Manusmriti

by Ramchandra Verma Shastri, रामचन्द्र वर्मा शास्त्री

मनुष्य ने जब समाज व राष्ट्र्र के अस्तित्व तथा महत्त्व कौ मान्यता दी, तो उसके कर्तव्यों और अधिकारों की व्याख्या निर्धारित करने तथा नियमों के अतिक्रमण करने पर दण्ड व्यवस्था करने की भी आवश्यकता उत्पन्न हुई । यही कारण है कि विभिन्न युगों में विभिन्न स्मृतियों की रचना हुई, जिनमें मनुस्मृति को विशेष महत्व प्राप्त है । मनुस्मृति में बारह अध्याय तथा दो हज़ार पांच सौ श्लोक हैं, जिनमें सृष्टि की उत्पत्ति, संस्कार, नित्य और नैमित्तिक कर्म, आश्रमधर्म, वर्णधर्म, राजधर्म व प्रायश्चित्त आदि अनेक विषयों का उल्लेख है। ब्रिटिश शासकों ने भी मनुस्मृति को ही आधार बनाकर ' इण्डियन पेनल कोड ' बनाया तथा स्वतन्त्र भारत की विधानसभा ने भी संविधान बनाते समय इसी स्मृति को प्रमुख आधार माना । व्यक्ति के सर्वतोमुखी विकास तथा सामाजिक व्यवस्था को सुनिश्चित रूप देने व व्यक्ति की लौकिक....

Genres: Philosophy

505 pages, Hardcover

Reviews

[Nirmal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writer has not imposed his own ideas in the translation from Sanskrit to Hindi, which is a good thing because it will allow the reader to judge the text for themself. However, when I compared the original Sanskrit text with other sources, there were some discrepancy. I am not sure which one is correct.

The book is a great treasure for those who want to learn the law of Indian subcontinent in ancient times. The book can easily show the rampant discrimination in the society among various classes - Bhramin, Kshetri, Baisya and Sudra. Some interesting points that I noted are:
* Somewehere in text there is mention that Khas (the native of Nepal), Chin (possibly Chinese), Dravid (south Indians) and few more became Sudra due to their immoral behaviour.
* Prostitution in Bahrain family is allowed in the emergency situations
* Meat eating is allowed (including that of dog) in emergency situations

When compared with Quran (the law book of Muslim), there are many similarities. My blind guess is Quran is a shorter and improved version of Manusmriti with reduced discrimination. A comparative reading is recommended.

[Ankit · Rating 3 out of 5]

-2 star: extremely misogynistic
-2 star: very casteist
+1 star: exhaustive and covers so many topics at one place
+1 star: few topics like trust, governance etc remain relevant topics, including the solutions and penalties suggested.

Do note: some of the topics are very revolting per today’s ethical and legal standards. However, I firmly believe that judging others by one’s moral standards form the core of most, if not all major struggles and problems in the world today.

[Rakesh Gohil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect comentey on Dharma. It is rule book of Hinduism.

This is one of the best book to understand Vedik Sanatan Dharma that is now called Hinduism.

Moreover this books says whatever written in this book not over rule Vedas.

Vedas are root of Dharma.

[Shivatva Beniwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Hindi translation.

The translation quality is very good. Print quality is good. Paper quality is average. An overall good version of the Manusmriti.

[Shashwat Kumar]

One of the oldest literature about the Hindu religion or Sanatan Dharma. Most of the Hindu traditions and rituals, good or bad, are originated from this books. This book talks about the duties and characteristics of different varnas and their social order. Book emphasises on the superiority of Brahmins (no wonder as it is written by themselves) in the Vedic yuga. This is also mentioned that taking birth is not sufficient, person must follow the hard rules to be called good brahmin otherwise he is as good as others. Some slokas in the book forbid the independence of the woman. Even though to any extent, it is not a practical religious text for today but it opens a window in the mind of ancient people and helps in understanding their thinking. Apart from the shortcomings, this books explain many subjects which are applicable today as well i.e., tax collection, and make me wonder how thoughtful and ahead of time they were in those subjects.