manu law

M anu is regarded as one of the greatest legal and 
social philosophers of the world. In the world of 
jurisprudence and sociology, the Institutes of Manu are 
more ancient than those of Justinian in Roman Law and 
are more far-reaching and pervasive and more ancient 
than the laws of Solon or Lycurgus. 

The origin of Manu is lost in mystery and antiquity 
In the Manusamhita (I. 34.35) it has been said that being 
desirous of creating mankind, Manu performed very 
difficult religious austerities and created ten great rishis or 
sages who visualised the entire evolution of human 
destiny across ail time and space. These seers were 
Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Prachetas, 
Vasistha, Bhrigu and Narada. The Code of Manu from the 
theological aspect is regarded as emanating from God, the 
Lord of creation. It was Manu who first expressed this 
divine revelation to mankind. He is, therefore, regarded 
as the first lawgiver of the world. He successfully taught 
Marichi and other holy sages including Bhrigu. 

In this celebrated Preface to the Institutes or 
Ordinances of Manu, published in 1794, Sir William Jones 
described him as originator of laws in these terms: 

Law in all its branches, which the Hindus firmly 
believe to have been promulgated in the beginning of 
time by Manu, son or grandson of Brahma, or, in 
plain language, the first of created beings, and not 
the oldest only, but the holiest of legislators; a system

Manu's great contribution to Indian culture and to 
the world as a social and legal philosopher may now be 
broadly assessed. 

It is laid down in the Code of Manu that there are 
four sources of all laws. The first is the Vedas, the 
immanent and the eternal laws of the Universe. They 
provide the universal elements of all laws. The second is 
the Smriti which etymologically means, "carried down 
through remembrance or memory". These Smritis are the 
principal source of lawyers' laws. They, however, also 
contain discourses on subjects other than positive law. 
The Smritis are to be distinguished from the Srutis, which 
contain very little of lawyers' law but are more concerned 
with religion, spiritual knowledge and liberation. The 
Srutis comprise the four Vedas, the six Vedangas and the 
Upanishads. The Dharmasastra is the expression often 
used to designate the Smriti alone to emphasise their 
practical importance. Therefore, Manu says, "by Sruti is 
known the Vedas and by Smriti the Dharmasastra." 

Manu's greatest contribution was the concept of law 
as Dharma. Etymologically, Dharma is what upholds and sustains. Law is, therefore, that which sustains and not 
destroys. Law is what unites and binds and not what 
separates. In that sense, Manu anticipated by centuries the 
modern sociological school of jurisprudence. 

The third source of law, according to Manu, is 
custom or approved usage. Customs or approved usages 
represent the social wisdom and the social experience of 
the community. Manu is practically the first legal 
philosopher to indicate that much of the law is custom 
regulating society. This also has a sociological connotation 
for law but is more modern than the Justinian concept of 
law as the command of human superior. According to 
Manu, the two characteristics of approved custom must 
be sadachara and sistachara. In other words, custom to 
become law must not be immoral and must be generally 
acceptable as a binding discipline. 

The fourth source of law, according to Manu, is 
"what is agreeable to one's soul or good conscience." Here 
again Manu was anticipating equity and good conscience 
as a source of law. It may come through sadachara or 
sistachara, but it is also an evolving or developing 
conscience as the human society progresses from one level 
to another. 

These four sources of law, according to Manu, will be 
found in the Manusmriti ii, 12. Manu can be regarded as 
the first legal and social philosopher of the world to point 
out, analyse and lay down the sources of law. 

One very distinctive contribution of Manu to the 
theory of law and its practice is the idea of relativity of 
law according to time and country. Law includes both 
universal and local features. Its universal elements are 
inexorable, while its local elements are flexible. 

It is astonishing to find in so ancient a Code like the 
Institutes of Manu or the Dharmasastra the detailed 
description of the Forms of Action in Courts of Law. In the 
Manusmriti viii-2-7, this is the description which occurs: