Dharma Shastras or Smritis

Hinduism has eighteen fundamental knowledge sources (Vidyas). Of which are four Vedas, six Vedangas, four Upangas and four upvedas. The original author and direct prophet is the Trident-handed Shiva. These are -
 

1. Four Vedas are Rik, Yajur, Sama and Atharva.
2. Six Vedangas are Shiksha – Euphony & Pronunciation, Vyaakarna – Grammer, Chhandas – metre, Nirukta – Etymology, Jyotisha – Astronomy, Kalpa – Ritual & Traditions).
3. Four upangas or appendices are Mimamsa – interpretation of Vedic texts i.e. Purvamimamsa & Uttaramimamsa, Nyaya – logic i.e. Vaisheshika, Puranas – old history which 18 Mahapuranas, 18 Upapuranas and Itihasa-puranas, the Dharma Shastras - codes of conduct i.e. Smritis Dharma sutras.
4. Four Up-Vedas are Ayurveda-medicine, Dhanurveda-warfare, Gandharva Veda-Art & Music and the Arth Shastra- Economics & wealth management.

 
The Vedas are the revelations, also called Shrutis (heard through Guru-Disciple tradition). The Dharma Shastras are called Smritis (remembered & expounded by the several rishis) and are the Institutes of sacred law. Before Upanayana and study of Vedas, Dharma Shastra should be taught and also Yama & Niyama be followed. Yama - not killing, veracity, not stealing, continence and not coveting. Niyama - Religious observances are purification, contentment, austerity, prayer and persevering devotion to the Lord.
 
Dharma shastras alone make Vedic sutras understandable and explain beyond doubt. The role of the Dharma Shastras is to analyse and explain in great detail the Vedic injunctions which are to some extent codified in the kalpa. If kalpa talks namely of the area of the sacrificial site, house plan etc. the Dharma Shastra lays down the code of conduct for man covering all aspects of life. Maharishis who have mastered the Vedas have written what are called “Smritis”. Smriti is Dharma Shastra.
Smritis teach people how they have to spend their whole life. The Smritis prescribe certain acts and prohibit some others for a Hindu, according to his birth and stage of life. The object of the Smritis is to purify the heart of man and take him gradually to the supreme abode of immortality and make him perfect and free. These Smritis have varied from time to time. The injunctions and prohibitions of the Smritis are related to the particular social surroundings. As these surroundings and essential conditions of the Hindu society changed from time to time, new Smritis had to be compiled by the sages of different ages and different parts of India.
 
The good and evil acts — dharma and adharma— lawful and unlawful deeds, constitute the seed or Karma, from which grow the three-fold results, namely, high or low birth, long or short life period and happiness or sufferings. The five pains are Ne-science, Egoism, Love, Hatred, and Death Terror. The Ne-science is false belief, taking the impure for pure, the non-eternal for eternal, the sorrowful for bliss, and the non-Self for the Self. The God whose form is invisible, who is comprehended only through love, who is pure Intelligence, is designated by “OM”.
 
Contents of Dharma Shastras –
Dharma Shastras contain the Dharma which are the codes of law i.e., the duties associated with the four castes / professions; procedures for performing 16 Sanskars from birth to death, various rituals & worship systems (containing Sankalpa, Worship of deities, Pranayama, Nyasa, Dhayana, Avahana, Mantra, Naivedaya & Prayer), guidelines for personal purity & conduct, householders, women, donations & gifts, four stages of life, family, society etc. and prohibitions such as not taking wine in food habits.
 
There are six topics of Dharma of which the Smritis treat.

1. Varna Dharma or the law (or duty) of various castes / class / Profession;
2. Varna Ashrama Dharma or the duty of various stages of life;
3. Varna Shrama Dharma or the duty the orders of particular castes;
4. Guna-Dharma or the special duty of persons endowed with peculiar qualities;
5. Nimitta Dharma or the secondary duty of particular occasions;
6. Sadharana Dharma or the general law such as don not injure living beings.

 
Exponents of Dharma Shastras –
Manu (200-300 CE), Parasara, Yajnavalkya (300-400 CE), Gautama (600-400 BC), Harita, Yama, Vishnu (700 CE), Sanka, Likhita, Brihaspati, Daksha, Angiras, Prachetas, Samvarta, Asanas, Atri, Aapasthamba (450-350 BC), Satatapa – these 18 Maharishis had grasped the contents of all the Vedas through their superhuman powers and have given us their compilation in the form of Dharma Shastra.
 

