St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (Aug 2024)
Law and Religion in Brahmanism: the Dharmaśāstra
Abstract
This entry delves into the origin, sources, and role of the Dharmaśāstra (science of dharma) in the historical and cultural context of ancient India. In contrast to other ancient civilizations (such as the Roman Republic and Empire), ancient Indian society was characterized by the lack of a uniform legal system, having instead multiple legal systems united by a common jurisprudence called Dharmaśāstra. The initial works within this tradition are the Dharmasūtras, four of which are handed down from manuscripts (i.e. the āpastamba-, Gautama-, Baudhāyana-, and Vasiṣṭhadharmasūtra), approximately dated from the third century BCE to the first century CE. These works are written in aphoristic prose (sūtra) and tend to preserve the entire scholarly debate about dharma rather than provide an unambiguous, authoritative version of the issues addressed. Such argumentative modality is innovated by the composition of the Mānavadharmaśāstra, the first Dharmaśāstra or Smṛti to be handed down, approximately dated to the second century CE. This work, written in verse (śloka) and ascribed to a divine figure, imposes its authority in the debate surrounding dharma by taking an assertive stance and eliminating all dissent in most cases. The Mānavadharmaśāstra innovation was then followed by later Smṛtis, of which only four major texts are handed down from manuscripts – the Yājñavalkya-, Nārada-, Viṣṇu-, and Parāśarasmṛti – dated approximately from the late fourth century to the eighth century CE. Following an examination of the genesis of the Dharmaśāstric tradition, connected to the (re-)Brahmanization of the Buddhist concept of dharma, this entry deals with the four dharmamūlas (‘roots of law’) on which the Dharmaśāstra is grounded, i.e. śruti (‘revelation’), smṛti (‘tradition’), ācara (‘conduct’), and ātmatuṣṭi (‘self-satisfaction’ or ‘personal preference’), along with its textual history. Finally, coming to the present day, this entry discusses the role of Dharmaśāstra in the living forms of Hinduism and, specifically, how it has survived in modern Hindu law.
