Raghunandana (c. 16th century CE) was an Indian

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

scholar from the

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

region. His writings include 28

Smriti ''Smriti'' ( sa, स्मृति, IAST: '), literally "that which is remembered" are a body of Hindu texts usually attributed to an author, traditionally written down, in contrast to Śrutis (the Vedic literature) considered authorless, that ...

digests on

Hindu law Hindu law, as a historical term, refers to the code of laws applied to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs in British India. Hindu law, in modern scholarship, also refers to the legal theory, jurisprudence and philosophical reflections on the nat ...

and a commentary on '' Dayabhaga''.

Life

Raghunandana was born at

Nabadwip Nabadwip (), also spelt Navadwip, anciently Nadia or Nudiya, is a heritage city in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is regarded as a holy place by Hindus, and is the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Famous for Rass fest ...

, 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 Pandurang Vaman Kane (pronounced ''Kaa-nay'') (7 May 1880 – 18 April 1972) was a notable Indologist and Sanskrit scholar. He received India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in 1963 for his scholarly work that spanned more than 40 years ...

: 1510-1580 Bani Chakravarti wrote a book on him, titled ''Samaj-samskarak Raghunandan'' (1964), in

Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken o ...

Works

''Astavimsati-tattva''

Raghunandana authored 28

digests on civil law and rituals, collectively known as ''Astavimsati-tattva''. The English scholars compared Raghunandana's digests to the ''

Comyns' Digest ''A Digest of the Laws of England'', also known as ''Comyns' Digest'', is a book by Sir John Comyns. The latest English edition was published in 1822. A 120-page, handwritten tabulation by John Neal in 1826 of all cases in the digest is included ...

'', and called him the " Comyns of India". The titles of these digests end in the word ''

tattva According to various Indian schools of philosophy, ''tattvas'' () are the Classical element, elements or aspects of reality that constitute human experience. In some traditions, they are conceived as an aspect of deity. Although the number of ' ...

'' (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 Jīmūtavāhana (c. 12th century) was an Indian Sanskrit scholar and writer of legal and religious treatises on Vaishnavism of early medieval period. He was the earliest writer on ''smriti'' (law) from Bengal whose texts are extant. Major works Jī ...

's Hindu law treatise '' Dayabhaga''. During the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

, when

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 A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

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 Hans Julius Eggeling (1842–1918) was Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Edinburgh from 1875 to 1914, second holder of its Regius Chair of Sanskrit, and Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society, London. Eggeling was translator and edito ...

(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