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'धर्मानुलोमो व्यवहारः ।'. Slowly the religious and ritualistic views of smrtis, particularly of Manu and Yājñavalkya gain popularity over the secular, ethical and practical nature of the Arthaśāstra. Yājñavalkya omitted many technical parts of the Arthaśāstra, related to kingdom and inter-state relationship etc. He concentrated on ācāra, vyavahāra and prāyaścitta. Hence the study of the smstis become a regular part of syllabus and the popularity of the Kauțilya's Arthaśāstra decreased. Though Yājñavalkya has taken a lot from Kautilya, still his treatise surpassed the Arthaśāstra.
