Studies in Dharmasastra By Richard W. Lariviere

Book Description

INTRODUCTION

This collection of articles is not born from a conference, nor does it center around a single theme. Instead, it serves as a humble tribute to the rich diversity and significance of dharmasastra in shaping various aspects of Indian societal history. In recent years, interest in this field seems to have waned compared to the robust engagement it once enjoyed. The days when scholars like Gharpure, Mandlik, Jolly, Jayaswal, Jha, and Kane ensured that each volume of ideological journals featured discussions on dharmasastra are now behind us. This decline is evident not only in modern scholarship but also within traditional circles, where the absence of dharmalāstris in renowned centers of learning is notable.

The reasons behind the changing tides of scholarly interest are complex. However, it is clear that the field of dharmasastra is far from exhausted or irrelevant to other disciplines; its vast and intricate corpus continues to offer rich opportunities for exploration.

A central question that often arises in the study of classical Sanskrit literature is the relationship between the prescriptions and descriptions found in texts and their grounding in actual practices versus idealized norms. This inquiry is challenging due to the scarcity of everyday data that can either confirm or challenge textual representations. The contributions from D. C. Sircar, Ludo Rocher, and myself seek to address this issue. Sircar utilizes epigraphic data from several centuries (6th to 13th) alongside literary sources, while Rocher presents the first complete English translation of a French Jesuit’s account of the legal system as it was understood in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Through these efforts, we aim to shed light on the lived realities behind the texts of dharmasastra.