Yatidharmasamucchaya of Yadavaprakasa

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Sri Yadavaprakasa, the teacher of Sri Ramanujacharya (d. 1137 CE)

authored an excellent manual on the conduct of Sannyasins, named

the 'Yatidharmasamucchaya'. It is a collection of relevant passages

from the Dharmashastras (primarily) in various matters related to

Sannyasadharma, arranged in 11 chapters. Signficantly, per the

tradition, the manual was composed by the author as a repentence for

following Advaitin modes of Sannyasahood, when he later became a

student of his own ex-student Sri Ramanuja, the great teacher of

Visishtadvaita Vedanta.

 

The Vaishnava mendicants are associated more closely with the

householders, temple institutions compared to the 'ekadandin' Advaita

monks (at least theoritically). They are very meticulous with regard

to maintaining the sacred thread, shikhaa etc. Olivelle says:

 

Pg. 17 Reading Yadava's work closely, one gets he distinct impression

that the Brahminical ascetic is a very exalted type of Brahminical

householder rather than a figure who contradicts the value system

represented by domestic life. Whatever is prescribed for a Brahmin in

general applies also to an ascetic.

 

Pg. 25-26 The ascetic is not an outsider to that community but a

significant and integral part of it. The ascetic is not in the

wilderness removed from the social group; he has truly reentered the

village. This is what I have called the domestication of asceticism.

This domestication was more thorough within the devotional (bhakti)

traditions in general and in the Vaisnava tradition in particular.

With its doctrine of total inner surrender to divine love (prapatti)

and the supremacy of divine grace in the work of human salvation, a

householder and an ascetic have equal access to God. Even though

Yadava still speaks in hyperbolic terms about the superiority of the

ascetic over the householder (see. Ch. 6.296-308), the Sri Vaisnava

tradition would gradually drift away from the centrality assigned to

mendicant asceticism.

 

 

Following is a brief summary of the 11 chapters, based on the

critical edition cum translation of Patrick Olivelle (see reference

at the end).

 

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Contents:

1. Chapter I. The Rule Sanctioning Itinerant Asceticism: It

examines whether the Sruti really enjoins the order of Asceticism

(Samnyasa Asrama). The views of certain opponents within the

tradition are quoted to the effect that the Vedas enjoin only the

householder's vocation for a complete discharge of the 3 debts that

one is born with. Therefore, asceticism is anti-Vedic because an

ascetic cannot discharge these three debts properly. Yadava quotes

authoritative passages from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, Mahanarayana

Upanishad (Taittiriya Aranyaka, Prapathaka X), Jabala Upanishad. He

emphasizes that Moksa is the supreme goal enjoined by the Vedas, and

this supreme goal is attained with the help of Samnyasa.

2. Chapter II discusses the suitable age for a person to become

an itinerant ascetic. Yadava quotes a multiplicity of views found in

the Hindu scriptures in this regard, without choosing or preferring

any. Thus, he quotes passages to the effect that asceticism should be

resorted to only after the birth of one's children or grandchildren,

or at any age (even before marriage), or that renunciation before

marriage is permissible only for the handicapped or the detached

people, or that renunciation is also possible just before imminent

death.

3. Chapter III relates to the external insignia of a mendicant,

and deals with a hotly disputed topic within Hindu spiritual

tradition. Yadavaprakasa firmly sides with the opinion that sacred

thread, the triple staff, water strainer, the loincloth/waistband and

the water pot cannot be abandoned by ascetics. However, there is an

option with regard to the top knot or the Sikha. The

Tattvasagarasamhita, a Pancaratra text, is cited at 3.48

4. Chapter IV deals with the procedure whereby a person becomes

an ascetic. The chapter takes the `Saunakiya Samnyasavidhi' as its

basis, supplementing it with quotations from other Smrtis. The text

of Saunaka, no longer extant today, is certainly an ancient one, and

makes extensive use of Vedic mantras from Rigveda, Taittiriya

Samhita, Brahmana and Aranyaka etc. At the end, he gives a special

procedure for renunciation when death is imminent.

5. Chapter V deals with the principal activities of an ascetic.

It starts with a discussion of the classification of ascetics.

