60. Bhartri-yajna

Volume I: Part I pp. 551–553

An ancient Bhāṣyakāra mentioned by Medhātithi (on Manu 8. 3) – his views cited by Trikāṇḍamandana – he wrote bhāṣya on Kātyāyana śrautasūtra and Pāraskara gṛhyasūtra – probably he commented on Gautamadharmaśāstra – his explanation of Manu V. 143, Gaut. V. 41, XIV. 35–40, Vas. VIII. 1 quoted by Kalpataru – probably commented on Pāraskaragṛhya – flourished about 800 A. D.

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

60. Bhartri-yajna

60. Bhartryajña

This seems to have been a very ancient commentator. Medhātithi¹ in his bhāsya on Manu 8. 3 says ‘other explanations have been well brought out by Bhartryajña and they should be understood from his work’. Trikānda-mandana (who flourished before 1100 A. D.) in his Āpastambasūtra-dhvanitārtha-kārikā² (I. 41) refers to the views of Bhartr- yajña that one who had committed to memory the text of the sacred fires, though he may be innocent of the meaning of the Vedic textṣ From Ananta’s bhāsya it appears that Bhartryajña composed a bhāsya on the Kātyāyanaśrautasūtra which had been lost ( utsanna ) in the former’s day. From Gadādhara’s comments on the Pāraskaragrhyasūtra it appears that Bhartryajña commented on Pāraskara.³ The gṛhastha-ratnākara of Cāṇḍeśvara quotes Bhartryajña’s explanation of the word samvibhāga occurring in Gautamadharmasūtra (10. 39 ‘ svami riktha....samvibhāga-parigrahādihigameșu’)⁴ The Nityācāpradīpa (B. I. series) after quoting Gautamadharma sūtra (11. 29 varṇāśramāḥ svadharmaṇiṣṭhāḥ &c.) cites the comment of Bhartryajña⁵ on the word tac-cheṣa occurring in that sūtra. Therefore it appears probable that Bhartryajña like Asahāya was an ancient commentator of the Gautamadharmasūtra. The Grhastharatnākara, after quoting from Vasiṣṭha (17. 1) and Viṣṇu the well-known verse of the Aitareya-brāhmaṇa (ṛṇam-asmin sam-nayati) cites the explanation of Bhartryajña as to the word ‘ jātasya’ occurring thereiṇ⁶

The Kalpataru (on Brahmacāri° p. 15) quotes the expla nation of the words ‘ tataḥ śeṣena’ and also on p. 144 quotes the explanation of Manu V. 143 (ucchiṣṭena tu &c.) given by Viśvarūpa and Bhartryajña. Kalpa° (Śuddhikāṇdạ p. 101) quotes Gaut. XIV. 35-40 and Bhartryajña’s explanation of ‘ ante tvantyanām’ as ‘ navamāśaucānte’. Kalpataru (gṛhastha kāṇdạ p. 5) cites the explanation of Vaṣ Dh. S. VIII. 1 (Grhastho-vindeta) by Bhartryajña. Similarly, Kalpa° (Gr. p. 259) quotes Gaut. X. 39 (Svāmi riktha-kraya°) and cites the explanation of ‘ samvibhāga’ as ‘ mitradāya’ by Bhartryajña. Kalpa° (Niyatakāla p. 256) cites Yāj. I. 166 (śudreșu dāsa- gopāla°) and its explanation by Bhartryajña as ‘ yasya gāḥ pālayati tasyaiva bhojyānnaḥ’. Kalpa° on Niyat° p. 203 quotes Gaut. Dh°. S. V. 41 and the explanation of the word ‘ adhivṛkṣasūrya’ by both Maskarin and Bhartryajña as meaning ‘ sāyamkāla’ (evening). Vide an interesting paper by Prof. Baladeva Upādhyaya in I. H. Q. vol. XII p. 494-503, where he advances some grounds for holding that Bhartryajña commented on the Pāraskaragrhyā and preceded even Karka. The Vyavahāranirṇaya of Varadarāja (on p. 135) cites the view of Dhāreśvara, Asahāya and Śrīkara about the effect of not asserting one’s right against an interloper for a long time and of Asahāya on pp. 230, 455 also. Since Bhartryajña is quoted by Medhātithi who also men- tions Asahāya but not Viśvarūpa, it follows that Bhartryajña must have flourished before 800 A. D. and was probably a contemporary of or slightly later than Asahāya.

व्याख्यानान्तराणि भर्तृयज्ञेनैव सम्यक्कृतानि इति तत एवावगन्तव्यानि सर्वथा प्रमाणमूलानि । ↩
यदाध्ययनसंप्रसिद्धविज्ञानरहितोपि सन् । नानीवाधिक्रियाशून्यौ भर्तृयज्ञादि- दर्शनात् ।। त्रिकाण्डमण्डन ( B. I. series ). ↩
On पारस्करगृह्य I. 1.2 ‘एते पश्च भू संस्कारा इति भर्तृयज्ञभाष्ये अन्यार्था इति कर्कोध्यायः’; on पारस्कर I. 2.4, the भाष्य of भर्तृयज्ञ on the word द्वारकाले is quoted; on the सूत्र ‘केशसंमितौ ब्राह्मणस्य’ &c. ( पारस्कर II. 5. 28 ) गदाधर says ‘इदं च सूत्रं सूत्रत्वेन हरिहरभाष्ये तिष्ठति भर्तृयज्ञकर्कदिग्भेषु नोपलभ्यते’, ↩
संविधानो भर्तृदाय इति भर्तृयज्ञः। गृह्यरत्नाकर folio 78a of Govt. Msṣ Lib. at the B. O. R. Institute, Poona, No. 44 of 1883-84. ↩
अत्र तच्छेषेण इति तत्सैव निस्त्वाचारकर्मणः शेषेणेति भर्तृयज्ञः। निस्त्वाचारप्रदीप p. 12. ↩
अत्र जातस्येति तृणापाकरयोग्थेत्येति भर्तृयज्ञः। गृह्यरत्नाकर folio 133a, ↩

59. Asahāya 61. Vishvarūpa