Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.203

c7.203

None of these works deals with law proper ( *vyavahāra* ). For example, the metrical Smṛtis of Āp., Gaut., Vi., Śaṅkhalikhita, and Hārīta of the works which are still extant can at the best be but partially identical with the works of these authors known to us from mediaeval quotations, because the greater part of these quotations are in prose. The contents too of these Smṛtis often impress us to be quite modern. Thus in Parāśara, for whose Smṛti the commentary of Mādhava belonging to the fourteenth century and the occurrence of most of the ancient quotations in our text¹ secure: a comparatively high antiquity, it is found in the author's introduction (1, 24) that he regards himself to be a modern author, the standard author for the Kali age alone, and particularly assigns the works of M., Gaut. and Śaṅkhalikhita to the three previous ages respectively. As his rules are concerned with the present age of sins it is quite understandable that Parāśara makes allowance for the growing tendency to permit agriculture to the Brahmans and he reduces the 12 sons of the ancient Smṛtis to 4 of whom 2 are adoptive sons (2, 2, 6, 13 ; 4, 22 ). It is also remarkable that Parāśara 4, 30 f. recommends widow-burning, which is referred to in Dharmasūtras only facultatively and does not occur at all in M., Y. and Nār.