The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c8.15

c8.15

Next to the Śrauta Sūtras stand the Grihya Sūtras. Nothing can exceed the minuteness with which they dilate on domestic ritual but they rarely extend their scope beyond it. Incidentally, the Pāraskara Grihya Sūtra would grant autonomy to villages in private matters and family concerns.¹ No outside interference is needed. Here, probably, the Sūtra is more or less true to facts. The Parāśara Grihya Sūtra has an arresting statement. It declares that royalty does not depend on hereditary right, but on acquisition by the sword.² It points to an age of chronic warfare and political disturbance.² Caste is firmly entrenched in the Sūtras. For instance, in the Grihya Sūtra of Gobhila, there are caste distinctions in fetching fire.³