Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c15.63

c15.63

But no practical man could deny that the details of the Law and its application as a whole must vary according to time and place. Even Manu varies his scheme of duties according to variations of the Krita, Tretâ, Dwâpara and Kali ages. Elsewhere he sets out to recite the scheme of sacrifices to be performed in the region where the black antelope roams naturally.² Śankarâchârya, the leader of orthodox Brahmanism, in his Śârîraka Bhâṣya on Vâdarâyaṇa’s Vedântasûtras is even more explicit. He holds that the Dharma of a particular age and region becomes non-Dharma with reference to a different locality and period.³ Nârada remarks that many practices which were allowed anciently had been forbidden in the present fourth yuga.