Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c7.462

c7.462

It is impossible to distinguish between theory and practice in the Smṛtis. If even from the incompleteness and inconsistent character of the laws of the Smṛtis the necessity of testing and supplementing them by means of other sources is felt, this desideratum becomes all the more palpable, when we consider that the Smṛtis themselves offer us few data by which to distinguish between the pious wishes and theoretical disquisitions from the actual state of things. However, the Brahmanical jurists in many cases succeeded in procuring general observation for their maxims² as, for example, the wording of the ancient donative documents (*śāsana*) shows, which agrees even in the minutest details with the rules of the later Smṛtis. Even at the present day it is quite a common practice among the aspiring castes to observe among themselves child marriage, prohibition of widow-remarriage and other characteristic institutions of the Brahmans, to earn for themselves greater esteem in public opinion. It should, however, never be forgotten that the Smṛtis are purely private works and cannot be placed on the same footing with the law-books of other countries.