The various manuscript copies of
this work seem to differ in the date they assign to Sankaracharya; even
if the ease were otherwise, we cannot place any reliance upon this work,
for the following among other reasons:--
I. It is a well-known fact that the customs of Malabar are very
peculiar. Their defenders have been, consequently, pointing to some
great Rishi or some great philosopher of ancient India as their
legislator. Some of them affirm (probably the majority) that Parasurama
brought into existence some of these customs and left a special Smriti
for the guidance of the people of Malabar; others say that it was
Sankaracharya who sanctioned these peculiar customs. It is not very
difficult to perceive why these two persons were selected by them.
According to the Hindu Puranas, Parasurama lived in Malabar for some
time, and according to Hindu traditions Sankara was born in that
country. But it is extremely doubtful whether either of them had
anything to do with the peculiar customs of the said country. There is
no allusion whatever to any of these customs in Sankara's works.
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