Sanscrit 1409. Mitākṣarā

This manuscript contains the full text, in three chapters, of the Mitākṣarā, a commentary on the Yājñavālkyasmṛti. This dharmaśāstra treatise was a foundational reference text for the British East India Company. In fact, the title page of this manuscript indicates that it belonged to the Company. The title page contains text in English and Sanskrit, in Devanāgarī, Bengali, and Perso-Arabic script.

Each chapter of the Mitākṣarā is foliated separately, and the second chapter bears marks of having previously been bound as a codex. The second chapter also includes a table of contents at the end.

The colophon of the manuscript mentions that was copied by Śivaprasāda Śarmā in 1778 CE. It is possible that this is the same Śivaprasāda Śarmā who taught Ram Mohan Roy. Using his teacher's name as a pseudonym, Roy worte a series of articles defending Vedānta against the criticisms of Christian missionaries (Zastoupil 2010, 134; Dasgupta 1980, 180, 245, 286, 291).

However, a second, later date of 1788 is also given in the colophon, indicating that this particular manuscript may have been copied from the one written by Śivaprasāda Śarmā.

Contents (Single-text)

(U1, U2, U3) Vijñāneśvara, Mitākṣarā

• Rubric

  [folio 6]
  [1] śrīgaṇeśāya namaḥ || lakṣmīkāṃtāya namaḥ |

• Incipit

  dharmādharmau tadvipākās trayo pi kleśāḥ paṃca prāṇinām āyataṃte | yasminn etair no parāmṛṣṭa iśo yas taṃ vande viṣṇumoṅkāravācyaṃ 1

• Explicit

  [folio 204r]
  [7] […]pāyādācandratāraṃ
  [8] jagād idam akhilaṃ vikramād ity adevaḥ | 6 | vijñānanātharacitā vivṛtāyā mitākṣarā | seyaṃ dvādaśasāhasrī saṃkhyā tā graṃthasaṃkhya
  [9] yā | 7 |

• Completion statement

  graṃthasaṃkhyayā 12978 || _ || iti śrīyājñavalkyamahāmuniproktadharmmaśāstraṃ saṭippaṇaṃ saṃpūrṇam ||

• Colophon

  [folio 204v]
  [1] vāṇa|trivasvindu hi vikramābde ātreyivāre girijātithau ca | māse tv iṣākhye tha site ca pakṣe śivaprasāda(slli)damā li
  [2] lekha 1 adṛśyabhāvāt_ smṛtivibhramād vā yadarthahīnaṃ likhitaṃ mayātra | tat sarvam āryyaiḥ pariśodhanīyaṃ prāyeṇa mu
  [3] hyaṃti hi ye likhaṃti || 2 || ākāśavyomaśailendusaṃyute śālivāhane || śake vyālekhi śubhadaṃ pustakaṃ śrīsatāṃ
  [4] mude || 3 || karakṛtam aparādhaṃ kṣantum arhaṃti saṃtaḥ _ srīr astu || satām ājñāṃ samāsā(dva)śivaprasādaśarmmaṇā _ tva
  [5] rayā likhitaṃ caitat_ sudhībhiḥ pariśodhyatām 4 || saṃvat 1845 āśvine māsi site pakṣe 7
  [6] _ śubham astu śrīr astu _ śubhaṃ bhūyāt || ꣸ || ꣸ || ꣸ || ||

Paratexts

• (U1) ownership statement, beginning: On 1r: “Mitácsharà: This Book is Property of the Hon.ble
  the India-Company”.
• (U1) title, beginning: On 1r: “ācāra mitākṣarā” written in Bengali script, and “mitākṣarā ācāraprakaraṇa” written in Devanagari script. Accompanied by more writing in Bengali (illegible) as well as Perso-Arabic script.
• (U2) title, end: At the end of chapter 2: “mitākṣarā vyava
  hārakāṇḍa || 2 ”. Again, at the end of the manuscript, in Bengali script, “vyavahāra — mitākṣarā”.
• (U2) table of contents, end: A table of contents occupying two folios, titled “Mitākṣarāvyavahārādhyāyasya patrapaṃjī”.
• (U3) title, end: On 204v: “Prāyaścittaprakaraṇa”.
• (U3) user-related note, end: On 204v, in what seems to Palmyr Cordier's hand, the year “v = 1778, A.D.” has been written, converted from the Śaka date.

Transcription conventions
() indicates unclear text. [_] indicates spaces. […] indicates an ellipsis. Spaces added in transcription where possible. Underscore is an explicit virāma.