Dharma Sutras

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 Schools of Interpretation

• Gautama : 600-400 B.C Bengal

• Baudhayana 600-300 B.C Bombay
• Apastamba : 600-300 B.C South India
• Vishnu: 500-400 B.C Punjab or Kashmir
• Vasistha : 300-100 B.C
• Harita : 300-400 A.D

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Dharma-Sutras

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The subject-matter of the Dharmasutras
is dharma.
All the Dharmasutras begin with an
examination of the sources of dharma
Manuals of human conduct
They are consist chiefly of sutras of brief
rules containing the essentials of law
concerning
Relationship between people and the state
• Practical rules of each caste
• Social, economic, and religious relations.

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The Dharmasutras, changed the structure of
rulers radically with the beginning of
Vedic initiation of the young boy and
his growth into adulthood,
marriage, and
responsibilities of adult life,
including
adoption,
inheritance,
death rituals, and ancestral offerings.

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• Brahmacharya : the student life,
• Grihastha : the householder’s life,
• Vanaprastha : the retired life
• Sanyasa : the devotional life,

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Apastamba Dharmasutra
600-300 B.C

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Apasthamba Dharmasutra is divided into two
books.
The text of Apastamba has a total of 1,364
sutras.
Out of 1364 sutras, 88% (1,206 ) are
devoted to the Brahmin, whereas only 158
(12 per cent) deal with topics of a
general nature.
The central focus of these texts is on how a
Brahmin male should conduct himself
during his lifetime.
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The First book
Social class: the student
• Initiation,
• time of initiation,
• failure to be initiated,
• student code of conduct,
• food, worship of fire, conduct towards teacher
and the bath at the end of studentship.
A student who has returned to home
• Conducted towards the teacher,
• food, unfit food,
• people from whom food may be accepted. 11
The second book is devoted to the householder
tradition like..
Marriage, the duties of a householder,
Marriage of second wife, rituals, remedies for
contact with outcastes, suitable food
treatment of guests,
lawful occupations ( rules and preferences),
• Inheritance,
• funeral offering,
• Ancestral offerings,
• daily ancestral offerings.
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Duties of king

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Protection of his subjects,
appointment of security officers,
controlling of crimes, punishments
examination of witness,
and judicial decisions.
Collection of taxes
The king could collect lawful taxes
Vedic scholars, women of all class,
those who are living in some one’s house for
the purpose of study,
people who are blind, dumb, and sick were
exempted from tax.
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Punishments

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• If a Sudra throws abusive words at a good
Aryan, his tongue shall be cut out.
• If Sudra kills a man, steals, or appropriates
land, he should be executed.
• If a Brahmin is guilty of these crimes,
• King should give them time to change their
behavior.
• If they do not change their mind, they should
be banished.
• If the king fails to inflict punishment, the sin
recoils upon king.

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• Men who learned Veda, Men from a good
family, elderly, wise shall adjudicate
lawsuits

• In doubtful cases king could investigate the

matter by examining the witness
Judicial procedure
both sides should be asked to present their
case before the court with their evidences

The chief witness should answer the questions

truthfully.

If he answer untruthfully, the king should

punish him and in addition hell awaits him
after death.

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• Apasthamba had specially mentioned that,
• the opinion of experienced men and women
irrespective of the caste must be respected,
in deciding legal problems.
• Husband and wife have joint control over
their property.
• Apasthamba criticized adoption and
observed that, it amounted to the selling of
one’s lawful issue.
• He condemned earlier writer’s
misinterpretation of Vedas
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Gautama Dharmasutra
600-400 B.C

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• Goutama Dharmasutra is divided into
28 Adhyayas (chapters), with a total of 973
verses.

Gautama has given importance to the practice

and usage of cultivators, herdsmen and
traders.

He also covers various matters like marriage,

inheritance and partition of family.
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 Occupations of the four classes
Brahmins:
In addition to teaching, officiating at rituals, and
receiving gifts be relevant to Brahmins.
A Brahmin may also engage in agriculture, and in
lending money on interest.
King and Ksatriya:
The protection of all creatures,
Supporting Brahmins who are Vedic scholars,
Non-Brahmins who are unable to work, and
those who are exempt from taxes.
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Vaisya: agriculture, trade, animal husbandry,
and lending money on interest.
Sudra: assisting above three divisions and all
artisan works.
Specking the truth, refraining from anger.
He should make ancestral offerings;
supporting his dependant; be faithful to his
wife.

