Manusmrti
This Manusmriti has come down to us from SwayamBhu Manu, through Bhrgu.
- Manusmriti has been much maligned by many modernists because of the caste and gender restrictions that it contains. To my knowledge there is no Indian (or very few Indians) who practice these rules in their entireity today.
- The Hindu law has been revised anyway by British Rule and inherited into the Indian Legal System. So there is no legal sanction for any form of social inequality, today. (Of course our capitalist society sanctions inequality which is caused by economic factors, natural causes, global politics and so forth).
- So, let us set aside the prejudice that has been built up in us, against the Manusmriti, and see what it actually says. (Before I am misquoted and misunderstood and “mis-linked” to : I would like to remind my gentle readers that I am aware of the intolerance that exists in the religious texts of the religions of the middle-east as well.)
Small examples of Valueable Information in the ManuSmrti:
- The Big Bang in modern science has some similarity to the concept of “explosion of the Brahmandam” which is responsible for the differentiated (mass + energy) universe that emerged from the undifferentiated (pure energy) universe.
- The idea of re-birth, which we learn from the Bhagavad Gita is present in the Manusmrti.
- Time measurements from nimeshas to manvantaras and yuga definitions and durations are present in the manusmriti.
- Geography: Brahmavarta lies between the Saraswathi and the Drshadvati etc.
- The importance of the Savitr Gayatri (of Viswamitra).
- Philosophy : Satisfying desire is like adding ghee to fire.
- Behaviour : Respect for elders, rising to greet them.
- Social Etiquette : How to greet different relatives.
- Abstinence : in all matters in great detail
- ApatDharma : Rule Exceptions in times of distress
- Rules for Spouse Selection : Health, Fortune and Caste
- Honouring Women – “Where women are worshipped, there the Devas reside” is from the manusmriti. it is not honourable for fathers or husbands to live off the wealth of women or to take bride-price etc.
- Vegetariansim for brahmacharis.
- Charity
- Shraddha Rules : Funeral Rites and Monthly and Yearly Death ceremonies.
- Allowed and disallowed Careers for Brahmins.
- Hygiene
- Rules for meat eating
- Purification Rites
- No Sati Sahagamanam for women, but chaste widowhood.
- Government and Administration : Ministry, Warfare, Marriage, Civil Duties, Law and Justice
- Coins : Panas
- Reference to the the devas – Indra, Yama, Varuna, Vayu, Surya, Chandra, Bhumi, Agni
- As the sun draws up the water needed for rain, so also the king must tax his subjects.
Time : The narrator is Bhrgu. Atri and Gauthama, the son of Utathya are also quoted. The Savitr Gayathri of Viswamitra is exalted. Some of the the rules related to caste and marriage are like those mentioned in the Kautilya Arthasastra. I would think that the manusmrit is After the Vedic – Ramayana period and prior to the Arthasastra of Kautilya. It is possibly earlier to the Bhagavad Gita, because of a lack of reference to the Gita or to Vyasa. Unlike Kautilya‘s Arthasastra which clearly refers to Vyasa. The Vedic Customs were practised in Sri Rama’s time (see wedding and coronation) and referred to in the Ramayana. The Gita, through Arjuna, refers to Varna-Sankara. The MahaBharata refers to an argument about between Bhrgu and Bharadwaja about caste.
Chronology as per my current understanding :
- Vedas.
- Vedic Rishis.
- SriRama and Ramayana
- ManuSmrti (narrated by Bhrgu, as taught to him by Manu) : The beginning of caste rigidity – with proponents like Bhrgu and opponents like Bharadwaja.
- MahaBharata, Bhagavad Gita and Veda Vyasa (3100 BCE/BC)
Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
