History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s19.2

v1.c6.s19.2

The Rāmāyaṇa is pre-eminently a kāvya; yet on account of its noble ideals it was almost as popular as the Mahābhārata and is relied upon as a source of *dharma* in the *nibandhas* though much less frequently than the other great epic. The Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa (canto 100) and the Āraṇya-kāṇḍa (33) contain disquisitions on politics and state administration. The Smṛticandrikā (I. p. 57) quotes the well-known verse of the Rāmāyaṇa (Sundara 59. 31) about cessation of study on the first day of a month.³⁰¹ The Smṛticandrikā (I. p. 193 and III. p. 416) quotes two verses on *tarpaṇa* and *śrāddha* from the Rāmāyaṇa.³⁰² The Hāralatā (pp. 64 and 152) quotes verses from the Rāmāyaṇa. Aparārka on Yāj. III. 8-10 quotes four verses from the Rāmāyaṇa on sorrow for the dead.