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Taxes:
The ground for taxation is the king’s duty to
protect the people, he should always be
helpful to them.
Farmers shall pay one-tenth, one-eight, or
one-sixth of their produce to the kings as
taxes.
1/12 on Merchandise and 1/6 on fruits,
flowers, medicine, honey, meet and grass.
Every month each artisan and manual labour
shall work one day for the king or state.
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Every month traders should give the king a
piece of their stock below its market
value.
Ownership:
Ownership is established by inheritance,
purchase,
partition, and
discovery,
additionally acceptance for Brahmins,
conquest for Ksatriyas and
wages for Vaisyas and Sudras.
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If someone finds lost property whose owner is
unknown, he should disclose it to the king.
When property is stolen by thieves,
the king should recover it and return it to its
rightful owner or
King has to pay compensation from his
treasury.
A treasure-trove is the property of the king,
except when it is found by decent Brahmin.
If it is found by a non-Brahmin, they receive
one sixth only.
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King or Ruler’s duty
The king rulers over all except Brahmins.
He should be correct in his actions and
speech and trained in the Veda and logic.
Except Brahmins, all should pay him homage
seated at a lower level.
He should appoint a good Brahmin as his
personal priest.
King should undertake rites only with his
support.
King should perform rites within the assembly
hall for the welfare of state and kingship.
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Judicial process
Kings administration of justice should be
based on the Veda,
the Legal precedent, and
the Vedic supplements.
Laws of regions, castes, and families are also
authoritative,
if they are not in conflict with the holy
scriptures.
Farmers, merchants, herdsmen, moneylenders,
and artisans exercised authority over their
respective groups. 29
King should dispense the law after he has
ascertained the fact from the
authoritative persons of each group.

If there is conflicting evidence, he should

consult those who are deeply learned
Vedas and reach a decision.

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Inheritance

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Inheritance
After father’s death,
the sons may divide the estate, or
if the father so wishes even during the lifetime
of father also could go for division of property.
After death of father,
the eldest son may inherit the entire estate,
and he should maintain the others just as the
father.
If the family partitioned,
the eldest son may take two shares and the
others one each.
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A father who has no son,
father may appoint the daughter by his
mere intention.

The wife’s property goes to her daughters

who are unmarried or poor.

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Legal Heirs:
• A natural son,
• a son given in adoption,
• a son born in secrete

In absence of the sons

• a son born to a re-married woman,
• A son of an unmarried women,
• son born to an appointed daughter,
• a son who himself gone for adoption
• a purchased son these share in lineage and
receive one quarter of the estate in
absence of the sons

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Baudhayana Dharma Sutra
600-300

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There are 39 chapters in Baudhayana
Dharmasutra
1-29 chapters on Srautasutra
30th Chapter on Vedic geometry
31-34 Chapters on Grhasutra
35-39 Chapters on Dharmasutra

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Source of Law ( dharma)
The Law is taught in each Veda
What is given in the tradition
Views and clarifications of cultured people
those who studied the Veda together with its
supplements in accordance with Law.
When these fail to address an issue,
it falls on legal assembly with minimum of ten
members.

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Four men, each proficient in one of the four
Vedas,
one man who knows the Vedic supplements,
one expert on logic,
one legal scholar, and
Three Brahmins belonging in to three
different orders of life.

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Baudhayana deals elaborately on a variety of
subjects such at marriage, son-ship and
inheritance.
He refers to several approved usages and
customs.
This dharma sutra explaining the need of
control over trade and commerce by the king
(state), to regulate trade, including
The tax of sea custom on the basis of the
value of the goods.
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Imposition of exercise duty on manufactures
by the king.

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 Social Classes
There are four classes:
Brahmins, Ksatriya, Vishya, Sudra.
According to the order of the classes, a Brahmin
my have four wives, a Ksatriya three, Vishya two
and a Sudra one.
King
King should protect his subjects and receiving one
sixth as taxes,
Brahman along with the duties of studying and
teaching offering and officiating at sacrifices,
and preservation of Vedas. 43
Ksatryas: protecting all creatures and the
treasury, for enhancement of government.
Vaisyas: studying, offering sacrifices, giving
gifts, agriculture, trade, and animal
husbandry, for the enhancement of
economic activity.
Sudras: Assisting above three classes
The king should select his personal priest a
man preeminent in all matter and follow his
instructions.
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The king should not turn back in battle and
should not use poisoned weapons.

He should not engage in battle people who are

afraid, intoxicated, mad; and he should kill
women, children, old people, and Brahmins in
wars.

The duty on good imported by sea is 10%.

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When the owner has disappeared, the king
should look after his estate for one year,
after one year, king could handover it, so
long as it does not belong to a Brahmin.
Punishment
A Brahmin, clearly, is no subject to capital
punishment for any crime.
When a Brahmin kills Brahmin, steals gold, or
drinks liquor, king should banish him from
his kingdom.
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When a man belongs to Kshtirya or lower class
kills a Brahmin, he should be executed and
all his property confiscated.
Witness: to gain respect of the world, a
witness should gave testimony consistent
with what his saw or heard.
One quarter of a crime falls on the offender,
one-quarter on the witness, one-quarter on
all the officials of the court, and one-
quarter on the king.

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People of all four classes who have sons can be
witnesses except Vedic scholars, royalty
and those who lack humanity.
Inheritance: while the father is alive, the
partitioning of the estate.
When there are sons from mothers of
different classes,
they should divide the estate into ten equal
portions and take four, three, two, and one
portion
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