112. Nīlakanthabhatta
Volume I: Part II pp. 937–941
Nīlakaṇṭhabhaṭṭa was the grandson of Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa and the son of Śaṅkarabhaṭṭa, placing his personal history within a distinguished scholarly lineage. His principal work, the *Bhagavantabhāskara*, is a comprehensive treatise divided into twelve distinct *mayūkhās*, notably composed in honour of Bhagavantadeva, the Bundella chieftain. Nīlakaṇṭhabhaṭṭa also authored the *Vyavahāratattva*, further demonstrating his extensive contributions to Dharmaśāstra. An estimate of his qualities as a writer highlights his systematic approach and clarity, which made his works highly influential. Indeed, his *Vyavahāramayūkha* holds paramount authority on Hindu Law within significant geographical areas, including Gujerat, Bombay Island, and North Konkan. Nīlakaṇṭhabhaṭṭa's literary activity spanned a productive period, flourishing prominently between the years 1610 and 1650. It is also noteworthy that there existed a significant divergence of views between Nīlakaṇṭhabhaṭṭa and his cousin, Kamalākara, on various interpretative matters within their scholarship.
— Synopsis by P.V. Kane, from History of Dharmaśāstra
112. Nīlakanthabhatta
112. Nīlakaṇṭhabhaṭṭa
matters to be avoided on the tithis (from 1st to 15th); eclipses and rites on them; bath in the sea. The 2nd pariccheda (pp. 79–230 ) deals with the first tithi of the year and nirṇayas (decisions about it) throughout the twelve months of the year from Caitra onwards and discusses the religious acts (kṛtya) to be performed on the tithis of the months from Caitra onwards; the third pariccheda is called prakīrṇaka (miscellaneous) and is divided into two parts; The first (pūrvārdha on pp. 231-371 ) deals with the Saṁskāras from Garbhādhāna to Vivāha (marriage), with Vedic mantras for three varṇas and without Vedic mantras for śūdras; time for Agnihotra; proper times for performing certain religious acts such as dedication of tanks and wells to the public, planting groves, installing images of gods for worship, and their worship; muhūrtas ( proper or auspicious times ) for certain acts such as agricultural operations, shaving the head, for beginning to take madicines, for oil bath, for beginning to build a house, or for occupying it for the first time Kalivarjya (actions forbidden in the Kaliyuga ); the latter part of the third section (Uttarārdha) occupies pp. 372-636 and deals with the following :
Śrāddhas (pp. 372–510 ) in all twelve varieties of śrāddhas, of which Pārvaṇa, ekoddiṣṭa, Vṛddhiśrāddha and Sapiṇḍana are the principal ones; āśauca (impurity on birth and death ) pp. 510–622, Sahagamana (pp. 623–626 ); Vidhavādharma (duties of widows) and Sannyāsa (pp. 627–635 ).
On several topics in the Nirṇayasindhu, Kamalākarabhatta, quotes verses composed by himself, such as on the best or middling brāhmaṇas to be invited in śrāddhas and those that should not be invited at Śrāddhas (on pp. 396, 399 ) and remarks ‘the basis for such selection may be understood from Hemādri ( pages 396–97 of Nirṇayasindhu ) and for those to be avoided from Hemādri and Pṛthvīcandrodava (p. 399 )’. On p. 459 he cites a verse composed by himself about the Vaiśvadeva homa on the day of śrāddha. Gāgābhaṭṭa alias Viśveśvarabhaṭṭa, who officiated at the coronation of the great Shivaji in 1674 A. D., was Kamalākarabhatta's nephew.
