Yajnavalkya Smrti

One of the smrtis or “remembered” texts, a
class of literature deemed important but
775
Yajnavalkya Smrti
less authoritative than the other textual
category, the shrutis or “heard” texts. This
smrti is ascribed to the sage Yajnavalkya
and is an example of one of the Dharma
Shastras, which were manuals prescribing
rules for correct human behavior and ideal
social life. Unlike the Dharma Sutras,
which are ascribed to recognizable individuals, the Dharma Shastras are usually
ascribed to mythic sages, as a strategy to
reinforce the authority of these texts. The
extant text is about a thousand verses,
divided into sections on religious custom
(achara), the administration of justice
(vyavahara), and expiation (prayashchitta). Estimates on its date of composition range from the first to the sixth
century, but it is clearly later than the
Manu Smrti because some parts of the
middle section are far more developed.
The Yajnavalkya Smrti was the subject of
numerous commentaries, one of which,
the Mitakshara, was given the status of a
legal code for the greater part of India during the British empire.