History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s14.36

v1.c6.s14.36

The foregoing discussion about the dharmasthīya section shows that in the sphere of the administration of justice, Kauṭilya is far in advance of the dharmasūtras of Gautama, Āpastamba and Baudhāyana and so is much later than these (though in certain matters such as the rights of women to succeed to males he closely agrees with Gautama and Āpastamba), while he is earlier than the extant Manusmṛti (though not earlier than the oldest kernel of the Manusmṛti) and very much earlier than Yājñavalkya.