History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t2.520

v4.c63.t2.520

From Gautama1606a downwards many writers dilate upon the sources of *dharma*. Gautama I. 1-2 states: ' the Veda is the source (*mūla*) of dharma and also the tradition (or smṛtis) and practice of those who know the Veda'. Similarly Āp. Dh. S. (I. 1. 1. 1-2) says: 'we shall propound the acts (that produce merit) which are evolved from conventions and practices; the authority (for finding out the *dharmas*) are the conventions of those who know the dharma and the Vedas'. Vas. I. 4-7 provides: 'dharma is declared by the Vedas and Smṛtis; on failure of these two the practice of the śiṣṭas is the authority (for finding out what dharma is); a śiṣṭa however is one whose heart is free from (worldly) desires and (only) such acts of śiṣṭas are (to be held as) dharma for which no (worldly or secular) cause (or motive) can be assigned'.¹⁶⁰⁷ Manu II. 6 and Yāj. I. 7 declare that Veda (or śruti), smṛti and the practices of the good are the principal sources of dharma. The words employed in these works are *śīla*, *samaya*, *ācāra* or *sadācāra* or *śiṣṭācāra*¹⁶⁰⁷ (the latter three meaning the same thing). Āp. employs both words viz. *samaya* and *ācāra*, the first of which probably means 'agreement or convention or usage', while the latter means 'custom'. The word 'custom' now conveys the idea of some antiquity,¹⁶⁰⁸ while usage or convention does not necessarily convey that idea. A usage may be recent or it may be established by agreement among a certain class of persons (such as traders or craftsmen). We have to see what is meant when it is said that *ācāra* or *śiṣṭācāra* or *sadācāra* is the source (mūla) of dharma. An indication of the meaning is furnished by the word *pramāṇa* employed by Āp. and Vas. The meaning is that just as the revealed books (Veda) and the smṛtis authoritatively lay down what dharma is, so also in our quest to find out what dharma is in the varying circumstances of life the practices of those who may be called śiṣṭas furnish us with the necessary criterion or norm i. e. śiṣṭācāra is the touchstone for judging whether an act is in consonance with what the śāstras require us to do. The theory of the ancient writers was that the smṛtis were based on parts of Veda (that consists of *mantras* and Brāhmaṇa texts) which though formerly existent are not now extant or available, that similarly the practices of those who were learned in the Vedas and were deemed to be śiṣṭas must be inferred to have been based on portions of Veda not now available. This theory was advanced by such ancient writers as Āp.¹⁶⁰⁹ and was taken up by many subsequent works. Manu II. 7 also states that whatever dharma has been ordained for any person by Manu, all that has been entirely declared in the Veda for the Veda is full of all knowledge. But it does not follow from this nor is it ever meant that all practices of śiṣṭas are authoritative in matters of dharma. The qualification was added that where the practices of śiṣṭas are clearly referable to or are prompted by a seen motive or by the desire to secure pleasure, there they are not authoritative. Manu (II. 18) restricted the word sadācāra to the customs handed down from generation to generation among the four varṇas and the mixed castes in the country called by him Brahmāvarta (II. 17). But many other writers did not so restrict it in this way.