The Dharmasastras in Social Legal Perspective

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The present volume is a collection of papers presented in a National Seminar at the Asiatic Society in September, 2017. It adds to the treasures of Asiatic Society's publication, which addressed to a set of academic issues centering around the constellation of some classical texts otherwise known as Dharmashastra or Dharmasamhita. Apart from the religious tenets highlighted in the ancient smrities, they also included some commentaries (nibandhas) from the authentic interpreters of these classical texts. There is of course a long time frame of their appearance since the pre-Christian era till about 4th century A.D. The estimated number of Dharmashastras runs into 20 as has been mentioned in the entry of Bharatkosh published by Bangiya Sahitya Parishat, Calcutta.

The seminar of the Society in a sense was restricted to the discussion on the socio-legal perspectives of these shastras which are an unique combination of multiple dimensions of the society, culture, religion, philosophy, ethics and customary practices. They ultimately culminated to a set of conduct of rules for good governance for the people in general. Hope this volume published by the Asiatic Society will bring into relief certain aspects of Dharmashastra not only in its historical perspective but in the contemporary context as well. The readers, I believe, would be able to derive the useful guidance replete in various papers in this important volume edited by Professor Tapati Mukherjee who is currently the Library Secretary of the Asiatic Society.

The present book is the outcome of a cluster of erudite research papers presented in the National Seminar on The Dharmaśāstras in Socio-legal Perspective, held at The Asiatic Society, Kolkata on September 22, 2017. A redeeming feature of this collection is that the authors of these articles belong to various disciplines starting from Sanskrit to Sociology and they range upto Hon'ble judges and legal authorities. Needless to say that this multiplicity in the nature of the authors has accorded this collection a new dimension and obviously the desired weightage due to discourses viewed from various angles.

Against a backdrop where the efficacy and relevance of the Dharmaśāstras in contemporary perspective have been seriously challenged and the Sastric texts have been branded as bundles of contradiction, emphasising simply meaningless rituals and prescribing inhuman treatment to be meted out to women and the lower castes, the present papers have highlighted that despite these shortcomings, the Dharmaśāstras have much to contribute even in the contemporary context. They are the repertoire of ancient Indian juridical laws which were emulated by British administrators and subsequently followed in framing the judicial structure in post-independent Indian scenario.

It is an accepted fact that based on the Vedic injunctions which are considered as supreme authority by Indian milieu since time immemorial, the Dharmaśāstras since their inception had nurtured Indian psyche so as to lead a life governed by virtues and moral ethics and restraining the general masses from being way-laid. Simultaneously, most of the principal Dharmaśāstra writers had discussed with minutest details the role of monarchy, the functions of judiciary in implementing good governance with a view to bestow maximum benefit on the populace - the be-all and end-all of administration.