Chapter 3.1 - Introduction

The Smṛtis are the most important records of development of law in India. According to Richard W. Lariviere, the Dharmaśāstra literature represents a peculiarly Indian record of local social norms, traditional standards of behaviour and in very definite terms, the law of the land.^[1] It has been stated in the previous chapter that Yājñavalkya has introduced for the first time a distinct division in his Smṛti and has established law in the Vyavahārādhyāya as an independent subject, bifurcating from religious and penance provisions, in the nature of a profound jurist. The chapter Vyavahārādhyāya of the Yājñavalkyasmṛti has not dealt with social matters properly, but it has laid down legal rules. However, while prescribing the law to regulate individual and the society, it has to take notice of the facts of the social life of that time, as law and society are related to each other.

Law is considered as a form of social control and thus, it is a mechanism by which the activities of all members within a society are regulated or governed. To keep pace with the necessity of the society, law needs to be changed with the changes that take place in the society. The same is also true in case of ancient Indian legal system. It may be presumed rightly that different the Smṛtis have been composed to conform to the changing needs of society. As a result, Hindu law has grown with the growth and development of Hindu Society. Therefore, law reflects the public opinion of the time and more than any other branch, law is the mirror of contemporary society. Generally, statutory provisions in jurisprudence are made either to prescribe, or to prohibit the practices found in the society.

The Vyavahārādhyāya of the Yājñavalkyasmṛti seems to be the testimony to the solutions of problems of its contemporary society. Hence, an attempt is made in this chapter to glean the materials of various social and economic aspects of the contemporary society of the Yājñavalkyasmṛti, based on incidental references, which are interspersed with varied details of the Vyavahārādhyāya. It is also necessary to examine the socio-economic aspects of the Yājñavalkyasmṛti in comparison to the earlier Smṛtis to get a clear idea, specifically, with reference to the Manusmṛti and the Dharmasūtras, which precede the Yājñavalkyasmṛti. A comparative view of both the Smṛtikāras, i.e. Manu and Yājñavalkya will help to understand the relative changes in the society.