Sambodhi 1984 Vol 13 and 14

Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, Ramesh S Betai, Yajneshwar S Shastri
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 78

BUDDHISM VS. MANUSMRTI
Jaya R. Betai & Ramesh S. Betai
It would be precise and just to state that every Indian on the Indian soil has, at his back, a culture and concept of social life that have evolved through a processing of more than almost four thousand years. Society and its concept are in his blood. In this, the Hindu social life is in brief, Varnāšramadharma. It was so in the past and it is more or less so in the present. The oldest Ācārya who redelined, revalued and reinstated the concept of Hindu social life is Manu, in his famous work Manusmộti. For centuries it was conceded that Manu's is the prime and greatest authority as far as Lindu social life and Hindu social philosophy are concerned.
Manusmri ::
The Manusinti is the main source of Darma, i.e., social philosopliy and law, for all later centuries and also the Sätra, Smrti and Nibandha writers thereof. It is placed by Kane between 200 B.C. to 200 A.D. We can accept this as the safest and most authentic date of the work. It is also to be noted that the Manusmrti belongs to a period of transition when the comparative liberalism of the Vedic period is also slowly giving place to later puritanism. The authority of Sastras was to give place to custom later. Manu primarily accepts the authority of the Vedas, but also tries to justify ways, modes of his own days, i.e., custom. He also claims that these should have the sanctioning authority of Sruti.
It is interesting that the Manusmrti codifies Hindu social philosophy and Hindu law and gives to us a compendium that redefines and revalues the Dharma, i.e., social philosophy of old and places it into a systematised whole just as in the seventh century Sankara found it necessary to reinstate Arya dharma and Darsana against the non-vedic schools of thought, the Tantric and Sakti cuits etc, just as Vallabha in very late days tried to make strong the citadel of Hindusim in such a way that Hindus did not lose faith in their own religion in view of the terrible onslanghts of Islam etc. Manu too seems to have specific purposes in view when he writes the Mansmrti and reinstates Dharma, ie, the social philosophy and law of the Aryas. Ouc of the purpos3s seems to
Sambodhi XIII.--10