Manusmriti The Constitution of The Vedic Society

The Constitution is different from law. Law deals with individuals or events. Constitutions deal with institutions, which are organised enterprises.The Society is such organised enterprise and, therefore, an organic whole.From point of view of the individual. Manusmriti is a corpus of Law, vying with the finest details of human conduct in relation to all the stages of life. Each event of life is within rigours of law. Man falls into the cobweb of law right from his conception in womb, till his death, and even after death, by the obsequies mandated by law on the progeny of the deceased. From the point of view of the society, Manusmiriti is a constitution visualizing the segments and vivifying the constituents of the social organism, and identifying an ordered human life in a ordered society and each verse thereof has, therefore, been treated as a ratiocinated Rule.

Manusmriti is a monument of stupendous learning. The expression Manusmriti, literally means the memoirs of Manu. Manu is the cosmic seed of humanity, the mind-born son of Brahma. The Lord creator ingrained this law in this cosmic seed of humanity, and Manu, when born on earth as human, had in himself the law for the humanity. Manu was the fountain of law. He was both sui generis and suijuris.

The law stated in the Code is pretty elaborate covering the minutest details of civic life and human conduct, but the scheme is simple and systematic, comprising 2684 Rules, spread over twelve Chapters, each accomplished in its motif, aiming at a meticulous cohesion of the man with the society and the State, both.

Veda being the source of law, reliance on Vedic literature was inevitable and support has been frequently derived from the samhitas, Upnishads, the Mahabharata, the other parallel Smrities and the Bhagwadgita. The Arthashastra of Kautilya has been referred only to demarcate the transition from a sacerdotal polity to a secular State. The convictions and conclusions are exoteric, based on scientific analysis and logical reasoning. The English rendition of the original Sanskrit text of the Rules exhibits and exercise, in picking up the most approximate equivalents in the English language, and the pith maintains the poetic relish of the original.

The Rules apparently proverbial or informative, have been scrutinzed with grammatical assistance of dictionaries.