108. Nārāyanabhatta
Volume I: Part II pp. 903–907
Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa is recognized as the most distinguished member of the Bhaṭṭa family, originating from Benares. A glimpse into his personal history reveals his birth in the year 1513 A.D., marking the commencement of a life dedicated to scholarship. His substantial literary legacy encompasses several important works. Prominent among these are the *Antyeṣṭipaddhati*, a treatise on funeral rites, the *Tristhalisetu*, likely pertaining to holy places or pilgrimage, and the *Prayogaratna*, which elucidates various religious practices. Furthermore, Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa authored a significant commentary on verses found in *Kālamādhava*. The span of his principal literary activity is documented between the years 1540 and 1570 A.D., reflecting a productive three decades of scholarly output. However, it is essential to draw a clear distinction regarding the authorship of *Dharmapravṛtti*; the Nārāyaṇa responsible for this work is a different individual and should not be conflated with the Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa who is the subject of this overview.
— Synopsis by P.V. Kane, from History of Dharmaśāstra
108. Nārāyanabhatta
108. Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa1364 was the most famous of the celebrated family of the Bhaṭṭas of Benareṣ For a biography of the Bhāṭṭa
1364 The work of Śaṅkarabhaṭṭa is called Gādhi-vaṁśānucarita. The first leaf of the mṣ is missing and the work comes abruptly to an enḍ Even in ancient times there appears to have been a rivalry between the two great sages of the Ṛgveda viz. Vasiṣṭha ( to whom and his family are ascribed the verses in the VII Maṇḍala of the Ṛgveda ) and Viśvāmitra ( to whom are ascribed the verses of the 3rd Maṇḍala of the same Veda ). It appears from Ṛg. III. 53. 9-12 that Viśvāmitra's ancestor was Kuśika and that his prayers helped Bhārata people. At least as early as the Mahābhāṣya ( vol. II p. 254 of Kielhorn's eḍ ) of Patañjali ( on Pāṇ IV. 1. 104 ) the pedigree was Kuśika-Gādhi-Viśvāmitra. The name Gādhi does not occur in the Ṛgveda. The Mahābhārata and some of the Purāṇas are full of stories about the rivalry between Viśvā- mitra and Vasiṣṭha. For enmity ( vaira ) between the two sages, vide Ādi chap. 175-176, Chitrashala eḍ The gotra of the family was Viśvāmitra and the family is known as Gādhivaṁśa. In Ṛg. III. 33. 5 Viśvāmitra is said to be sūnu ( son ) of Kuśika. The plural of Kuśika occurs frequently in the Ṛg. Śaṅkarabhaṭṭa also composed a work called Dvaitanirṇaya, an account of which contributed by the present author will be found in ABORI vol. III pp. 67-72 ( for 1921–22 ). The Gādhivaṁśānucarita of Śaṅkarabhaṭṭa does not mention the fact of the re-establishment of Viśveśvara by his father Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa. It is later descendants of Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa that refer to this deed of Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa. It is possible that Śaṅkarabhaṭṭa wrote the Gādhivaṁśānucarita before the restoration of Viśveśvara shrine.
Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa appears to have composed a work called ' jivac-chrāddhavidhi ' ( based on the Brahmapurāṇa and other works ) enabling a person to perform his own śrāddha while he was alive. Vide Prof. G. V. Devasthali's Deṣ Cat. of Sanskrit and Prakrit Msṣ in the Library of the Bombay University No. 1045 p. 376 and Prof. Velankar's Deṣ Cat. of the Sanskrit Msṣ in the Iccharam Desai Collection of the Bombay University Noṣ 292–294 pp. 60–61. No. 292 begins: तत्र ब्रह्मपुराणे । अथ जीवच्छ्राद्धविधिः । देशकालधनश्रद्धान्वयसमुद्ग्रहितः ।
( Continued on the next page ) family of Benares, vide I. A. vol. 41 pp. 7-13 and for a detailed account of some members of that family and their works (particularly on Dharmaśāstra), vide the present author's Intro- duction to the Vyavahāramayūkha ( pp. v-xlv ) published by the B. O. R. I. in 1926. From several references it appears that Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa wrote a bhāṣya on the Gobhila-gṛhya-sūtra; vide Smṛtitattva (vol. 1)–Tithi p. 14 ‘ Kuśāntarapratinidhir-Bhaṭṭanā- rāyaṇair - Gobhila-bhāṣya uktaḥ ); Saṁskāratattva pp. 878 and 904; (vol. II ) Udvāhatattva p. 130. A few more examples of the use of the honorific plural Bhaṭṭa-Nārāyaṇacaraṇāḥ ' by Raghu, may be added here. Vide (vol. I) Śrāddha pp. 201, 245; Saṁskāra p. 868; (vol. II) Māthapratisthā 620, Śuddhi 251. M. M. Haraprasad Śāstrī has bright to light a biography of this family written by Śaṅkarabhaṭṭa, a son of Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa ( Inḍ Ant. for 1912 vol. 41, pp. 7-13 ). Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa's father Rāme- śvarabhaṭṭa whose gotra was Viśvāmitra migrated from Prati- ṣṭhāna ( Paithan ) in the Deccan to Benareṣ Rāmeśvarabhaṭṭa was a very learned man and his learning drew to him students from the whole of India. Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa was born according to Śaṅkarabhaṭṭa’s biography in Śake 1435 in the month of Caitra (i. e. about March 1513 A. D. ). Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa was the eldest of three sons, the other two being Śrīdhara and Mādhava. Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa learnt all the śāstras at the feet of his father. Pandits all over India looked up to him as their leader and patron and he was an assiduous collector of Sanskrit msṣ It is said that Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa brought down by his holiness rain in a season of drought and thereby induced the Mahomedan ruler that had razed the temple of Viśveśvara at Benares to the ground to allow him to rebuild it. For his erudition and piety Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa was honoured with the title ‘Jagadguru’ and his family was given the first place of honour in the assembly of learned Brāhmaṇas and at the recitations of the Vedaṣ It was Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa and his equally worthy descendants that raised dākṣiṇātya pandits to the position of high eminence at Benares which they still holḍ Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa wrote numerous works on dharmaśāstra among which may be mentioned the Antyeṣṭipaddhati (printed by Nirṇayasāgara Press), the Tristhalī-setu (dealing with the ceremonies to be performed generally at all sacred places and particularly at Prayāga, Kāśī and Gayā) and the Prayogaratna (printed at the Nirṇayasāgara Press, 1915 A. D.). This last contains detailed descriptions and rituals of the saṁskāras from garbhādhāna to vivāha. His are standard works on the subjects they deal with and are used even now almost throughout the whole of India. He composed a com-mentary on the introductory verses contained in the Kālamādhava (vide Madras Triennial Cat. vol. III. Sanskrit C. p. 4114 No. 2852) and a commentary on portions of the Śāstradīpikā of Pārthasārathimiśra. He composed a work on ordeals which is referred to in the Vyavahāratattva of Nīlakaṇṭha (vide p. 457 of my edition of the Vyavahāramayūkha and Bikaner cat. p. 387 No. 832 for a Divyānuṣṭhāna-paddhati of Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa) and also paddhatis on the dedication of gardens, tanks etc. For a Jalaśayotsargavidhi of Nārāyaṇa, vide I. O. Cat. No. 1717 and Mitra's Notices V. p. 146 and Prof, Velankar's Cat. of the Bombay University's Desai Collection of Msṣ pp. 41-42 No. 204. He exercised a profound influence over later writers directly and indirectly through his sons and grand-sonṣ Vide Cat. of India Office Sanskrit Msṣ ( part III p. 547 where the दानही ( हा ? ) रावलि-प्रकाशा of दिवाकर son of महादेव says so ) and Hultzsch's Report on South Indian Sanskrit msṣ vol. III. p. 106 which quotes a verse from भाट्ट्दिनकर about the re-installation of Viśveśvara by Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa : श्रीरामेरुत्तरस्ततः समभवच्छ्रीभट्ट्नारायणः शाखास्न्नायपरायणः खळमतत्वषा-नैकविद्वरावणः । काश्यां पातकनिर्वृत्तै भगवतो विश्वेश्वरस्याचलं लिङ्गं भाग्यवशालुसुखाय जगतां संस्थापयामास यः ॥ 5th verse at the end of the work.
Those interested in the several eminent writers of this gifted Bhatta family of Benares may refer to the present author's Introduction to the Vyavahāramayūkha of Nīlakaṇṭha (published H, D, 114 by the Bhandarkar Oriental Institute, Poona, in 1926 pp. v-xxvII). Only a brief pedigree of the family is added here:1365
As he was born in 1513 A. D. and composed the commentary on the Vṛttaratnākara in 1545 A. D., his literary activity must be placed between 1540 and 1570 A. D. This is further corroborated by the fact that his grandson Kamalākarabhatta composed the Nirnayasindhu, one of his earliest works, in 1612 A. D.
It appears that Kāntānathabhaṭṭa, a descendant of Kamalā- karabhaṭṭa, published a work called ‘ Bhaṭṭa-vaṁśa-Kāvyaṁ ’ in 1903 at the Ananda-kadambinī press of Mirzapur. Kāntānātha- Bhaṭṭa was head Pandit at the Sanskrit Pāṭhaśālā at that place. In the Hindi Preface to that work he said that he saw Śaṅkara- bhaṭṭa’s work called Gadhivaṁśavarnana and Mandlik's edition of the Vyavahāramayūkha and that induced him to write the work. It is in 10 sargas and contains 429 verses in several metreṣ The pedigree he gives differs from Śańkarabhaṭṭa’s work in several respectṣ It is unnecessary to pursue this matter here.
There is a work on dharmaśāstra called Dharmapravṛtti composed by a Nārāyaṇa. Mr. K. P. Jayaswal holds that this was composed by jagadguru Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa (JBORS for 1927, vol. XIII, parts III-IV, p. xi). The same view is held by M. M. Haraprasad Śāstrī (Inḍ Ant. for 1912 p. 7). Prof. Velankar in his Cat. of the Sanskrit Msṣ in the Iccharam Suryaram Desai Collection of the Bombay University (p. 45) appears to identify Nārāyaṇa, author of Dharmapravṛtti (msṣ No. 217 and 218 on p. 45) with the famous Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa, author of Prayogaratna. But this identity is extremely doubtful. The benedictory verses3 in the Dharmapravṛtti are different from those of the Prayo- garatna and Tristhālisetu, the method of treatment and the style are different and the colophons are also different. The author of the Dharmapravṛtti does not mention his ancestors as Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa doeṣ Nīlakaṇṭha in his Vyavahāramayūkha finds4 fault with the Dharmapravṛtti by saying that certain quotations therein are unauthoritative.