Del i serien Historical Sourcebooks in Classical Indian Thought

A Dharma Reader

Classical Indian Law

Häftad, Engelska, 2026

559 kr

Kommande

Whether defined by family, lineage, caste, professional or religious association, village, or region, India's diverse groups did settle on a concept of law in classical times. How did they reach this consensus? Was it based on religious grounds or a transcendent source of knowledge? Did it depend on time and place? And what apparatus did communities develop to ensure justice was done, verdicts were fair, and the guilty were punished?Addressing these questions and more, A Dharma Reader traces the definition, epistemology, procedure, and process of Indian law from the third century B.C.E. to the middle ages. Its breadth captures the centuries-long struggle by Indian thinkers to theorize law in a multiethnic and pluralist society. The volume includes new and accessible translations of key texts, notes that explain the significance and chronology of selections, and a comprehensive introduction that summarizes the development of various disciplines in intellectual-historical terms. It reconstructs the principal disputes of a given discipline, which not only clarifies the arguments but also relays the dynamism of the fight. For those seeking a richer understanding of the political and intellectual origins of a major twenty-first-century power, along with unique insight into the legal interactions among its many groups, this book offers exceptional detail, historical precision, and expository illumination.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-10-06
Mått178 x 254 x undefined mm
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieHistorical Sourcebooks in Classical Indian Thought
Antal sidor424
FörlagColumbia University Press
ISBN9780231226004
UtmärkelserWinner of le Prix Colette Caillat 2017

Tillhör följande kategorier

Rättshistoria inom Juridik
Religion: allmänt inom Filosofi och religion
Hinduism inom Filosofi och religion

Patrick Olivelle is professor emeritus of Sanskrit and Indian religions at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India (2013); Visnu's Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Vaisnava Dharmasastra (2009); Dharma: Studies in Its Semantic, Cultural, and Religious History (2009); Manu's Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Manava-Dharmasastra (2005); and Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of Ancient India (1999).

PrefaceList of AbbreviationsIntroductionPart I: Nature and Epistemology of Law1. Early Thinkers2. Later Aphoristic Texts on Dharma3. Perspectives from Political Science: Kautilya (First–Second Century C.E.)4. Innovations of Manu (Mid-Second Century C.E.)5. Developments After Manu6. The School of Vedic Exegesis7. Early Commentators8. Medieval Commentators and SystematizersPart II: Courts of Law and Legal Procedure9. The Beginnings10. The Early Theorists11. The Mature Phase12. Early Commentators13. Medieval Commentators and SystematizersNotesGlossaryBibliographyIndex

Only Patrick Olivelle's unparalleled erudition could have assembled such an amazing range of dharma texts and commentaries, ranging from the most basic to the most esoteric. The translations are clear and vivid, and the more obscure points are illuminated by full and explicit introductions and notes. Particularly valuable is the attention paid to the legal aspect of dharma and to its history in Indian law. A perfect complement to Olivelle's definitive translations of the major dharma texts, this will be an essential volume in the library of every Sanskritist or student of Indian religion or law.