Lakshmidhara (ca. mid-12th c.) is a scholar, commentator, and creator of the Kalpataru, one of the oldest instances of nibandhas ("collections") commentary literature.
The nibandhas were Hindu encyclopedias that gathered topics
from the Vedas, dharma literature, puranas, and other authorized religious
books into one volume.
The fourteen volumes of the Kalpataru are each dedicated to
a different facet of Hindu life, including as daily practice, worship,
gift-giving, vows, pilgrimage, penances (prayashchitta), cleansing, and
liberation (moksha).
The Kalpataru served as a model for subsequent authors as
one of the first nibands.
Lakshmidhara's work is unique in that he relies on just a
few sources, chiefly the epic Mahabharata and a few puranas (sectarian
compendia).
He does not reference the Vedas, the oldest Hindu religious
books, or the regulations contained in the dharma literature, unlike subsequent
interpreters.
His book is nearly entirely made up of selected portions
with very little original commentary, although subsequent nibandha authors
sometimes provide lengthy explanations.
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