Editing Manusmriti (section)

==Structure==
The ancient version of the text has been subdivided into twelve ''Adhyayas'' (chapters), but the original text had no such division.<ref name=olivellepage7>{{Cite book|last1=Manu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC|title=Manu's Code of Law|last2=Olivelle|first2=Alma Cowden Madden Centennial Professor in Liberal Arts Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions Patrick|last3=Olivelle|first3=Patrick|last4=umetnostite|first4=Makedonska akademija na naukite i|last5=Olivelle|first5=Suman|date=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press, US|isbn=978-0-19-517146-4|language=sa}}</ref> The text covers different topics, and is unique among ancient Indian texts in using "transitional verses" to mark the end of one subject and the start of the next.<ref name=olivellepage7/> The text can be broadly divided into four, each of different length. and each further divided into subsections:<ref name=olivellepage7/>
#Creation of the world
#Source of dharma
#The dharma of the four social classes
#Law of karma, rebirth and final liberation

The text is composed in metric ''Shlokas'' (verses), in the form of a dialogue between an exalted teacher and disciples who are eager to learn about the various aspects of [[dharma]].<ref name=olivellepage25>Patrick Olivelle (2005), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC&pg=PA25 Manu's Code of Law]'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195171464}}, pp. 25–27</ref> The first 58 verses are attributed by the text to [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]], while the remaining more than two thousand verses are attributed to his student [[Bhrigu]].<ref name=olivellepage25/> Olivelle lists the subsections as follows:<ref name=olivellepage9>Patrick Olivelle (2005), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC&pg=PA9 Manu's Code of Law]'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195171464}}, pp. 9–10</ref>

===Sources of the law===
The ''Dharmasya Yonih'' (Sources of the Law) has twenty-four verses and one transition verse.<ref name=olivellepage9/> These verses state what the text considers as the proper and just sources of law:

{{Blockquote|वेदोऽखिलो धर्ममूलं स्मृतिशीले च तद्विदाम् <nowiki>। आचारश्चैव साधूनामात्मनस्तुष्टिरेव च ॥</nowiki>

Translation 1: The whole Veda is the (first) source of the sacred law, next the tradition and the virtuous conduct of those who know the (Veda further), also the customs of holy men, and (finally) self-satisfaction (''Atmana santushti'').<ref name="manusmriti2">{{Cite book|last1=Manu (Lawgiver)|url=http://archive.org/details/lawsofman00manu|title=The laws of Manu|last2=BÃ¼hler|first2=Georg|date=1886|publisher=Oxford : The Clarendon Press|others=PIMS - University of Toronto}}</ref><br />
Translation 2: The root of the dharma is the entire Veda, and (then) the tradition and customs of those who know (the Veda), and the conduct of virtuous people, and what is satisfactory to oneself.<ref name=manusmriti3>Brian Smith and Wendy Doniger (1992), The Laws of Manu, Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0140445404}}, pp. 17–18</ref>
|Manusmriti 2.6}}

{{Blockquote|वेदः स्मृतिः सदाचारः स्वस्य च प्रियमात्मनः <nowiki>। एतच्चतुर्विधं प्राहुः साक्षाद् धर्मस्य लक्षणम् ॥</nowiki>

Translation 1: The Veda, the sacred tradition, the customs of virtuous men, and one's own pleasure, they declare to be the fourfold means of defining the sacred law.<ref name=manusmriti2/><br />
Translation 2: The Veda, tradition, the conduct of good people, and what is pleasing to oneself – they say that is four-fold mark of dharma.<ref name="manusmriti3"/>
|Manusmriti 2.12}}

This section of Manusmriti, like other Hindu law texts, includes fourfold sources of ''Dharma'', states Levinson, which include ''Atmana santushti'' (satisfaction of one's conscience), ''Sadachara'' (local norms of virtuous individuals), ''Smriti'' and ''Sruti''.<ref name=davidlevinson>David Levinson (2002), Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, Volume 1, SAGE Publications, {{ISBN|978-0761922582}}, p. 829</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Davis | first1 = Donald R. Jr. | year = 2007 | title = On Ātmastuṣṭi as a Source of ''Dharma'' | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume = 127 | issue = 3| pages = 279–296 }}</ref><ref>Werner Menski, ''Hindu Law: Beyond Tradition and Modernity'' (Delhi: Oxford UP, 2003), p. 126 and Domenico Francavilla, ''The Roots of Hindu Jurisprudence: Sources of Dharma and Interpretation in Mīmāṃsā and Dharmaśāstra''. Corpus Iuris Sanscriticum. Vol. 7 (Torino: CESMEO, 2006), pp. 165–176.</ref>

