Vashistha_Dharmasutra
Vashistha Dharmasutra
Sanskrit Dharmasutras of Hinduism
The Vashistha Dharmasutra is one of the few surviving ancient Sanskrit Dharmasutras of Hinduism.[1] It is reverentially named after a Rigvedic sage Vashistha who lived in the 2nd millennium BCE, but the text was probably composed by unknown authors between 300 BCE – 100 CE.[2][3] It forms an independent text and other parts of the Kalpasūtra, that is Shrauta- and Grihya-sutras are missing.[4] It is written in sutra style,[1] and contains 1,038 sutras.[5] According to Patrick Olivelle – a professor of Sanskrit and Indian religions, the text may be dated closer to the start of the common era, possibly the 1st century, since it uses the pronoun "I" and a style as if the text is a personal teaching guide, and because it is the oldest Indian text that mentions "the use of written evidence in judicial proceedings".[6]
Like the dozens of other texts in this genre, the Vashistha Dharmasutra is a treatise on Dharma that discusses duties, responsibilities and ethics to oneself, to family and as a member of society. This Dharmasūtra is likely of a later date than the Gautama and Baudhayana Dharmasutras that have also survived.[7] However, like many Dharmasutras and Dharmasastras of Hinduism, the manuscripts of this text that have survived show evidence of revisions and some very corrupt passages.[8] The chapters of Vashistha Dharmasutra are arranged in the manner of later Smritis.[8][9]