāyaścitta for Brāh-maṇa-murder ( on Yāj. III. 237 ), for drinking wine ( on Yāj. III. 250 ), for theft of gold ( on Yāj. III. 252 ), for incest ( on Yāj. III. 253–54 ), for killing a cow and about ātātayin (on Yāj. III. 261 ). In one quotation from Sumantu cited by Viśvarūpa the views of ācāryas and of Āṅgirasa are men-tioneḍ² The prāyaścittas for Brāhmaṇa-murder and for killing a cow contained in Viśvarūpa occur in Haradatta ( on Gaut. 22. 13 and 18 ). Most of the quotations cited by Viśva-rūpa occur in Aparārka also. The Hāralatā ( p. 68 ) quotes sūtras of Sumantu on āśauca. One well-known sūtra of Suma-ntu is 'no prāyaścitta (or blame) is incurred by killing an ātātāyin, except cows and brāhmaṇas : ³ Aparārka quotes sūtras from Sumantu condemning marriage with maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter and recommending the abandonment of a young wife in certain circumstanceṣ⁴ In the Sarasvatīvilāsa a prose passage of Sumantu is cited on the seven constituents of rājya.⁵

Paithinasi includes Sumantu among the thirty-six sages, expounders of Dharmaśāstra. Kalpataru ( Br. K. p. 22) enumerates the means of settling ( doubts on ) points of Dharma viz. Veda, Vedānga, Itihāsa-purāṇa, Tarka, Mīmāṁsā and Dharma-śāstras and also the practices of families, gaṇa, country, caste and varṇa, and also the usages of heretical sects, of the āśramas and of those learned in the Vedaṣ On p. 76 of the Br. kāṇḍa Sumantu provides that all Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas and Vaiśyas have to undergo the saṁskāras from Garbhādhāna to Vivāha and Yajñaṣ The Vratakāṇḍa ( Kal- pa°) quotes from Sumantu numerous verses on Kṣīrapratipad Vrata ( pp. 36-38 ) and on Aśūnyaśayana-vrata ( pp. 41-44 ). It is possible that some of the verses ascribed to Sumantu in these cases are the compositions of some Sumantu other than the author of the prose sūtraṣ e. g. the verse 'a householder that does not offer śrāddha, when the sun is in Virgo, how can he have wealth and sons' &c. ( q. by Aparārka on Yaj. I. 217 p. 424 ). Kalpataru ( on śrāddha ) pp. 90-91 quotes a long prose passage from Sumantu on persons that are apāṅkteya ( not fit to dine in the same row with others invited at Śrād- dha ). Aparārka quotes numerous prose passages of Suma- ntu on prāyaścitta. A much discussed dictum of Sumantu (q. by Mit. on Yāj. II. 21 and by Aparārka on p. 1043 on Yāj. III. 227 ) is ‘there is no blame ( or sin ) in killing an ātatāyin, except in the case of a cow or a brāhmaṇa that is ātatāyin). For a discussion of this dictum vide H. of Dh. Vol. II. pp. 148–151 and III. pp. 517–18, and the paper ‘Ātatāyivadha’ by Prof. Rangasvami Aiyangar in C. K. Raja presentation vol. pp. 197–232. The Mit. quotes several prose passages of Suma-ntu on Yāj. II. 21, III. 6, 37, 250, 258, 260.

These quotations from Viśvarūpa and others establish that a prose work on dharma by Sumantu existed early enough. It appears, however, that the work was not a very ancient one. Neither Yājñavalkya nor Parāśara mentions Sumantu among the propounders of dharma. On the other hand the name of Sumantu is an ancient one. In the Bhāga-vatapurāṇa ( XII. 6. 75 and 7. 1 ) Sumantu is said to have been a pupil of Jaimini and a promulgator of the Atharvaveda. Vide Śāntiparva 341. 19 for Sumantu and other pupils of Vyāsa and Sabhā 4. 11. In the daily tarpaṇa the name of Sumantu occurs along with Jaimini, Vaiśampāyana, Paila.

Numerous verses on dharma are also cited from Sumantu by Aparārka, the Smṛticandrikā and other workṣ This may probably be a different work from the sūtra work of Sumantu. In one verse of Sumantu ( Aparārka on Yāj. I. 223 ) occur the words ‘Śaṅkhasya vacanam yathā’ and in another (Aparārka on Yāj. I. 217–218 ) the Kanyā sign of the zodiac is refer-red to.

