Sraddha- Sagara Of Kullukabhatta (Sanskrit Only)

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A religious institution with millennia of uninterrupted continuity, sraddha (broadly) is an individual’s homage, through certain ritualistic offerings, to the sacred memory of his ancestors. Involved in the srãddha-ritual is also, perhaps, the Hindu’ belief in the doctrine of metempsychosis. Sraddha Sagara, written sometime during 1520-1620, by a celebrated scholar: Kullukabhatta, offers an authoritative, manifold exposition of this ageless ritual. Yet, in treating the srãddha-theme — from Dharmai7stra, its author, Kullüka exhibits a striking originality by applying the Purva-Mimamsa logic to ancestral worship. Which makes his Sraddha Sagara both unique and unrivalled in the literature of the genre.

Here is the first ever critical edition of this rare, hitherto-unpublished work — with Kullüka’s original text (in Devanagari script) and a comprehensive introduction, footnotes and comments. Himself a reputed scholar of Dharmasastra literature, the editor: Professor Moghe, highlights the importance of Sraddha-Sagara and of its author, focusing specially on Kullüka’ s status vis-a-vis other writers on Srãddha.

Essentially in the nature of a ‘digest’, Kullükabhatta’s work abounds with quotations. Which Prof. Moghe not only identifies, but also locates in their diverse sources : smrtis, srutis, pura1as, astronomical! astrological texts, and even grammatical treatises. Also demonstrating how and where Kullüka’s readings are corrupt, deficient or grammatically flawed, the book suggests correctives — with variant readings in the footnotes. Supplementing this critical edition are seven appendices, listing/indexing the whole range of works, referred to in Srãddha Sagara.

Prof. S.G. Moghe is an eminent Sanskritist specializing in Dharmasastra and the Purva-Mimamsa system of traditional philosophy. An extensively published author and recipient of the prestigious Springer Research Scholarship (1981-83) – for this work: purva Mimamsa and Alamkara Sastra, he has recently been honored, by the Government of Maharashtra as a distinguished Sanskrit scholar.

Currently, Dr. Moghe is professor-in-charge, Postgraduate Studies. Marathawada University and also Head of the Sanskrit Department, Government Arts and Science College, Aurangabad.

It gives me great pleasure in presenting a critical edition of the SraddhaSagara of Kullükabhatt to the world of scholarship. The raddha-Sagara is a rare manuscript on the srdddha aspect of Dharma-.Sastra particularly written by Kullükabhtta, the illustrious commentator of the Manusmrti. So far this manuscript is not published by any research scholar or any research Institute in India and abroad.

The present author has edited this rare manuscript with the help of the vast material available in the Dharma-Sastra literature, in the forms ff the Smrtis, Sastra works, commentaries on them and also the digest works.

The importance of this manuscript lies in the fact that it is a matured product of a deep-rooted scholar in the Dharma-Sastra. The date of Kullükabhatta is shrouded in mystery. The study of this manuscript has 1ped the present author to fix the date of Kullukabhatta as 1520 AD. 1620 A.D. By this new research, the date of Kullukabhatta fixed by MM Dr. P.V. Kane, as 1150 to 1300 AD. is brought home with more gent arguments and reliable evidences.

In the Introduction to this work, the present author has discussed the problems such as ‘Relation of Sraddha-Sagara to Laksmidhara’ s Krtyakapataru-Sräddha-Katda, Kullüka and other writers of Bengal, Kulluka and other writers on Srãddha aspect of Dharma-Sastra, and place of the Sraddha-Sagara in the Dharma-Sãstra — the problems which are generally and prominently not discussed by other scholars of Dhrma-Sastra.

The importance of this rare manuscript is really supreme from the point of view of interpretation otherwise known as Purva-Mimamsa. The present author is constrained to remark only casually that in the employment of the Mimamsa doctrines to the Sraddha aspect of Dharma-Sastra, Kulluka appears to have surpassed all his predecessors and even successors. Hence for the Mimamsa interpretation the present author is tempted to bring out another study, which will be published in due course of time.

I take this opportunity to express my heart-feltthanks to my publishers Messers D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd. For agreeing to publish this brilliant study, with personal zeal and accurate printing and most enviable get-up.

**Contents and Sample Pages**