Manusmriti

Introduction
Manu
Manu has various meanings in Hinduism. In early texts it has been described as an
archetypal man or the first man .in later texts it has been referred to as 14 rulers of the
earth. A simple translation of the word Sanskrit word Manu translated to human in English
or Manav in Hindi. In the word manusmriti Manu has been used as a prefix to refer to
Svayambhuva i.e spiritual son of bhrama.

Smriti
Smritis are Hindu religious texts containing teachings and preaching. they are also called
dharma sastras .manusmritis is one of the 18 smritis

Origin and relevance of Manusmriti

Manusmritis is called one of the greatest and oldest lawgivers to our current generation. It is
also referred to as a Manav dharma sastra .manusmriti is considered to be the dictation of
manu through the agency of bhrigu. Many brains credit the work with a divine origin and
remote antiquity. Because of its systematic law guidance, many later smritikars have
adhered to it with its attributes relating to civil and criminal law.

Contents of manusmriti
Manusmriti contains a total of 2684 verses divided into 12 chapters.
Chapter 1:
This chapter contains the creation of the world by a self-existent deity, the mystical origin
of the book, and the great spiritual knowledge that one gets by imbibing the contents of the
book
Chapter 2-6:
It contains the manner of life and regulation of the conduct of 3 upper casts of Brahmin
which defines three stages of life. First is a period of studentship. second is duties of the
household which include duties related to the choice of wife, marriage, sacrifice to God, and
feast to departed relatives .there are also numerous restrictions on daily conduct relating to
dress, food, conjugal relationships, ceremonial cleanliness, etc. Decline years as a hermit.
where you sacrifice all the facilities and amenities of life.
Chapter 7:
This chapter contains divine dignity and many full duties and responsibility of the king.
Chapter 8:
This chapter contains the procedure of civil and criminal lawsuits and punishments for
different classes of crime.
Chapter 9-10:
This chapter includes laws and customs governing divorce, inheritance, right of property,
and occupation lawful for each caste.

Chapter 11:
Various penances for evil consequences of misdeeds are covered in this chapter
Chapter 12:
The doctrine of karma and rebirth in ascending or descending order based merits of the
present life.

Manusmriti and dharma

manusmriti puts a great deal of emphasis on the doctrine of dharma .
It explains Rajdharma and code of conduct for the rulers in a very lucid way. Despite the
supreme position and aura of the king he is bound to operate within the pheriphery of
dharma.
Manu also mentions about Vyavahara dharma which comprises of civil ,criminal and
procedural law. This he classifies under 18 titles. Some of them were payment of debt,
deposits and pledges, partnership, sale without ownership, theft, assault, offence by
violence, adultery and so on.
Manu has comprehensively described dharma which according to him is preventive in
nature contrary to law which is punitive in nature.
Manusmriti describes “protect dharma it will in return protect us, instead if we destroy
dharma it will destroy us.

NAME : ARINDAM PRAKASH

ENROLLMENT NO. :14517703822
SEMESTER & SECTION : 1-C