Essay name: Vishnu Smriti (Study)
Author:
Minu Bhattacharjee
Affiliation: Gauhati University / Department of Sanskrit
This is an English study of the Vishnu-Smriti: an ancient Sanskrit Sutra dealing with the rules of various traditions and customs such as Dharmashastra, Caste, Monarchy, Law, Penances and Asceticism. The Vishnu-smriti in one hundred chapters is presented in the form of a dialogue between Vishnu and Prithvi (the goddess Earth).
Chapter 1 - Introduction
17 (of 24)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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17
are also called smarta-sutras and hence do not claim direct
revelation as their basis.
These Grhyasutras are of much
importance as we find in them the beginning of the lecal
literature in India.
The term Dharmasutra, in its proper sense, applies
to those works which form a part of a greater collection of
the sutra works. The Dharmasutra literature includes not
only the precepts and injunctions for moral duties of all
Aryans, but also the special rules regarding the conduct of
kings and the administration of justice. The sutra treatises
on law, both religious and secular, cover the whole range of
topics, contained in the metrical smrtis attributed to manu,
Yajnavalkya, Har墨ta, Brhaspati and other sages.
period of Dharmas奴tra and Dharmasastra
"The literature on Dharmasastra,鈥� observed, NM. Kane,
"falls into three well marked but somewhat overlapping perio
The first period in which the ancient Dharmasutra and the
Manusmrti were written cover the period from the sixt
century B.C. upto the beginning of the christian ere. The
second period ranges from the first century 1.7. upto about
800 a.d. During this period the versified smrtis were Jo:n-
posed. The third period is that of the commentaries, digests
and nibandhas. This period covers more than one thousand
years from the seventh century upto the eighteenth century
