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Raghunandana

Raghunandana (c. 16th century CE) was an Indian Sanskrit scholar from the Bengal region. His writings include 28 Smriti digests on Hindu law and a commentary on the Hindu law code prevalent in Bengal, the Dayabhaga.^[1]

Life[edit]

Raghunandana was born at Nabadwip to a Bengali Brahmin named Harihara Bhattacharya. He was a pupil of Srinatha Acharya Chudamani.^[1] His writings mention the works of Brihaspati Rayamukuta, a contemporary of the Bengali sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah & Madhavacharya and are mentioned in the Viramitrodaya of Mitramisra (early 17th century). Thus, it can be inferred that Raghunandana lived around the 16th century CE.^[2] Other earlier texts cited by him include the Nirṇayāmṛta.^[3] Tradition has it that he was a junior contemporary of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu & a batch-mate of Navya-Nyaya scholar Raghunatha Siromani.^[4]

The various estimates of his lifespan include:^[5]

• Rajendra Chandra Hazra: 1520–1570
• Monmohan Chakravarti: born 1490 or 1500, literary activity during 1520–1575
• Pandurang Vaman Kane: 1510–1580

Bani Chakravarti wrote a book on him titled the Samaj-samskarak Raghunandan (Raghunandan, Culture Giver/Enhancer) in 1964 in the Bengali language.^[1]

Works[edit]

Astavimsati-tattva[edit]

Raghunandana authored 28 Smriti digests on civil law and rituals, collectively known as the Astavimsati-tattva.^[6] The English scholars compared Raghunandana's digests to the Comyns' Digest, and called him the "Comyns of India".^[5]

The titles of these digests end in the word tattva (literally "essence"). 27 of these works are mentioned at the beginning of the Malamasa-tattva.^[2]

The 28 digests include:^[6][2]

The Chandoga-vrsotsarga-tattva, Rgvrsotsarga-tattva and Yajur-vrsotsarga-tattva are collectively known as the Vrsotsarga-tattva. The Deva-pratishtha-tattva and Matha-pratishtha-tattva are collectively known as the Pratishtha-tattva.^[2]

Commentary on Dayabhaga[edit]

Raghunandana's Dayabhaga-tika, also known as the Dayabhaga-vyakhya[na], is a commentary on Jimutavahana's Hindu law treatise, the Dayabhaga. During the British Raj, when Hindu law was used in the courts, the Calcutta High Court termed Raghunandana's Dayabhaga-tika as the best commentary on the Dayabhaga.^[6] William Jones, a puisne judge at the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William, mentioned that the local Hindu scholars often referred to Jimutavahana's treatise, but it was Raghunandana's work that was "more generally approved" in Bengal.^[5]

The commentary quotes several other scholars and works, including Medhatithi, Kulluka Bhatta, the Mitakshara, the Vivada-RatnakaraofChandeshvara Thakura, Shulapani and the Vivada-ChintamaniofVachaspati Mishra (often critically).^[5]

There have been some doubts about the authorship of this commentary. Both Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1810) and Julius Eggeling (1891) suspected that it was not authored by the writer of the Divya-tattva (that is, Raghunandana). However, Monmohan Chakravarti (1915) and Rajendra Chandra Hazra (1950) both attribute the work to Raghunandana. Pandurang Vaman Kane also ascribes the commentary to him, but not without hesitation.^[5]

Other works[edit]

His other works include:^[2]

• Gaya-shraddha paddhati which discusses special rites of shraddha to be performed while visiting Gaya
• Graha-yaga-tattva (orGraha-pramana-tattva) which discusses the rite of grahayajna (a special yajna performed to appease the 9 planets)
• Tirtha-yatra-tattva (orTirtha-tattva) which discusses the procedure & rites related to pilgrimage
• Tripuskara-santi-tattva which discusses rites of pacification to be performed at a specific Hindu astronomical moment called Tripuskara-yoga
• Dvadasa-yatra-tattva (orYatra-tattva) which discusses the observance of 12 special festivals performed in Puri
• Rasa-yatra tattva (orRasa-yatra paddhati) which discusses the rite of observing Rasa-purnima (a festival observed by Hindus in Bengal, Odisha & ManipuronKartika purnima commemorating the Raslila)

References[edit]