112. Nīlakaṇṭhabhaṭṭa
In my introduction to the Vyavahāramayūkha (Poona, 1926) pp. V-XLIV, I have dealt exhaustively with the personal H. D. 118 history of Nīlakaṇṭha, his works, their contents, their position in dharmaśāstra literature, the period of Nīlakaṇṭha's literary activity and his position in modern Hindu Law. In the following a brief résumé of the conclusions there arrived at is giveṇ
Nīlakaṇṭha was a grandson of Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa and a son of Śaṅkarabhaṭṭa. Śaṅkarabhaṭṭa was a profound mīmāṁsaka and composed several works on mīmāṁsā, viz. a coṃ on the Śāstradīpikā, the Vidhirasāyanadūṣaṇa, the Mīmāṁsābālaprakāśa. He also wrote Dvaitanirṇaya (vide Annals of the Bhandarkar Institute, vol. III part 2. pp. 67–72 for an account of it) and the Dharmaprakāśa or Sarvadharmaprakāśa. Nīlakaṇṭha composed an encyclopaedia of religious and civil law, styled Bhagvanta- bhāskara, in honour of his patron Bhagavantadeva, a Bundella chieftain of the Seṅgara clan, that ruled at Bhareha near the confluence of the Jumna and the Chambal. This work is divided into 12 sections (called mayūkhas ‘rays’) on saṁskāra, ācāra, kāla ( or samaya ), śrāddha, nīti, vyavahāra, dāna, utsarga, pratiṣṭhā, prāyaścitta, śuddhi, śānti. These have been printed at Benares and some of them have been printed in Bombay at the Gujarati Press and all twelve between 1921–28 A. D. by Mr. Ghar- pure. Besides this encyclopaedia he composed also a work called Vyavahāratattva, which is a summary of the Vyavahāramayūkha, and probably a work styled Dattakanirṇaya. The Vyavahāra- tattva has been for the first time published by me as appendix I to my edition of the Vyavahāramayūkha.
In Msṣ of the several Mayūkhas there are introductory verses which set out a royal family called Seṅgara, the first named king being Karṇa, followed by more than a dozen kingṣ King Bhagavantadeva of that family directed Bhaṭṭa Nīlakaṇṭha to write a work ( nibandha ). The work was called Bhagvanta- bhāskara and as the sun ( Bhāskara ) is also called ‘ Dvādaśātma ’ ( as in Amarakośa ) the work is divided into twelve parts (called Mayūkhas ). It appears from some Msṣ that Śaṅkara, son of Nīlakaṇṭha, had something to do with the Saṁskāramayūkha (vide footnote ).1 Nīlakaṇṭha is one of the foremost nibandhakāraṣ Being brought up in a family that had made the study of mīmāṁsā its own for several generations, he is very acute in applying the maxims and rules of mīmāṁsā to dharmaśāstra. He stands unsurpassed by any mediaeval Sanskrit writer on dharmaśāstra in mastery over the vast smṛti lore, in lucidity of exposition, in conciseness and ease of style, in clarity of vision and sobriety of judgement. Though he admired the learning and labours of such predecessors as Vijñāneśvara, Hemādri and others, he does not slavishly follow their dicta and expresses his dissent from them most frankly.
His Vyavahāramayūkha was held to be a work of paramount authority by the Bombay High Court before 1956 (when Hindu law was codified) in certain parts of India—Gujerat, the island of Bombay and northern Konkaṇ2 Even in the other parts of the Bombay Presidency such as the Maratha country and the Ratnagiri District the Vyavahāramayūkha occupies a very
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चार्य त्रिजागति भगवद्भास्करस्तन्यतेयम् ॥ संस्काराचारकालाः समुचितरचनाः प्रानोल्सर्गप्रतीष्टा जगति जयकराः सदृतार्थानुबुद्धाः । प्रायश्चित्तं विशुद्धिश्चिदस्तु निगदिता शान्तिरेवं ख्याता ध्येथेऽत्र शुद्धे वुबजन- सुखदा द्वादशेते मयूखाः ॥ Both occur in आचारम. (verses 11-12), श्राद्धम. (verses 10-11), प्रतिष्ठाम. (verses 12, 14), प्रायश्चित्तम. (verses 11, 13), शान्तिम. (13, 15)
In Gharpura's edition of the Mayūkha.s the 2nd verse as: श्रीभास्करं शिवकरं शिरसा प्रणम्य श्रीनीलकण्ठपितरं तस्पादचिन्तनवलो बुधशङ्खराज्यः संस्कारभास्करममुं वितनोति काय्याम् ॥ 2nd verse of संस्कारमयूख (Gharpura's eḍ of 1927), Nīti means ‘Rājanīti’, Utsarga means dedication to the public of wells, tanks, gardens, temples and the like; Vivāda means here ‘substantive and adjective law’; Pratisthā means the establishment of images of gods and liṅgas in temples, Śuddhi means purifying articles of gold, silver, copper, stones, conches, purification after a birth or death; Śānti means rites for averting evil effects of portentous phenomena, evil conjunctions of stars and planets &c. important place though it was subordinate to the Mitākṣarā3. The general principle, on which the Bombay High Court acted in construing the rules laid down in the Mitākṣarā and the Vyava- hāramayūkha, is that the two works are to be harmonized with one another wherever and so far as that is reasonably possible.4 Though the Mitākṣarā is a paramount authority in the Maratha country and the Ratnagiri District and though it is silent about the sister’s right as a gotraja heir, the courts, in deference to the authority of the Vyavahāramayūkha, have assigned to the sister a high place as an heir even in the Maratha country and in Ratnagiri. Among the other Mayūkhās, the Saṃskāramayūkha has been frequently relied upon by the courtṣ5 The Prāya- śśittamayūkha and the Pratiṣṭhāmayūkha6 have also been relied upon in the High Court.