===Dharma of the four Varnas===
{{further|Varna (Hinduism)}}
*3.1 Rules Relating to Law (2.25 – 10.131)
**3.1.1 Rules of Action in Normal Times (2.26 – 9.336)
***3.1.1.1 Fourfold Dharma of a [[Brahmin]] (2.26 – 6.96) (contains the longest section of Manusmriti, 3.1, called ''dharmavidhi'')<ref name=olivellepage7/>
***3.1.1.2 Rules of Action for a [[Kshatriya|King]] (7.1 – 9.324) (contains 960 verses, includes description of institutions  and officials of state, how officials are to be appointed, tax laws, rules of war, the role and limits on the power of the king, and long sections on eighteen grounds for litigation, including those related to non-delivery under contract, breach of contract, non-payment of wages, property disputes, inheritance disputes, humiliation and defamation, physical assault, theft, violence of any form, injury, sexual crimes against women, public safety, and others; the section also includes rules of evidence, rules on interrogation of witnesses, and the organisation of court system)<ref name=olivellepage10>Patrick Olivelle (2005), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC&pg=PA10 Manu's Code of Law]'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195171464}}, pp. 10–15, 154–205</ref>
***3.1.1.3 Rules of Action for [[Vaiśya]]s and [[Śūdra]]s (9.326 – 9.335) (shortest section, eight rules for Vaishyas, two for Shudras, but some applicable laws to these two classes are discussed generically in verses 2.26 – 9.324)<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC&pg=PA16 Manu's Code of Law]'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195171464}}, pp. 16, 8–14, 206–207</ref>
**3.1.2 Rules of Action in Times of Adversity (10.1 – 11.129) (contains revised rules on the state machinery and four varnas in the times of war, famine or other emergencies)<ref name=olivellepage16>Patrick Olivelle (2005), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC&pg=PA16 Manu's Code of Law]'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195171464}}, pp. 16–17, 208–229</ref>
*3.2 Rules Relating to Penance (11.1 – 11.265) (includes rules of proportionate punishment; instead of fines, incarceration or death, discusses penance or social isolation as a form of punishment for certain crimes)<ref name=olivellepage16/>

The verses 6.97, 9.325, 9.336 and 10.131 are transitional verses.<ref name=olivellepage9/> Olivelle notes instances of likely interpolation and insertions in the notes to this section, in both the presumed vulgate version and the critical edition.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2005), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC&pg=PA237 Manu's Code of Law]'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195171464}}, pp. 237–350, 914–982</ref>

===Determination of Karmayoga===
The verses 12.1, 12.2 and 12.82 are transitional verses.<ref name=olivellepage9/> This section is in a different style than the rest of the text, raising questions of whether this entire chapter was added later. While there is evidence that this chapter was extensively redacted over time, it is unclear whether the entire chapter is of a later era.<ref name=olivellepage18/>
*4.1 Fruits of Action (12.3–81) (section on actions and consequences, personal responsibility, action as a means of [[moksha]] – the highest personal bliss)<ref name=olivellepage18>Patrick Olivelle (2005), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC&pg=PA10 Manu's Code of Law]'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195171464}}, pp. 10, 17–19, 230–236, 290–292</ref>
*4.2 Rules of Action for Supreme Good (12.83–115) (section on karma, duties and responsibilities as a means of supreme good)<ref name=olivellepage18/>

The closing verses of Manusmriti declare,
{{Blockquote|
<poem>
एवं यः सर्वभूतेषु पश्यत्यात्मानमात्मना <nowiki>। स सर्वसमतामेत्य ब्रह्माभ्येति परं पदम् ॥</nowiki>
He who thus recognizes in his individual soul (Self, [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]]), the universal soul that exists in all beings,
becomes equal-minded towards all, and enters the highest state, [[Brahman]].
</poem>
|Manusmriti 12.125, Calcutta manuscript with Kulluka Bhatta commentary<ref>Robert Lingat (1973), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Sauo8iSIj7YC&pg=PA86 The Classical Law of India]'', University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0520018983}}, p. 86</ref><ref name="manusmriti2"/>}}