1. Angirasa Smriti: Sage Angira is described in the Rigveda as a teacher of divine knowledge, a mediator between men and gods, and in other hymns she is also mentioned as the first of the Agni-devas (gods of fire). Angira Smriti is divided into two parts – Purva Angiras dealing with “Sraddha” in 1113 verses as a single chapter; and the second Uttara Angiras in twelve chapters dealing with the subjects of atonement etc.
2. Vyasa Smriti: It contains the importance of good land, method of Shodas rituals, glory of Guru, householder, Pativrata, duties of king, morality of householder and virtue etc. and in 50 verses of the fourth chapter the importance of charity is given.
3. Aapasthamba Smriti: He compiled Kalpasutra which includes Srautasutras (Vedic rituals), Grihyasutras (domestic rituals or final transition) and Shulbasutra (mathematics for building an altar).
4. Daksha Smriti: This text highlights the caste system, phases of human life, various rituals to be performed, importance of the householder and the benefits gained by donating, various qualities of a woman, merits of purity and cleanliness along with the demerits of impurity, details on life and death, subject of samadhi and philosophy related to yoga.
5. Vishnu Smriti: It does not directly deal with the means of dharma knowledge. The text has a strong bhakti orientation that calls for daily puja to the god Vishnu.
6. Yagyavalkya Smriti: It has more systematically classified codes into 3 chapters. They deal respectively with Conduct, Civil Law, and   Penances. In the first chapter, the duties of the Castes and Ashramas are expounded, foods are dealt with, gifts, offerings, certain rites, and the duties of a king are explained. In the second, civil law and procedure and punishment for crimes are laid down. In the third, purifications are given, and these are followed by an explanation of duties in time of distress, and those of a forest- dweller and an ascetic, and some physiological details; then follows a disquisition on the universal and the individual Soul, the paths of liberation and of bondage, yoga, the siddhis, and transmigration, together with a number of penances.
7. Likhita Smriti: It is considered an authority by the followers of Shukla Yajurvedins.
8. Shankha Smriti: ‘Shankha’ prescribed the six duties of the Brahmins viz. Performance of Yagya, help in performance of Yagya, Studying, Teaching, accepting alms or gifts and Giving alms or gifts to others. Kshatriyas and Vaishyas were asked to study, donate and perform yagna in a suitable method, just like brahmins. In addition, the Kshatriyas were asked to look after the welfare of the subjects and the Vaishyas were asked to do agricultural work, tend to the cows and engage in trade. The fourth of the Shudra was asked to create useful articles for the society by means of handicrafts. Apart from laying down duties for each caste, sage ‘Shankh’ also enjoined all to imbibe the values ​​of forgiveness, truthfulness, tolerance and purity.
9. Brihaspati Smriti: It talks about four courts The four courts are fixed or fixed which resides in a village or a city, also the court has degrees. It also speaks of twelve kinds of witnesses. Brihaspati is one of the fundamental laws of Hindu law.
10. Atri Smriti: It deals with most of the topics that the dharma shastras generally deal with.
11. Katyayana Smriti: It cover a wide range of topics related to various religious rites and ceremonies in a comprehensive manner. It also deals with the duties of a Brahmin, male and female.
12. Parashara Smriti: It is a code of laws for Kali Yuga.
13. Manu Smriti: The Laws of Manu articulate extensive regulations for many aspects of Hindu life, including duties of social classes (varnas) & four stages of life, rules governing religious offerings, purifications, rites, and many other religious and social practices. It also deals with cosmogony; definition of dharma; sacraments (samskaras); initiation (upanayana) and study of the Vedas (sacred texts of Hinduism); marriage, hospitality, funeral rites, dietary restrictions, pollution and means of purification; behaviour of women and wives; and the law of kings. The last leads to reflections on matters of legal concern, divided into 18 headings, after which the text returns to religious themes such as charity, rites of reparation, the doctrine of karma, the soul, and hell. The text makes no categorical distinction between religious law and practice and secular law. His influence on all aspects of Hindu thought, especially the justification of the caste system, was profound.
14. Aushanasa Smriti: It gives the code of conduct.
15. Harita Smriti: It describes topics like duties during four stages of life, various injunctions and prohibitions, materials for yajna and Vedic prayers, lessons on statecraft, judicial proceedings, sins and expiation.
16. Gautama Smriti: It not only contains sermons regarding man’s duties in all four stages of his life, prevention of his sins and expiation for them, but they are also more logical compared to Manu Smriti. He also described the duties of a man in times of need and reduced the number of initiations from sixteen to fourteen.
17. Yama Smriti: Muni Yama has explained the types of penance right from the beginning of the book and has thrown light forward on the defilements caused by the death of a person and touching a corpse/dead body etc.
18. Samvarta Smriti: It deals with the moral code of conduct necessary for proper living in society. It contains chapters dealing with topics such as celibacy, lack of chastity, daughter marriages, penance for sins and immorality. Great emphasis is also placed on donations. Special mention is made of intoxicants. The teachings of Samvarta Smriti help one to achieve the four main goals of life which are ‘Dharma’, ‘Artha’, ‘Kama’ and ‘Moksha’.

 
List of Smritis -
Devala gives the following list of the Dharma-Shastras: — 1. Mann, 2. Yama, 8. Vasistha, 4. Atrl, 5. Daksa, 6. Vishnu, 7. Angira, 8. Usana 9, Vakpati, 10. Vyasa, 11,
Apastamba, 12. Gautama, 13. Katyayana, 14. Narada, 15. Yajnavalkya, 16. Parashara, 17. Samvarta, 18. Sankha, 19. Hairita, 20, Likhita. In this list Narada is an addition, while in the Yajnavalkya's list we have Satatapa instead. There are also opinions that Smritis or Dharma-Shastras are 36 in number or 24 in number.
 
In Angiras we also find Upa-Smritis (jabali, Nachiketa, Chbandas, Laugaksi, Kashyapa, Vyasa, Sanat Kumara, Satadru, Janaka, Vyaghra, Katyayana, Jatukarnya, Kapinjala, Baudhayana, Kanada and Visvamitra). In Hemadri Dana Khanda the following more are enumerated. Vatsa, Paraskara, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Risyashringa, Atreya, Babhru, Vyaghra, Satyavrata, Bharadvaja, G§,rgya, Karsnajini, Laugaksi, and Brahma-Sambhava.