The period of Nīlakaṇṭha’s literary activity can be settled within very narrow limitṣ He was the youngest son of Śańkara- bhaṭṭa. In the Dvainirṇaya, Śańkarabhaṭṭa quotes the views of the Todarānanda which, as we saw above, must have been composed between 1570 and 1589 A. D. So the Dvainirṇaya could not have been composed before 1590 A. D. Nīlakaṇṭha, the youngest son of Śańkarabhaṭṭa, could hardly have commenced his literary career earlier than Kamalākarabhaṭṭa who was the second son of Śańkarabhaṭṭa’s elder brother. Kamalākara com- posed his Nirṇayasindhu in 1612 A. D. The Nirṇayasindhu is mentioned in the Samayamayūkha (p. 67) and in Śuddhimayū- kha p. 23 (both in Gharpure’s eḍ) and Bhaṭṭoji-Dīkṣita is mentioned in Ācāramayūkha (p. 54). Nīlakaṇṭha refers to his father’s Dvainirṇaya in Śrāddhamayūkha p. 59.
It may be noted that a work called Śāntikaustubha by Nīlakaṇṭha is described in Prof. Devasṭhalī’s Cat. of the Sanskrit msṣ in the Bombay University Library (No. 1162 on p. 415). It seems to be different from the Śāntimayūkha of Nīlakaṇṭha. The mṣ is dated _śake_ 1698 (1776 A. D.) So Nīlakaṇṭha's literary activity must have commenced a good deal after 1610. One mṣ of the Vyavahāratattva bears the date _saṁvat_ 1700 (1644 A. D.) This shows that the Vyavahāratattva was composed not later than 1644 A. D. The Vyavahāratattva refers to the Vyavahārama- yūkha as already composeḍ Hence we may say, without being far from the truth, that Nīlakaṇṭha's literary career falls between 1610 and 1645 A. D. This date is confirmed by the fact that Nīlakaṇṭha's son Śaṅkara wrote the Kuṇḍabhāskara in 1671 A. D. and Divākarabhaṭṭa, the son of Nīlakaṇṭha's daughter, composed his Ācārarka in 1686 A. D. It appears that there was probably a rivalry between the two great cousins Kamalākarabhatta and Nīlakaṇṭha. On many matters their views divergeḍ Though the Nirṇayasindhu is said to have been composed in 1668 of the Vikrama era, yet from the references to several works of his own in the Nirṇayasindhu it looks as if Kamalākara revised it from time to time by adding on references to his own other works and to those of otherṣ The Nirṇayasindhu (III pariccheda, section on Dattakagrahaṇa ) emphatically says that he who asserts ownership in one's son in spite of Vedic indica- tions is a fool.7 It is not unreasonable to suppose that this is a hit at Nīlakaṇṭha who must have been younger than Kamalā- kara and who tries hard in his Vyavahāramayūkha to establish that there is no ownership in one's wife and childreṇ