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 '' Dayabhaga''.

Life

Raghunandana was born at Nabadwip, to Harihara Bhattacharya. He was a pupil of Srinatha Acharya Chudamani. His writings mention ''Rayamukuta'' (1431 CE), and are mentioned by ''Viramitrodaya'' of Mitramisra (early 17th century). Thus, it can be inferred that Raghunandana lived around 16th century CE.

The various estimates of his lifespan include:

* 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 ''Samaj-samskarak Raghunandan'' (1964), in Bengali language.

Works

''Astavimsati-tattva''

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

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

The 28 digests include:

''Chandoga-vrsotsarga-tattva'', ''Rgvrsotsarga-tattva'' and ''Yajur-vrsotsarga-tattva'' are collectively known as ''Vrsotsarga-tattva''. ''Deva-pratishtha-tattva'' and ''Matha-pratishtha-tattva'' are collectively known as ''Pratishtha-tattva''.

Commentary on ''Dayabhaga''

Raghunandana's ''Dayabhaga-tika'', also known as ''Dayabhaga-vyakhya a', is a commentary on Jimutavahana's Hindu law treatise '' 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 ''Dayabhaga''. 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.

The commentary quotes several other scholars and writings, including Medhatithi, Kulluka Bhatta, '' Mitakshara'', ''Vivada-Ratnakara'' of Chandeshvara Thakura, Shulapani and ''Vivada-Chintamani'' of Vachaspati Mishra (often critically).

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 ''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.

Other works

His other works include:

* ''Gaya-shraddha paddhati''
* ''Graha-yaga-tattva'' (or ''Graha-pramana-tattva'')
* ''Tirtha-yatra-tattva'' (or ''Tirtha-tattva'')
* ''Tripuskara-santi-tattva''
* ''Dvadasa-yatra-tattva'' (or ''Yatra-tattva'')
* ''Rasa-yatra tattva'' (or ''Rasa-yatra paddhati'')

References

{{Authority control

Sanskrit scholars from Bengal
16th-century Indian writers
16th-century Hindus