39. Angiras

Volume I: Part I pp. 507–509

Quoted frequently on all topics except vyavahāra by writers from Viśvarūpa – Smṛticandrikā quotes some prose passages from Aṅgiras – several compilations on prāyaścitta attributed to Aṅgiras - Bṛhad-Aṅgiras and Madhyamāṅgiras – Aṅgiras-Smṛti in Ānand. Collection of Smṛtis has 168 verses – Aṅgirasasmṛti published by by Mr. A. N. Krishna Aiyangar contains over 1200 verses.

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

39. Angiras

39. Angiras Angiras is one of the ten primordial sages mentioned in Manusmr̥ti I.34–35). It is a very ancient name even in the R̥gveda. On Yāj. I. 50 Viśvarūpa quotes a verse of Angiras that what is done according to one’s own will without following the dictates of Śāstra is fruitlesṣ¹ On Yāj. III. 248 Viśvarūpa says that the vr̥ata called Vajra was prescribed by Angiras for Brāhmaṇas guilty of deadly sinṣ Viśvarūpa (on Yāj. III. 255 ) quotes two verses of Angiras on the prāyaścitta for killing the wife of a brāhmaṇa who has kindled the sacred fires for killing wives of other brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas and vaiśyaṣ On Yāj. III. 266 he quotes two verses of Angiras laying down prāyaścitta for killing certain beasts and birds, wherein Angiras himself is mentioned with honour (bhagavān). Aparārka (pp. 22-23) quotes thirteen verses from Angiras on the constitution of pariṣad, wherein such terms as caturvidya, vitarki, aṅgavid, dharmapāṭhaka are explained and the last of which says that a pariṣad sitting in judgment over those who are guilty of mahāpātakas may consist of hundredṣ The Mitākṣarā (on Yāj. I. 86) quotes several verses on the practice of satī and ascribes them to both Śaṅkha and Angiraṣ² Aparārka (pp. 109, 112) quotes four other verses on the same practice, one of which is in the Indravajrā metre and another prohibits a brāhmaṇa wife from following that practice. Medhātithi (on Manu. V. 157) quotes the view of Angiras on satī and disapproves of it. The Mitākṣarā, Haradatta and others quote numerous verses of Angiras on āśauca and prāyaścitta. Haradatta on Gautama (20. I) quotes a verse of Angiras about the seven antyujaṣ³ Viśvarūpa (on Yāj. III. 237) quotes a sūtra of Sumantu in which Angirasa is cited as an authority. The Śuddhi-mayūkha quotes a verse of Angiras which relies upon Śātatāpa.⁴ The Smṛticandrikā quotes Angiras on the enumeration of Upasmṛtis (vide note 260 above). The Smṛticandrikā also contains a few prose quotations from Angiras; the same work cites a verse of Angiras holding the dharmaśāstra of Manu as the supreme guide.⁵

The Angiras-smṛti (in Jivananda part I, pp. 554-560) in 72 verses is probably an abridgment. It lays down prāyaścittas for various occasions, such as taking food and drink from antyajas, for cruelly beating or causing various injuries to cowṣ It also lays down various rules for the wearing of the dark cloth (nilivastra) by womeṇ It cites Angiras and Āpastamba by name. The penultimate verse condemns those who rob women of their wealth. In the Ānandāśrama collection of Smṛtis (published in 1905) there is an Aṅgiras-Smṛti in 168 verseṣ At the beginning it is said that, when asked by Bharadvāja and others, Aṅgiras declared the Smṛti dealing with rules of prāyaścitta. It names the following Smṛtikāras, viz. Śaṅkhalikhita (in v. 15), Sumantu (in v. 26), Āpastamba (v. 76), Manu (v. 86), Aṅgiras (147 and 155). In 1953 Mr. A. N. Krishna Aiyangar published an Aṅgirasasmṛti at Adyar. This is different from the preceding two works and contains over 1200 ślokaṣ Pandit Manoranjan Sastri (of Gauhati) claims that he has found the msṣ of a different Aṅgirasasmṛti compiled before 14th century A. D. (p. 100 of the Pragjyotisa Souvenir published by him at the time of the All India Oriental Conference at Gauhati in January 1965). As the text is not yet available to scholars, and no reasons are given except the learned Pandit's opinion on reading the Kāmarūpa Mṣ, other scholars have to suspend their judgment. The Kalpataru (on Śuddhi p. 18) states that Vasiṣṭha and Aṅgiras have certain passages in common (vide note below ).⁶

There are several msṣ in the Govt. Msṣ Library at the Bhandarkar Institute (Poona) which contain a varying number of verses on prāyaścitta agreeing more or less with Jivananda's text. For example, No. 53 of 1879-80 contains about one hundred verses, No. 205 of 1882-83 contains 54 verses, while No. 65 of Viśrāmbāg collection and No. 83 of 1895-1902 contain only 32; No. 81 of 1884-86 is styled Bṛhad-Aṅgiras and contains 151 verses, many of which are identical with those in the Calcutta text.

The Mitākṣarā (on Yāj. III. 277) and the Smṛtiratnāvali of Vedācārya (I. O. cat. No. 1552 p. 475) quote a Bṛhad-Aṅgiras and the Mitākṣarā also quotes a Madhyama-Aṅgiras several times (on Yāj. III. 243, 247, 258 and 260).

स्वाभिप्रायकृतं कर्म यत्तु धर्मविवर्जितम् । क्रीडाकर्मैव बालानां तत्सर्वे निष्प्रयोजनम् ।। ↩
One of them is the well-known verse तिस्रः कोर्ष्येकोटी च यानि लोमानि मानुषे । तावत्कालं वसेत्स्वर्गे भर्त्तारं यानुगच्छति ॥ ↩
the Smṛtimuktāphalam quotes a passage here, printed 661 →a passage here stands at garuda ब्रह्मकाण्डः (मोक्षकाण्डः) 4.91
दृण्डालः श्वपचः क्षत्ता सूतो वैदेहिकस्तथा । मागधायोगवौ चैव सप्तैतेन्त्याव- सयिनः ॥ ↩
सर्वेषामेव वर्णानां सूतके मृतके तथा । दशाहाच्छुद्धिरेषेषा मिति शातातपोऽब्रवीत् ॥ ↩
यत्पूर्वं मनुना प्रोक्तं धर्मशास्त्रमनुत्तमम् । नहि तत्समति क्रम्य वचनं हितमात्मनः ॥ स्मृतिच ० ( आह्निक् ). ↩
the Smṛtimuktāphalam quotes a passage here, printed 22 → crediting अङ्गिरा
वसिष्ठोऽङ्गिराश्च । जनने तु मातापित्रोरेव सूतकम् । इत्येवेमे स्याद्ब्राह्मणा शुद्धि- मिच्छताम् । मातापित्रोर्वा । वशिमितत्त्वान्नानुविरेके । अथाप्युदाहरणानि । नाशीचं सूतके पुंसः संसर्गं चन्न गच्छति । रजस्तत्राशुचिं ज्ञेयं तच्च पुति न विद्यते । Compare वसिष्ठधर्मसूत्र IV. 20-23. ↩

38. Kātyāyana 42. Chaturvimshati-mata