Ebook The Sacred Laws of the Âryas

MY dear morley, — I have been looking again at the law literature, in order to write you a note on the sources of Mann. I have treated the subject fully in my introduction to the Veda, where I have given an outline of the dif ferent periods of Vaidik literature, and analysed the peculiarities in the style and language of each class of Vaidik works. What I consider to be the sources of the Manava-dharma-sastra, the so-called Laws of Manu, are the Sfitras. These are works which presuppose the development of the prose literature of the Brahmanas (like the Aitareya-biabmana, Taittiriya-brahmana, &c.) These Brahmanas, again, presuppose, not only the existence, but the collection and arrangement of the old hymns of the four Samhitfis. The Sutras are therefore later than both these classes of Vaidik works, but they must be considered as belonging to the Vaidik period of literature, not only on account of their intimate connection with Vaidik subjects. But also because they still exhibit the irregularities of the old Vaidik language. They form indeed the last branch of Vaidik literature; and it Will perhaps be possible to fix some of these works chrorioiogitally, as they are contemporary with the first spreading of Buddhism in India.