Dharmasutras
The oldest texts on law and conduct, terse and in mixed prose and verse, ascribed to Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhayana and Vasishtha; the seed of the Dharmashastra.
A quick reference entry. For the full account, follow the guides below.
Appears in
- The Rules of the Rite Treatise
Patrick Olivelle, in his Dharmasutras (1999), is more conservative, ordering the surviving texts Apastamba (oldest), then Gautama , Baudhayana , and Vasishtha , and dating them from about the third century BCE …
- The Law of Manu Treatise
The earlier Dharmasutras seeded this literature; the Manusmriti is its towering result.
- Shruti and Smriti: what counts as Hindu scripture? Scriptures
Hindu tradition divides its scriptures into two categories. Shruti ('that which is heard') is the revealed, authorless Veda, held to be the highest authority and…
- Who was allowed to learn Sanskrit? Journal
In the Dharmashastra texts, Vedic learning is restricted to men of the three twice-born varnas, entered through the upanayana initiation, with Shudras and women…