State and Government in Ancient India c8.s2.43

c8.s2.43

There were also some other reasons for this phenomenon. The Smṛitis written during *c.* 200 B. C. to 200 A. D. like those of Manu (Chaps. VII-IX), Vishṇu (Chap. III) and Yājñavalkya (Chap. I, 304-67) took over the discussion of the topics like the duties of the king, the functions of the different officers, the rules of civil and criminal law and the different theories concerning the foreign policy. Of course their treatment of these subjects was not as comprehensive or systematic as that of the *Arthaśāstra*, but it was quite sufficient for every day purposes. They possessed the additional advantage of including a discussion of the rules of *varṇa*, *āśrama* and *prāyaśchitta* and thus appeared as more useful manuals to the public than the books on the pure *Arthaśāstra*, as they dealt with a number of religious, social and philosophical topics also, in which the age was more interested than in the pure discussion of the details of political theories or the problems of Government administration.