DHARMA SHASTRAS

FAQs

Q1. What are the three sources of Hindu law?

Equity justice and a good conscience:  true justice can only be attained through the principle of fairness and impartiality, Equity and good conscience.

Legislation: It is the most reliable source of law in the present times. Through an act of the parliament, all the provisions, rights, and liabilities of the parties are mentioned.

Referring to Precedent:  “Precedent” means following the decision of a higher court by a lower court. At present, the decisions of the Supreme Court of India are binding on all the lower courts and that of High courts is binding on all the lower courts referring to various landmark cases.

Q2. How many types of Hindu law are there?

Hindu law can be divided into three categories: Classical Hindu Law; the Anglo Hindu Law and Modern Hindu Law.

Classical Hindu law: Hindu jurisprudential texts contain elaborate and careful philosophical reflections on the nature of law and religion.

Anglo-Hindu law:  structured along the lines of Muslim law practice, included the extracted portions of the law from Dharmasastra and the use of court pandits in British courts to aid British judges in interpreting Shastras.

Modern Hindu Law: The three sources of modern law are constitutional, statutory, and case law. Ranked as: first, second, and third case laws respectively

Q3. Which is the oldest text of Hindu law?

Hindu law, the longest of any legal system in the world, was based on the Sanskrit texts, Dharmasastras (composed between ca. 500 BCE and 500 CE.), and part of the eternal Vedas. The Law Code of Manu, or Manu-smriti, (“Laws of Manu”) also called Manava-dharma-shastra, traditionally the most authoritative of the books of the Hindu code (Dharma-shastra) in India, is the oldest Law Code on Hinduism from India.

It is attributed to the legendary lawgiver, Manu. The Code of Manu is a compilation of laws containing 2685 verses, reflecting Hindu thought in the Buddhist period, preserved in a metrical recension, or survey.