The Manusmriti, translated smriti of Manu is a work of Hindu Law and ancient Indian society. It is one of the 19 Dharmashastras which are a part of the smriti literature. It is considered the oldest and one of the most important texts of this genre.It explains itself as a discourse given by Sage Manu to rishis who begged him to enlighten them on the topic. There are 2,684 verses divided into 12 chapters.
A range of historical opinion generally dates composition of the text any time between 200 BCE and 200 CE. The dating is significant because the work was written during the period when Brahmanical tradition was seriously threatened by non-Vedic movements.
The work is considered an important source for sociological, political and historical studies. Manusmriti is one of the most heavily criticized of the scriptures of Hinduism, having been attacked by a gamut of people including colonial scholars, Dalit advocates, feminists, Marxists and Hindu Nationalists. Some of these groups have burned the text in public demonstrations.
The Manusmriti was one of the first Sanskrit texts studied by the British. It was first translated into English by the founder of Indology, Sir William Jones, and the translated version was published in 1794.
It is widely believed that out of a total of 2,685 verses, only 1,214 are authentic, the other 1,471 being interpolations on the text. The law in Manusmriti also is claimed to be overtly positive towards Brahmins (priests) in terms of concessions made in fines and punishments.
The stance of Manusmriti about Shudras, women and their education is a big issue. Certain interpretations claim that it discourages women from reading Vedic scriptures. This also forms the basic reason for the continued slavery of Untouchables in our society.
The stance of Manusmriti about Shudras, women and their education is a big issue. Certain interpretations claim that it discourages women from reading Vedic scriptures. This also forms the basic reason for the continued slavery of Untouchables in our society.
4 comments:
Do you wish India to go back to the Manusmriti days? www.vivekanandayb.blogspot.com
I wish exactly the opposite...
www.rushalt.blogspot.com/2007/08/and-you-thought-there-was-no.html
Its a very sorry state of life for those unfortunate people.
Manu was not a sage or some monk, he was a King.
But otherwise, Manusmrithi or whatever is hardly relevant to today's times. Untouchability and discrimination of Dalits is practised (mainly in rural areas) by the elite and the upper castes because, they want to use the power to get the material benefit of cheaper labor and give lower wage benefits to dalits. What we need is education, healthcare and job opportunities outside the farmland. That is how Blacks got emancipated , when they moved in millions to the car factories in Detroit, USA. We(India) need a thousand Detroits to lift the Dalits from the 2000 years of poor living.
I absolutely agree with that. The only way to uplift them is provide them opportunities.
If they have ample work and education opportunities their degraded standard of living.
Even today if you ask priests in Allahabad about Untouchability they will give you hilarious explanations to support the sayings of Manusmriti.
One of them defended casteism saying, "Devtaaon ke mukh se Brahman nikale, seene aur haath de Kshatriya nikale aur paairon ke talwe se Dalit nikale. Agar kisi Brahman ne uske haath ka pani bhi piya toh wo paap hai".
He further explains, "Ek kaam karo, apni ungli naak mein daalo aur ghumao... Ab use apne muh mein dalo, daal sakte ho kya? Kya naak apke sharir ka part nahin hai? Yahi hai Daliton ka haal."
It really pinches deep inside the heart to see such intellectuals alive. Aur hum inhi logon ki pooja karte hain. These selfish bastards play these games in the name of Manusmriti.
All these incidences were as told to a documentary film maker who was on his way to capture the ill fate of Harijans.
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