Manu’s Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Mānava-Dharmaśāstra

__Manu's Code of Law__ is one of the most important texts in the Sanskrit canon, indeed one of the most important surviving texts from any classical civilization. It paints an astoundingly detailed picture of ancient Indian life-covering everything from the constitution of the king's cabinet to the price of a ferry trip for a pregnant woman-and its doctrines have been central to Indian thought and practice for 2000 years. Despite its importance, however, until now no one has produced a critical edition of this text. As a result, for centuries scholars have been forced to accept clearly inferior editions of Sanskrit texts and to use those unreliable editions as the basis for constructing the history of classical India. In this volume, Patrick Olivelle has assembled the critical text of Manu, including a critical apparatus containing all the significant manuscript variants, along with a reliable and readable translation, copious explanatory notes, and a comprehensive introduction on the structure, content, and socio-political context of the treatise. The result is an outstanding scholarly achievement that will be an essential tool for any serious student of India.

Manu's Code of Law is one of the most important texts in the Sanskrit canon, indeed one of the most important surviving texts from any classical civilization. It paints an astoundingly detailed picture of ancient Indian life-covering everything from the constitution of the king's cabinet to the price of a ferry trip for a pregnant woman-and its doctrines have been central to Indian thought and practice for 2000 years. Despite its importance, however, until now no one has produced a critical edition of this text. As a result, for centuries scholars have been forced to accept clearly inferior editions of Sanskrit texts and to use those unreliable editions as the basis for constructing the history of classical India. In this volume, Patrick Olivelle has assembled the critical text of Manu, including a critical apparatus containing all the significant manuscript variants, along with a reliable and readable translation, copious explanatory notes, and a comprehensive introduction on the structure, content, and socio-political context of the treatise. The result is an outstanding scholarly achievement that will be an essential tool for any serious student of India.

Abbreviations INTRODUCTION I. Authorship and Composition II. Sources of Manu: The Traditions of dharma and artha III. The Work of Redactors IV. Nature and Purpose of the Treatise V. Manu and the Later dharma Tradition Note on the Translation TRANSLATION Editor's Outline Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Notes to the Translation CRITICAL EDITION Introduction to the Critical Edition I. Editorial History and the Need for a Critical Edition II. Sources for the Critical Edition III. Genealogy of Manuscripts IV.Constitution of the Texts Note on the Critical Edition Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Notes to the Critical Edition Appendices Appendix I: Fauna and Flora Appendix II: Names of Gods, People, and Places Appendix III: Ritual Vocabulary Appendix IV: Weights, Measures, and Currency Bibliography Dharmaśāstric Parallels Pāda Index Index to the Translation A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y "The Law of Manu is the most authoritative and the best-known legal text of ancient India. Famous for two thousand years it still generates controversy, with Manu's verses being cited in support of the oppression of women and members of the lower castes. A seminal Hindu text, the Law Code is important for its classic description of so many social institutions which have come to be identified with Indian society. It deals with the relationships between social and ethnic groups, between men and women, the organization of the state and the judicial system, reincarnation, the workings of karma, and all aspects of the law." "Patrick Olivelle's lucid translation is the first to be based on his critically edited text, and it incorporates the most recent scholarship on ancient Indian history, law, society, and religion."--Jacket "Manu's Code of Law" is an important text in the Sanskrit canon. It paints a picture of ancient Indian life. This volume assembles the text of Manu, including an apparatus containing the significant manuscript variants, along with a translation, notes, and an introduction on the structure, content, and socio-political context of the treatise. Scholars traditionally have regarded the composition of the MDh as a gradual process at the hands of anonymous and successive compilers, editors, and copyists lasting for several centuries, the same sort of agentless process that many have thought lies behind the composition of the great epic Mahabharata. Classical work, with commentaries, on Hindu law.