Manu's Code of Law A Critical Edition and Translation of the Manava-Dharmasastra

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Item Code: IDF150
Author: Patrick Olivelle
Publisher: Oxford University Press, New Delhi
Language: English
Edition: 2006
ISBN: 0195681487
Pages: 1141
Cover: Hardcover
Other Details 9.5" X 6.4"
Weight 1.37 kg
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Book Description
From the Jacket:

Manu's Code of Law, which dates back to about the second century CE, has long been considered the most authoritative work on Hindu law, religion, and social mores. In this volume is contained the first critical edition of the Code, as well as an accurate and elegantly worded translation.

The Code has often been the subject of criticism as it is believed to propagate a negative and unjust attitude towards women and persons of low caste. The editor points out that it is important to understand the authentic material and words of the original before taking any position about its social value.

In a substantive introduction Patrick Olivelle explains the sources, structure, and socio-political background of the treatise. He goes on to examine its nature and purpose, as also the contradictions within it. In a major contribution to debate any study in the field, Olivelle discusses in detail his conclusion that the subtle, yet clear, structure of Manu's Code shows that it is the work of a single author. Further, on the basis of his finding that the self-references in the text, the colophons at the end of each chapter, and at very end of the work, all speak of the treatise as 'sastra', he has used the Sanskrit title Manava-Dharmasastra, rather than the more usual Manu Smrti.

This major scholarly work is based on a painstaking and systematic search of original manuscripts. The final outcome is the result of the collation of 53 manuscripts and citations by 12 authors, the study of 38 other manuscripts, and a close reading of 9 commentaries.

This volume is essential reading as well as reference material for scholars and students of Hinduism, Legal History, Ancient Indian Society. Hindu and Comparative Law, Sanskrit, and Indian philosophy.

About the Author:

Patrick Olivelle is Alma Cowden Madden Centennial Professor in Liberal Arts and Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions, University of Texas at Austrin. He is also US delegate for non-western religions.

CONTENTS
Abbreviations IX
Introduction 3
I. Authorship and Composition 5
II. Sources of Manu: The Traditions of dharma and artha 41
III. The Work of Redactors 50
IV. Nature and Purpose of the Treatise 62
V. Manu and the Later dharma Tradition 66
Notes on the Translation 71
Translation 75
Editor's Outline 77
Chapter 1 87
Chapter 2 94
Chapter 3 108
Chapter 4 124
Chapter 5 138
Chapter 6 148
Chapter 7 154
Chapter 8 167
Chapter 9 190
Chapter 10 208
Chapter 11 215
Chapter 12 230
Notes to Translation 237
Critical Edition 351
Introduction to the Critical Edition 353
I. Editorial History and the Need for a Critical Edition 353
II. Sources for the Critical Edition 354
III. Genealogy of Manuscripts 370
IV. Constitution of the Texts 374
Note on the Critical Edition 381
Chapter 1 383
Chapter 2 403
Chapter 3 447
Chapter 4 504
Chapter 5 558
Chapter 6 594
Chapter 7 613
Chapter 8 659
Chapter 9 746
Chapter 10 810
Chapter 11 837
Chapter 12 889
Note to the Critical Edition 914
Appendices 983
Appendix I: Fauna and Flora 985
Appendix II: Names of Gods, People, and Places 998
Appendix III: Ritual Vocabulary 993
Appendix IV: Weights, Measures, and Currency 997
Bibliography 999
Dharmasastric Parallels 1009
Pada Index 1035
Index to the Translation 1111
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