Ancient & Classical Indian Law

Vedic period

Rta and Dharma

Order, duty and law

In Vedic thought, rta was the cosmic order that governs nature and human conduct. It gave way to the idea of dharma, a word that covers duty, righteousness, religion and law. Classical Indian law is found in the Dharmashastra, the "science of dharma", in which law was understood as part of a wider duty rather than as the command of a ruler.

• Rta: cosmic order.
• Dharma: duty, righteousness and law.

The Four Sources of Dharma

Shruti, Smriti, Sadachara, Atmatushti

The Manusmriti names four sources of dharma: shruti (the Vedas, "that which is heard"), smriti ("that which is remembered", the Dharmashastras), sadachara (the conduct of the virtuous, or custom) and atmatushti (what is pleasing to one's conscience). Commentaries (nibandhas) and, in the modern era, legislation and judicial decisions were added as sources of Hindu law.

• Shruti: the Vedas.
• Smriti: the Dharmashastras.
• Sadachara: custom.

c. 600–200 BCE

The Dharmasutras

The earliest legal texts

The Dharmasutras are the earliest texts on dharma, written in terse prose aphorisms. The four that survive are those of Gautama (generally regarded as the oldest), Baudhayana, Apastamba and Vasishtha. They deal with the duties of the four varnas and ashramas, rites, penances and some legal rules.

• The four: Gautama, Baudhayana, Apastamba, Vasishtha.

c. 2nd century BCE – 2nd century CE

The Manusmriti

The most famous Dharmashastra

The Manusmriti, or Manava Dharmashastra, is a verse text in twelve chapters attributed to the mythical lawgiver Manu. It covers the creation of the world, the duties of the varnas and ashramas, the king's duties and "eighteen titles of law" (vyavahara padas), such as debt, deposits, partnership, sale, boundaries, assault, theft and marriage. Its hierarchies of caste and gender make it deeply controversial; Dr Ambedkar publicly burnt a copy on 25 December 1927 at Mahad.

• Twelve chapters.
• Lists eighteen titles of law.
• Translated into English by William Jones (1794).
• Burnt by Ambedkar at Mahad, 25 December 1927.

c. 3rd–5th century CE

The Yajnavalkya Smriti

Concise and systematic

More systematic than Manu, the Yajnavalkya Smriti is arranged in three books: achara (conduct), vyavahara (legal procedure and substantive law) and prayaschitta (penance). It became the basis of the Mitakshara, the most influential commentary on Hindu law.

• Three books: achara, vyavahara, prayaschitta.
• Basis of the Mitakshara.