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12
CĀŅAKYA-RĀJA-NĪTI
justification whatsoever for such an attribution. He
said: 1
that the
that the
'In the various collections, one, two, three, four, and even
five introductory verses are made to say that Cāṇakya is the real
author. The words used vary in almost every collection. We
find: Canakyena tu bhāṣitam, Caṇakyena svayam proktam, Canakyena
yathoditam, Canakyena prayujyate, clearly indicating
attribution is, in each case, due to the compilers of the samgrahas,
but not traditionally authentic. The Bombay Vṛddha Cāṇakya
has not even any mention of Caṇakya in its three introductory
ślokas, and the only occurrence of the name there is in the title
and the chapter colophons. Not only that, but in several collec-
tions these introductory ślokas are evidently tautological, and,
indeed, of the class which Weber in his collection characterizes as
a Schreiberstück, writer's learning. What to think, for instance, of
the introduction to the Calcutta Bodhi Cāṇakya, where we find in
four initial ślokas the repetition vakṣye, sampravakṣyāmi, pravakṣyāmi?
It is difficult to admit that an original poet or author would repeat
himself in such a manner, but for a collator and syncretist the feat
would be quite possible. What is the greatest common factor in
all the introductory ślokas is not more than the ardha śloka: nānā-
śāstroddhṛtam vaksye rājanitisamuccayam, which is a statement which
tallies perfectly with the character of all these Nīti collections, and
is also quite compatible with the extraordinary variety of contents
of all of them. This half śloka is, indeed, found in some of the intro-
ductory ślokas as the first half and in others as the second, and it
seems that everything else to be found in the introductions is mere
embroidery, but cannot claim authenticity. That the compilers
of various collections take great liberty with their introductions
and concluding stanzas is clearly proven by the Gujerati and
Marathi editions which begin with a specially composed śloka:
vṛddhacāṇakyagranthasya tīkām kurve subodhinīm sarvalokopa-
kārāya bhāṣayā māharāṣṭrayā and bhāṣayā gurjarāṣṭrayā.
¹ ibid., pp. xii-xiii.
CĀŅAKYA-RĀJA-NĪTI
justification whatsoever for such an attribution. He
said: 1
that the
that the
'In the various collections, one, two, three, four, and even
five introductory verses are made to say that Cāṇakya is the real
author. The words used vary in almost every collection. We
find: Canakyena tu bhāṣitam, Caṇakyena svayam proktam, Canakyena
yathoditam, Canakyena prayujyate, clearly indicating
attribution is, in each case, due to the compilers of the samgrahas,
but not traditionally authentic. The Bombay Vṛddha Cāṇakya
has not even any mention of Caṇakya in its three introductory
ślokas, and the only occurrence of the name there is in the title
and the chapter colophons. Not only that, but in several collec-
tions these introductory ślokas are evidently tautological, and,
indeed, of the class which Weber in his collection characterizes as
a Schreiberstück, writer's learning. What to think, for instance, of
the introduction to the Calcutta Bodhi Cāṇakya, where we find in
four initial ślokas the repetition vakṣye, sampravakṣyāmi, pravakṣyāmi?
It is difficult to admit that an original poet or author would repeat
himself in such a manner, but for a collator and syncretist the feat
would be quite possible. What is the greatest common factor in
all the introductory ślokas is not more than the ardha śloka: nānā-
śāstroddhṛtam vaksye rājanitisamuccayam, which is a statement which
tallies perfectly with the character of all these Nīti collections, and
is also quite compatible with the extraordinary variety of contents
of all of them. This half śloka is, indeed, found in some of the intro-
ductory ślokas as the first half and in others as the second, and it
seems that everything else to be found in the introductions is mere
embroidery, but cannot claim authenticity. That the compilers
of various collections take great liberty with their introductions
and concluding stanzas is clearly proven by the Gujerati and
Marathi editions which begin with a specially composed śloka:
vṛddhacāṇakyagranthasya tīkām kurve subodhinīm sarvalokopa-
kārāya bhāṣayā māharāṣṭrayā and bhāṣayā gurjarāṣṭrayā.
¹ ibid., pp. xii-xiii.