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OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS
Dharmasūtras
Ā ā
The Law Codes of pastamba, Gautama, Baudh yana, and
ṣṭ
Vasi ha
Translated from the Original Sanskrit and Edited by
PATRICK OLIVELLE
OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS
Ū
DHARMAS TRAS
PATRICK OLIVELLE is the Chair, Department of Asian Studies, and Director,
Center for Asian Studies, at the University of Texas at Austin, where he
is the Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions. Among his recent
ṃ ā ṣ
publications are The Sa ny sa Upani ads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceticism
Āś
and Renunciation (Oxford, 1992), The rama System: History and
Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution (Oxford, 1993), Rules and
Regulations of Brahmanical Asceticism (State University of New York
ṣ
Press, 1994), and The Early Upani ads: Annotated Text and Translation
ṣ
(Oxford, 1998). His translations of Upani ads and Pañcatantra were
published in Oxford World’s Classics in 1996 and 1997.
CONTENTS
Abbreviations
Guide to the Pronunciation of Sanskrit Words
Bibliography
Introduction
Literary History
Authorship and Dates
Literary Structure
Semantics and Sources of Dharma
Divergent Voices
Note on the Translation
ŪTRAS
DHARMAS
Ā
pastamba
Gautama
ā
Baudh yana
ṣṭ
Vasi ha
Appendices
I. Ritual Vocabulary
II. Names of Gods, People, and Places
III. Fauna and Flora
Notes
Ā
pastamba
Gautama
ā
Baudh yana
ṣṭ
Vasi ha
Index
For
Anne, Gregory, and Richard
āṇ ḥ
kaly amitrebhya
PREFACE
IN 1879 George Bühler published his English translation of the
ū Ā
Dharmas tras of pastamba and Gautama under the title The Sacred
Ā
Laws of the ryas as the second volume of the Sacred Books of the East
edited by Max Müller. Three years later he brought out the translations
ṣṭ ā
of Vasi ha and Baudh yana, and in 1886 he published the translation
̥
of the law book of Manu (Manu Smti) in the same series. With the
benefit of a hundred years of scholarship and numerous printed editions
ū
of the Dharmas tras to work from, it is easy to find fault with his
pioneering translations. But Bühler had to work directly from
manuscripts and without the benefit of much that scholars today take
for granted. I have benefited enormously from his translation and from
his thorough and detailed comments in the introductions and notes. I
want to acknowledge my deep debt of gratitude to Bühler’s pioneering
work.
There are many individuals and institutions that helped me during
the years when I was preparing this translation. A Guggenheim
Fellowship and a faculty research assignment from the University of
Texas in 1996–7 allowed me a year’s freedom to concentrate on several
research projects, including this translation. Ludo Rocher came to the
rescue and made sense of several difficult and corrupt passages, as did
Richard Lariviere. Gregory Schopen read the introduction and much of
the translation and as usual made wise and judicious suggestions. Their
input has made this work better and the translations more accurate and
Description:The Dharmasutras are the four surviving written works of the ancient Indian tradition on the subject of dharma, or the rules of behavior a community recognizes as binding on its members.Written in a pithy and aphoristic style and representing the culmination of a long tradition of scholarship, the D