Yadavaprakasa rejects the fourfold classification into Kuticaka,

Bahudaka, Hamsa and Paramahamsa found in certain texts because

according to some of his contemporaries, this classification was

rooted only in Samkhya and Pancharatra texts. Manu, on the other

hand, classified mendicants only into two divisions- those who were

itinerant mendicants, and those who stayed at home but renounced the

Vedic rituals. While discussing the duties of the former, he quotes

the Kratu and other smrtis to the effect that Samkhya and Yoga ought

to be adhered to, where Samkhya means a knowledge of the 25

cosmological principles. Thereafter, he defines and discusses the

various limbs (eg. Pranayama) and virtues (like truth) of Yoga with

the help of various Smrti texts and concludes with a description of

the rewards of practicing all these. It is clear that Yadavaprakasa

here discusses a Sesvara variety of Yoga, against which he does not

appear to have animosity at all. He ends the discussion of Samkhya

with the words- 5.46: One should similarly explore also other texts,

such as the Epics, the Puranas, the Dharmashastras of Manu etc. and

also the Upanishads to learn about the Samkhyan categories, and also

the meaning of the term `Samkhya'. (pg. 77)

6. Chapter VI discuss the daily practices of ascetics, starting

with their morning chores, adding that the duties of householders

ought to be replicated where no description of similar duties for

mendicants is available in the scriptures. He discusses the correct

procedure for begging, the procedure of eating, rites following the

meal, and evening duties. The chapter ends with a discussion on the

appropriate behavior of a householder towards an ascetic who has

approached for food.

7. Chapter VII deals with the virtues and general code of

conduct for mendicants – celibacy, speaking beneficial words,

forgiveness etc. Significantly, one of the restrictions on a

mendicant is that he should not expound the Puranas and Epics to the

laity (7.99)- a restriction meant to prevent the mendicant from

enhancing his popularity in the society.

8. Chapter VIII discusses rules pertaining to insignia of a

mendicant (like the triple staff) and other related penances. The

chapter ends with the remarks that the mendicant should not be

attached even to these articles that he possesses.

9. Chapter IX: Since the Yatidharmasamuccaya is meant for

itinerant monks, this chapter deals with rules pertaining to the

wandering and residence of monks. An ascetic is not allowed to make a

permanent residence (which rules out monasteries) except during the

rainy season, when he can stay in one place for four months. A

separate description is given on what ought to be done (or not ought

to be done) by the mendicant during these 4 months.

10. Chapter X deals with penances for sins that an ascetic might

commit intentionally or otherwise. It is pointed out that penitential

observances have to be performed for sins committed habitually or

deliberately, while yogic practice is prescribed for sins committed

inadvertently.

11. The last chapter deals with the procedure of cremation of

monks by householders and post cremation ceremonies. It is emphasized

that the salvation of monks is not dependent on performance or non

performance of these ceremonies by anyone, and the post cremation

ceremonies for a monk are fewer and simpler than that for a

householder.

 

Among the texts cited by Yadavaprakasa are:

Dharmasutras of Gautama, Baudhayana, Apastamba, Vasishtha

Yogasutra of Patanjali

Mahabharata and Gita

Dharmasastras of Manu, Likhita, Sankha, Galava, Kratu, Sandilya,

Satatapa, Jamadagni, Harita, Devala, Daksha, Dattatreya, Sumantu,

Vishnu, Yajnavalkya etc. In many cases, different recensions of these

texts are distinguished- for instance, Manu and Vrddha Manu

Dharma digests of Maskarin, Medhatithi

Vedic texts: Jabala, Bashkala sruti, Taittiriya Aranyaka,

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad and so on. The metrical Bashkala Sruti is

cited only in some manuscripts and 3 of the 4 verses are cited

elsewhere in the Yatidharmasamuccaya with a different text designated

as their source. It is clear that the `Sruti' is in reality a

defective text rather than a passage from a lost Vedic text.

 

The Yatidharmasamucchaya exists in two versions- a short and a longer

one. According to Olivelle, the latter is the authentic, original

version of the text.

 

Reference:

 

Olivelle, Patrick; Rules and Regulations of Brahminical Asceticism;

SUNY; New York; 1995