Observations on the Use of Quotations in Sanskrit Dharmanibandhas

Abstract

This article examines some of the strategies adopted by the authors of Sanskrit law digests (Dharmanibandhas) in dealing with quotations. Given the peculiar nature of the Nibandhas, which in the majority of cases are almost exclusively made of quotations from authoritative texts (chiefly Dharmasūtras, Dharmaśāstras and Purāṇas), citations are here not only a method to support a viewpoint, but constitute the very core of the text. In order to narrow the topic, the analysis has been restricted to a sub-category of the Dharmanibandha genre, i.e. the so called dānanibandhas, the digests specialized on the rules for gifting. Given their chronological distribution, these texts can be considered representative of the tendencies emerging in this branch of literature. The focus will lie both on the general rules and conventions accepted by the various Nibandha authors (nibandhakāras), and on concrete examples of the different methods applied while quoting from the same texts. Particular attention will be given to the methodological statements detected in these works, like the incipit of Lakṣmīdhara’s Kṛtyakalpataru (first half of the twelfth century) and that of Ballālasena’s Dānasāgara (second half of the twelfth century)