Talk:Dharmasāstra:Smṛtis and Allied Works

By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami

Manu, Parāśara, Yājñavalkya, Gautama, Harita, Yama, Viṣṇu, Śaṅkha, Likhita, Bṛhaspati, Dakṣa, Aṅgiras, Pracetās, Sāṁvarta, Ācānas, Atri, Āpastamba and Śātātapa are the eighteen sages who mastered the Vedas with their superhuman power and derived the Smṛtis from them. Their works are known after them — like Manusmṛti, Yājñavalkya-smṛti, Parāśara-smṛti and so on — and they contain all that we need to know about all the dharmas to be adhered to and all the rituals to be performed during our entire life.

Apart from these eighteen, there are eighteen subsidiary Smṛtis called Upasmṛtis. It is customary to include the Bhagavadgītā among the Smṛtis.

What we find in one Smṛti may not be found in another. There may also be differences between one Smṛti and another. These give rise to doubts which are sought to be cleared by works called Dharmasāstra Nibandhanas.

There are some Smṛtis which do not contain instructions with regard to all observances. For instance, some do not mention sandhyāvandana. The reason must be that it is such a common rite that everybody is expected to know it. Then some omit the śrāddha ceremony, and some others are silent on various types of “pollution” (for instance, that due to the birth of a child in the family or the death of a relative). Certain matters are taken for granted. After all, we do not have to be told how to breathe or eat.

The Nibandhanas do not leave out any rite or dharma. Differences between various Smṛtis are sought to be reconciled in them.

Each region follows its own Nibandhana. In the North, it is the one authored by Kāśinātha Upādhyāya. In Mahārāṣṭra, it is the Mitākṣarā; it has the force of law and is accepted as such by the law courts. Nirṇayasindhu by Kamalākara Bhaṭṭa is also accepted as an authority there. In the South, Vaidyanātha-dīkṣitīyam by Vaidyanātha Dīkṣita is followed. These are the important authorities for householders. Sannyāsins follow the Viśveśvara-saṁhitā. In Tamil Nadu, the Dharmasāstra means the Vaidyanātha-dīkṣitīyam. The Nibandhana has been translated into Tamil.

The Dharmasāstras are not as difficult to follow as the Vedas and can be understood with a little knowledge of Sanskrit.