[South Indian Sanskrit MS 168, Whish MS 179] A fragment of the Nidānasthāna of the Aṣṭāṅgasaṃgraha

A fragment of the Nidānasthāna of the Aṣṭāṅgasaṃgraha

Language – Sanskrit

Date – [1800?]
Palm leaf; 4 or 5 lines on a folio. Manuscript consists of the following texts: 1. a fragment of the Nidānasthāna of the Aṣṭāṅgasaṃgraha by Vāgbhaṭa, Adhyāya 3; 2. some Vaiṣṇava tracts, viz. Ekādaśīvratamāhātmya, Jayantīmāhātmya from the Skanda-Purāṇa, Jayantīvrata (?), Anantavrata (?), and Bhāskaramatamāhātmya. Text of the fragment of the Nidānasthāna begins: smṛto vātapittaśleṣmakṣatakṣayaiḥ kṣayāyopekṣitās sarve balinaś cottarottaraṃ | teṣāṃ bhaviṣyatāṃ rūpaṃ kaṇṭhe kaṇḍūrarocakaḥ śūkapūrṇābhakaṇṭhatvaṃ tatrādho vihatonilaḥ | ūrddhvaṃ pravṛttoras tasmin kaṇṭhe ca saṃsajan śirasrotāṃsi saṃpūryya tatoṃgāny utkṣipann iva | etc. It ends: kramād vīryyaṃ ruciḥ pattir balaṃ varṇṇaś ca hīyate | kṣīṇasya sāsṛṅmūtratvaṃ syāc ca pṛṣṭhakaṭīgrahaḥ vāyu[ḥ]pradhānā[ḥ] kupitā dhātavo rājayakṣmaṇaḥ. Text of the first Vaiṣṇava tract begins: śrīgaṇapataye namaḥ avighnam astu | Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | śrutam mayā yaduśreṣṭha vratānām uttamotta[motta]maṃ kṛt[v]ārtthosmi na sandehas tvalprasādād adhokṣaja | etc. It ends (f.19): iti ekādaśīvratamāhātmyaṃ samāptaṃ || namostu tejase dhenupāline lokapāline dhārāpayodharotsaṃgaśāyine śeṣaśāyine | śivarāmanārāyaṇagovindamahādevakṛṣṇahari || Text of the Jayantīmāhātmya begins (f.20): śrīgaṇapataye namaḥ | namaḥ kapilasūryyāya sāndrājñānatamaśchide vidvatpatmaprabodhaikanidānajñānatejase | śri-Nāradaḥ || jayantyāś caiva māhātmyaṃ kathayasva pitāmaha tacchrutvāhaṃ gamiṣyāmi tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padaṃ | pitāmaha uvāca | śṛṇu vatsa pravakṣyāmi prabhāvañ cāṣṭamīṣu ca jayaṃ puṇyañ ca kurute kṣayaṃ pāpasya yasya ca | etc. It ends (f.41b): iti skandapurāṇe śrījayantīmāhātmyaṃ saṃpūrṇaṃ || Text of the Jayantīvrata begins (f.41b): ataḥ paraṃ pravakṣyāmi jayantīvratam uttamaṃ caturvarggapradan nṝṇāṃ vaiṣṇavānāṃ viśeṣataḥ anantaṃ putradaṃ śrīdaṃ monta[read mokṣa]dañ ca viśeṣataḥ śrāvaṇyāṃ kṛṣṇapakṣe ca tithitrayam anuttamaṃ saptamī cāṣṭamī caiva navamī ca tathā śṛṇu pāratrayan niśā caiva dinatrayam ataḥ paraṃ budhaś ca guruś ca śukrau ca pāratrayam udāhṛtaṃ, etc. F.47: dvādaśākṣaramantreṇa snāpayed vidhipūrvakaṃ || hariḥ śrīgaṇapataye namaḥ | araṇye varttamānās te pāṇḍavā duḥkhadarśitāḥ [read -karṣitāḥ?] kṛṣṇan dṛṣṭvā yathānyāya[ṃ] praṇipatyedam abruvan | vayan duḥkhena sañjātāḥ pṛthivyāṃ puruṣottama katham muktir vadāsmākam anantād dukhsāgarāt | śrīkṛṣṇa[ḥ] | anantavratam asty anyat sarvapāpapraṇāśanaṃ sarvapāpaharan nṝṇāṃ strīṇāñ caiva Yudhiṣṭhira | etc. F.54 ends: itthaṃ vratan devapurohitena labdhaṃ purā Bhāskarasannikarṣāt tasmād amarttyā manujāś ca jagmur vratañ caritvā sakalān abhīṣṭhān || iti Bhāskaramatamāhātmyaṃ samāptaṃ || || South Indian Sanskrit / Whish Manuscript Collection. See ’A catalogue of South Indian Sanskrit manuscripts (especially those of the Whish Collection) belonging to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland’ by M. Winternitz, with an appendix by F. W. Thomas (London: RAS, 1902) p.225-227. Go to http://tinyurl.com/j3tkdwj for a digital copy of this catalogue. J. L. Whish, gift of manuscripts collected by his brother C. M. Whish, July 1836. Text in Sanskrit; Malayalam script.