BY THE ANCIENT HINDUS, 



201 



The author of the Sukraniti is very frequently mentioned in 

 the Mahabharata. In one place we read that Brahma wrote 

 the first Dandaniti which contained the enormous number 

 of 100,000 chapters. This bulky volume was reduced by 

 Sankara or Siva into a code called Visalaksa which still 

 comprehended 10,000 chapters. Indra reduced the Visalaksa 

 into the Bahudandaka which reached the respectable number 

 of 5,000 chapters. Indra was followed by Brhaspati, whose 

 Barhaspatya amounted to 3,000 chapters. Kavya or Usanas 

 thinking that the life of man was too short to digest such 

 enormous books limited his Nitisara to 1,000 chapters. 67 It 

 was thus Usanas, who made the Dandaniti accessible to men. 



S7 See Mahabharata, Santiparva, Rajadharma, LIX, 28, 29, 76-87. 



28. Tan uvaca suran sarvan Svayambhur bhagavanstatah 



sreyo'ham cintayisyami vyetuvobhlh surarsabhah. 



29. Tatodhyayasahasran&m satam cakre svabuddhijam 



yatra dharmastathaivarthah kamascaivabhivarnitah, 



76. Eta1; krtva subham sastram tatah subhagavan prabhuh 



devan uvaca samhrstah tatah Sakrapurogaman, 



77. Upakaraya lokasya trivargasthapanaya ca 



navanltam sarasvatya buddhiresa prabhavita„ 



78. Dandena sahitahye&a lokaraksanakarika 



nigrahanugraharata lokan anucarisyati. 



79. Dandena niyate cedam dandam nayati va punah 



dandanltiriti khyata trilokan abhivartate. 



80. Sadgunyagunasaraisa sthasyatyagre mahatmasu 



dharmarthakamamoksasca sakala hyatra sabditahu 



81. Tatastan bhagavan nltim purvam jagraha Sankarah 



bahurupo visalaksah sivassthanurumapatih. 



82. Prajanam ayusohrasam vijnaya bhagavan Sivah 



saiiciksepa tatah sastram mahartham brahmana krtam, 



83. Visalaksam iti proktam tad idam pratyapadyata 



dasadhyayasahasrani Subrahmanyo mahatapah. 



84 . Bhagavan api tacchastram sanciksepa Purandarah. 



sahasraih paficabhis tata yaduktam bahudandakam, 



85. Adhyayanam sahasraistu tribhireva Brhaspatih 



sanciksepesvaro buddhya Barhaspatyam yaducyate, 



86. A.dhyayanam sahasrena Kavyah sanksepam abravlt 



tacchastram amrtoprajno yogacaryo mahayasah. 



87. Evam lokanurodhena sastram etanmaharsibhih 



saiiksiptam ayur vijnaya martyanani hrasam eva ca 



26 



