Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.149

c7.149

The author of our M. at all events already knew various older law-books as he speaks of the Dharmaśāstras in general as well as mentions several teachers of law by name 1. The Vaikhānasa school for example, which he refers to when dealing with the duties of the Vānaprastha, has left us a Dharmasūtra, which though a very late work in its present form, yet in that particular section about Vānaprasthas shows remarkable points of agreement with M. (§ 3). It should not, therefore, be doubted that the author had made use of works of various schools when he intended to write a didactic poem on Dharma binding on all castes and to set it off with the name of Manu, who had so long been glorified as the first parent of mankind and was considered to be descended from Brahman, the universal soul, or was identified with it, and was said to be the founder of the social order in this world, and was renowned as the inventor of sacrificial usages and as the religious law-giver long before the Sūtra-school of the Mānavas came into existence which very probably was also named after him. The name of our law-book is not in this respect without analogy with the names of authors of other metrical Smṛtis such as Atri, Uśanas Dakṣa, Nār., Prajāpati, Bṛh. etc., which likewise have also been taken from the world of heroes and gods.