Swaveda

Translation

Manusmriti (Laws of Manu)मनुस्मृति

By Attributed to Manu. Translated by Georg Bühler, 1886. Public domain.

The most widely-cited of the Dharmaśāstra texts on ritual, social, and legal practice. Conventionally dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE. A historically influential and ideologically loaded text — its rules on caste, gender, and punishment have been read in radically different ways across time. Modern translations (Olivelle 2005) include critical apparatus and historical context Bühler's predates; we cite Olivelle in commentary, link to the publisher, and host only the public-domain Bühler.

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Chapters

  1. Chapter 1

    Adhyaya 1: Creation; Sources of the Sacred Law

  2. Chapter 2

    Adhyaya 2: Sources of the Law; Studentship

  3. Chapter 3

    Adhyaya 3: Marriage; Householder Duties

  4. Chapter 4

    Adhyaya 4: Means of Subsistence; Conduct

  5. Chapter 5

    Adhyaya 5: Forbidden Foods; Impurity; Women's Duties

  6. Chapter 6

    Adhyaya 6: The Hermit and the Ascetic

  7. Chapter 7

    Adhyaya 7: Duties of a King

  8. Chapter 8

    Adhyaya 8: Civil and Criminal Law

  9. Chapter 9

    Adhyaya 9: Husband and Wife; Inheritance; Lower Castes

  10. Chapter 10

    Adhyaya 10: Castes; Mixed Castes; Times of Distress

  11. Chapter 11

    Adhyaya 11: Penances and Expiations

  12. Chapter 12

    Adhyaya 12: Transmigration; Final Beatitude