MARION RASTELLI
Austrian Academy of Sciences Marion.Rastelli@oeaw.ac.at
THE VAIṢṆAVADHARMAŚĀSTRA: ITS STRUCTURE, SOURCES, AND AIMS
Not to be confused with the Vaiṣṇava-Dharmaśāstra also known as Viṣṇusmṛti edited by Patrick Olivelle in 2009, the Vaiṣṇavadharmaśāstra is a work of approximately 1.700 verses that presents itself as a part of the Sanskrit epic Mahābhārata. It is found in all Southern manuscripts used for the critical edition of the Mahābhārata at the end of the Āśvamedhikaparvan (MBh 14, app. I, No. 4). In addition, as Reinhold Grünendahl has ascertained, there is also a Northern testimony of this text, namely, in a Nepalese palm-leaf manuscript from the 11th century CE (NGMPP ms. A27/2). Grünendahl has also found that the Vaiṣṇavadharmaśāstra contains a considerable number of passages with parallels in the Viṣṇudharma, but we also find passages with parallels in several other works, such das the Parāśarasmṛti, Manusmṛti, Bhagavadgītā and other parts of the Mahābhārata. In search of the author’s (or authors’) motivation for composing the Vaiṣṇavadharmaśāstra, this paper will examine the structure of this work and its use of its sources. It will also address differences between the Northern and Southern versions, which may offer insights into the distinct social and regional contexts in which they were produced.