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E. Leumann, An outline of the Avaśyaka Literature
First of all, Gautama who, under 3, mentions between nişāda and pāraśava a further synonym dauşyanta and, besides that, confuses the names of 7 and 8; then Yājñavalkya's and Gautama's citation (IV 18-21), both of whom (also perhaps like Manu) distinguish particular mixed castes? in A; otherwise, Yājñ. deviates only in that he adds at the end a certain mixed caste-combination", but, in comparison, Gautama's citation gives mostly other names. [29'] The exact opposite to the stated differentiation in A is seen with Visnu (XVI) since he merges B with A, i.e., he awards the caste of the mother to the progeny, even when she does not belong to the next-following, but to some later main caste. Besides that, he places pulkasa & māgadha for māgadha & kşattr. Finally, Vasistha has to be mentioned who does not express himself about A at all, and only unintelligently about the descent of 1-3, and changes or confuses most
names in C as well.
As can be seen, the caste order of the Niryukti author (if his laconic allusions can be interpreted in the suggested manner) comes closest to that of Yājñavalkya's Law Book. Even if the latter, according to Jolly (Recht und Sitte p. 21), came into existence only in the fourth century A.D., obviously, still individual tenets of it could have had provincial acceptance some centuries earlier. Only the mixed castes-combination (p. 29on.) that is also still unknown to the Niryukti cannot be considered as traditional. An attempt to date the Niryukti, then, is not really affected; at the most, it can be maintained about the Bhāsya-insertion that it stands under the leveling influence that Manu's Law Book exerts.
The four editions of the Avaśyaka-niryukti
After what has been said, it would be best during the individual discussion of the Āvasyaka-niryukti, if Bhadrabāhu would be left out. Therefore, in what follows we are calling his edition simply "first edition". In this way, we shall leave it to future research to ascertain the actual author and to show why tradition has exchanged his name with an older one.
First Edition. It has already been said that it is presently not possible with any degree of certainty to extract the stanza-inventory of the first edition from the text-form handed down. It can only be attempted to show the general progress in the development of the tradition that has to be perceived in comparison with the original Niryukti. This progress is very important. First of all, a further expansion of the previous plan can be noticed since many new etymologies of words, lists of synonyms and things like that have been inserted, and – what is more important – a threefold enlargement of that plan takes place. A long introduction (Uvagghāya-nijjuttī, forming the basis for II 61- VIII 198) makes -up the beginning of the work, to which, along with that part (XIII) dealing with Āv. IV, three excursuses (XV, XVII, XVIII) join, and the entirety is filled with narrative embellishments. In this way, a guide of fundamental importance results: the introduction that befits the writing as the first within the Niryukti-series, places it, in combination with the excursuses, much above the following Niryukti-writings from the view-point of dogmatic value. The
10 ambaştha & brahmani: śvapāka. 11 ugra & ksatriya: vaina. 12. nişāda & vaiśyā: pulkasa. 13. vaisya & nişādi: kukkutaka. - Baudh. I 16 f. a. brāhmana & ksatriya: mürdhâvasikta. b. ksatriya & vaiśyā: māhişya. c. vaiśya & śūdrā: karana. māhişya & karani: rathakāra. - Yājñ. 191-95. 1 bhțjyakantha, 2 yavana, 3 pāraśava, 4 vaideha, 5 dhīvara, 6 sūta, 7 pulkasa, 8 māgadha, 9 candāla. 4 antyâvasāyin, 5 pulkasa (like Vişnu!), 6 sūta, 7 vaiņa, 8 rāmaka, 9 candāla. - Vas. XVIII.
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