It is remarkable that the Mit. and Aparārka contain no verses of Sumantu on vyavahāra. The Sarasvatī-vilāsa is rich in quotations from Sumantu on vyavahāra. A compro-mise, exchange or partition, if fair, could be annulled up to the tenth day, but if unfair up to the 9th year ( vide note 293 above ). ‘If even as much as a māṣa went from the buyer to the seller, that would support the sale of the land ( sold ) just as a small dose of poison permeates the whole body and when no purchase-money is paid or only a portion is paid, then the purchase is called avakraya and is liable to be set aside if the price is not paid in (good time)’.⁶ Sumantu prescribes a fine for selling and purchasing land without the consent of the neighbouring members of the family and says that in case of preemptioṇ the neighbours on the east are preferred to all and those on the south come last.⁷ Sumantu defines a mortgage by conditional sale (called ‘uktalibhakraya’) and a sale for arrears of revenue by the king’s orders (called ājñā-kraya ).⁸

Vide reconstruction of Sumanta by Prof. T. R. Chintamani in JOR ( Madras ) vol. VIII. pp. 75 ff.

एवं सुमन्तुः ‘स्त्रीरजगौस्तेन्यं गोघ्नं नागर्नकं भस्ममृतं क्षत्रियवैश्ययोग्यता परिवित्तिताकप्रीतिा प्रतिरूपकवित्रैल्पयुगलपाकानि ' इति । विश्वरूप on याज्ञ III. 229–236. ↩
न ब्राह्मणस्य पतनमिच्छन्त्याचार्याः किल्विषुभ्यगतः पातव्य इत्याङ्गिरसः— इति । विश्वरूप on याज्ञ. III. 237. ↩
विश्वरूप on याज्ञ. III. 262 quotes it as ‘ नाततायिवधे प्रायश्चित्तमन्यत्र गोब्राह्मणेभ्यः’; while the मिता. on याज्ञ. II. 21 quotes it as ‘ नात- तायिवधे दोषोन्यत्र गोब्राह्मणात्’; the स्मृतिमञ्जरी of गोविन्दराज ( I. O. mṣ No. 1736 ) has ‘ आततायिवधे दोषोऽन्यत्र गोब्राह्मणेभ्यः’. ↩
मातुलसुतां पैतृष्वसेयीं समानार्षगोत्रां च परणीय चान्द्रायणं चरेत् परित्यज्यैनां विप्रयात् । अपरार्के on याज्ञ. I. 53; ‘ कन्या कुत्सितजातिकर्मशीला व्याध्रुगृता परिणीता यद्यक्षतयोनिः स्यात्परित्यज्य कन्या’ अपरार्के on याज्ञ. I. 65. ↩
अनः सप्ताङ्गानि सर्वा संलक्षणीयाण्याह सुमन्तुः ‘स्वाम्यमात्मना संरक्षणम् । अमात्यान् संमानेन । वर्णान् स्वकेन जतम् । वर्णधर्मरञ्जनेन । दुर्गं धनधान्यादि- समृद्धया । कोशमुचितव्ययेन । दण्डं स्वधर्मेण । इति ।’ सरस्वती ० p. 46. H. D.—38 ↩
माषमात्रमपि द्रव्यं क्रयविक्रेतरि स्थितम् । व्याप्नोति सकलां भूमिं कायमल्यं विषं यथा ॥ अर्धेतरतमस्तं तु क्रयमाहुरवक्रयम् । अवक्रयो निवर्तते यदि काले न दीयते ॥ सरस्वती० p. 321. ↩
ज्ञात्यादीनमनुज्ञाप्य समी स्थानतन्द्रिनाम । क्रयविक्रयकर्त्तारौ तत्समं दण्डमर्हतः ॥ सरस्वती० p. 322 ; ‘चतुःसामन्तसंनिधये प्राची दिग्वलतरा । उदीची च प्रतीची च सर्वभावे तु दक्षिण ॥ p. 323. ↩
किंचिच्च द्रव्यमादाय काले दास्यामि ते क्रचित् । नो चेन्मूलमिदं त्यक्तं केदार-स्थेति यः क्रयः ॥ स उक्तलाभ इत्युक्त उत्कललेपनार्णम् ॥ सरस्वती० p. 324 ; मूल्यस्य पादमधं वा मूल्यमाज्ञाक्ये स्थितम् । मूल्यं तदासंखिले दत्त्वा क्षेत्रं समामुयात् ॥ आ त्रिभोगात् ततः केतुः परतो दृढताभियात् । p. 323. ↩

28. Shātātapa 30. The Smritis