"Critical articles on Dharmasastra of Manu, Lawgiver"-OCLC

Whether defined by family, lineage, caste, professional or religious association, village, or region, India's diverse groups did settle on a concept of law in classical times. How did they reach this consensus? Was it based on religious grounds or a transcendent source of knowledge? Did it depend on time and place? And what apparatus did communities develop to ensure justice was done, verdicts were fair, and the guilty were punished? Addressing these questions and more, A Dharma Reader traces the definition, epistemology, procedure, and process of Indian law from the third century B.C.E. to the middle ages. Its breadth captures the centuries-long struggle by Indian thinkers to theorize law in a multiethnic and pluralist society. The volume includes new and accessible translations of key texts, notes that explain the significance and chronology of selections, and a comprehensive introduction that summarizes the development of various disciplines in intellectual-historical terms. It reconstructs the principal disputes of a given discipline, which not only clarifies the arguments but also relays the dynamism of the fight. For those seeking a richer understanding of the political and intellectual origins of a major twenty-first-century power, along with unique insight into the legal interactions among its many groups, this book offers exceptional detail, historical precision, and expository illumination.

The book is the first attempt to present within a sho~ compass, a systematic account of Dharma¬~astra comprising both original Smçti works and digests written in different regions of India. It de¬scribes the contents of the above works under the principal heads. viz. Acära (conduct and custom), PRAYASSCITTA (expiation). Vyavahara (secular law) and Rãjadhaflhla (politiCS and statecraft). The chapter Ofl Ethics deals with the eternal values of life, which will help the reconstruction of the present Indian societY passing through a crisis of values. In the chapter on Society, reflected in Dharmasastra, the reader will have an idea of ancient Indians about untouchabjlltY dalits slave~ women Sati daha euthanasia elements of socialism, etc. The book is a must for all those who are interested in Indian sociology.

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The main sources for an understanding of classical Hindu law are the Sanskrit treatises on religious and legal duties, known as the Dharmaśāstras. In this collection of his major studies in the field, Ludo Rocher presents essays on a wide range of topics, from general themes such as the nature of Hindu law to technical matters including word studies and text criticism. Rocher’s deep engagement with the language and worldview of the authors in the Dharmaśāstra tradition yields distinctive and corrective contributions to the field. This collection serves as an invaluable introduction to a leading authority in the field of Indology.