Dharma Shastras

(“Treatises on Dharma”) In its most particular sense, this word refers to a particular set of Sanskrit texts. These texts
were explicitly written to give guidelines
for the organization of society, and for
correct human behavior in that society.
The Dharma Shastras were written soon
after the Dharma Sutras (aphorisms on
religious duty) and are clearly modeled
on them, but have several important differences. With regard to form, the
Dharma Sutras are written in prose,
whereas the Dharma Shastras are written in simple verse. The language of the
Dharma Shastras is close to classical
Sanskrit, and the writers were trying to
make their texts clear and easy to understand. In their content, the Dharma
Shastras treat the same general subjects
as the Dharma Sutras, but they place
far more emphasis on working out
the practical details of a social life,
particularly the duties and functions of
the king.
The final difference is their connection with the earlier Vedic literature. The
Dharma Sutras were conceived as the
final element of a Kalpa Sutra (complete
handbook of religious practice), along
with the Shrauta Sutras (prescriptions
for Vedic rituals) and the Grhya Sutras
(prescriptions for domestic rites). Each
Kalpa Sutra was associated with one of
the Vedas (the oldest sacred Hindu
texts), and thus the “family property” of
the particular brahmins (priests) connected with that Veda. A particular
Dharma Sutra was thus associated with
a particular group of brahmins, and was
primarily intended as a manual for their
behavior. In contrast, the Dharma
Shastras purported to lay down rules for
all members of society. They show little
concern for ritual matters, and no connection with any particular Vedic
school, but rather profess to lay down
universal truths. In keeping with this
emphasis, the surviving Dharma
Shastras are all attributed to mythical
sages—Manu, Yajnavalkya, and
Narada—whereas the Dharma Sutras
are given human authorship. The
Dharma Shastras thus mark the study of
dharma (dharmashastra) as a discipline
distinct from the earlier Vedic literature,
and applied to society as a whole.