oxford world’s classics DHARMASU¯ TRAS Patrick Olivelle is the Chair, Department of Asian Studies, and Director, Center for Asian Studies, at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is the Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions. Among his recent publications are The Sam. nya¯sa Upanis.ads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceticism and Renunciation (Oxford, 1992), The A¯s´rama System: History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution (Oxford, 1993), Rules and Regulations of Brahmanical Asceticism (State University of New York Press, 1994), and The Early Upanis.ads: Annotated Text and Translation (Oxford, 1998). His translations of Upanis.ads and Pañcatantra were published in Oxford World’s Classics in 1996 and 1997. oxford world’s classics For almost 100 years Oxford World’s Classics have brought readers closer to the world’s great literature. Now with over 700 titles––from the 4,000-year-old myths of Mesopotamia to the twentieth century’s greatest novels––the series makes available lesser-known as well as celebrated writing. The pocket-sized hardbacks of the early years contained introductions by Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene, and other literary figures which enriched the experience of reading. Today the series is recognized for its fine scholarship and reliability in texts that span world literature, drama and poetry, religion, philosophy and politics. Each edition includes perceptive commentary and essential background information to meet the changing needs of readers. OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS Dharmasu¯tras The Law Codes of A¯pastamba, Gautama, Baudha¯yana, and Vasis.t.ha Translated from the Original Sanskrit and Edited by PATRICK OLIVELLE 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogotá Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris São Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw with associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Patrick Olivelle 1999 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published as an Oxford World’s Classics paperback 1999 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organizations. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data available ISBN 0–19–283882–2 13579108642 Typeset by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk Printed in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman Ltd., Reading, Berkshire For Anne, Gregory, and Richard kalya¯n.amitrebhyah. This page intentionally left blank PREFACE In 1879 George Bühler published his English translation of the Dharmasu¯tras of A¯ pastamba and Gautama under the title The Sacred Laws of the A¯ryas as the second volume of the Sacred Books of the East edited by Max Müller. Three years later he brought out the translations of Vasis.t.ha and Baudha¯yana, and in 1886 he published the translation of the law book of Manu (Manu Smrti) in the same series. With the benefit of a hundred ˚ years of scholarship and numerous printed editions of the Dharmasu¯tras to work from, it is easy to find fault with his pioneering translations. But Bühler had to work directly from manuscripts and without the benefit of much that scholars today take for granted. I have benefited enormously from his translation and from his thorough and detailed comments in the introductions and notes. I want to acknowledge my deep debt of gratitude to Bühler’s pioneering work. There are many individuals and institutions that helped me during the years when I was preparing this translation. A Guggenheim Fellowship and a faculty research assignment from the University of Texas in 1996–7 allowed me a year’s freedom to concentrate on several research projects, including this trans- lation. Ludo Rocher came to the rescue and made sense of several difficult and corrupt passages, as did Richard Lariviere. Gregory Schopen read the introduction and much of the trans- lation and as usual made wise and judicious suggestions. Their input has made this work better and the translations more accurate and accessible. My wife, Suman, read the entire work several times and caught numerous errors and lapses. I want to thank her and my daughter, Meera, for their love and support. The editorial staff in Oxford, especially Judith Luna, Joanna Rabiger, and Elizabeth Stratford, have been friendly, efficient, and generous. Thanks to all of them. vii This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Abbreviations x Guide to the Pronunciation of Sanskrit Words xii Bibliography xiv Introduction xxi Literary History xxi Authorship and Dates xxv Literary Structure xxxiv Semantics and Sources of Dharma xxxvii Divergent Voices xlii Note on the Translation xliv DHARMASU¯ TRAS A¯ pastamba 3 Gautama 74 Baudha¯yana 127 Vasis.t.ha 244 Appendices i. Ritual Vocabulary 327 ii. Names of Gods, People, and Places 341 iii. Fauna and Flora 348 Notes A¯ pastamba 353 Gautama 373 Baudha¯yana 379 Vasis.t.ha 390 Index 399 ix ABBREVIATIONS AA¯ pastamba Dharmasu¯tra AA Aitareya A¯ ran. yaka AB Aitareya Bra¯hman. a AG A¯ pastamba Grhyasu¯tra, tr. Oldenberg (1878–86) AnSS A¯ nanda¯s´rama˚ Sanskrit Series A¯ rs.BA¯ rs.eya Bra¯hman. a B Baudha¯yana Dharmasu¯tra BU Brhada¯ran. yaka Upanis.ad, tr. Olivelle (1996) ˚ CU Cha¯ndogya Upanis.ad, tr. Olivelle (1996) G Gautama Dharmasu¯tra GoB Gopatha Bra¯hman. a HOS Harvard Oriental Series KaU Kat.ha Upanis.ad, tr. Olivelle (1996) KS Ka¯thaka Samhita¯ M Manu Smrti ˚ MNU Maha¯na¯ra¯yan. a Upanis.ad MuU Mun. daka Upanis.ad, tr. Olivelle (1996) MS Maitra˙¯yani Samhita¯ PG Pa¯raskara Grhyasu¯tra, tr. Oldenberg (1878–86) ˚ PMS Pu¯rvamı¯ma¯m. sa¯ Su¯tra RV R gveda ˚ SadBSadvim. s´a Bra¯hman. a ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ Sa¯mB Sa¯mavidha¯na Bra¯hman. a SB S´atapatha Bra¯hman. a SBE Sacred Books of the East SG S´a¯n˙kha¯yana Grhyasu¯tra, tr. Oldenberg (1878–86) SV Sa¯maveda ˚ TA Taittirı¯ya A¯ ran. yaka TB Taittirı¯ya Bra¯hman. a TS Taittirı¯ya Sam. hita¯ TU Taittirı¯ya Upanis.ad, tr. Olivelle (1996) Va Vasis.t .ha Dharmasu¯tra Vi Vis.n. u Smrti Vkh Vaikha¯nasa˚ Dharmasu¯tra, tr. Caland (1929) x Abbreviations VkhG Vaikha¯nasa Grhyasu¯tra, tr. Caland (1929) ˚ VS Va¯jasaneyi Sam. hita¯ WZKSA Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens YYa¯jñavalkya Smrti ZDMG Zeitschrift der Deutschen˚ Morgenländischen Gesellschaft xi GUIDE TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF SANSKRIT WORDS Sanskrit words, including proper names, are printed here with diacritical marks. Sanskrit diacritics are simple and, with a min- imum of effort, should enable the reader to pronounce these words properly. A general rule is that an ‘h’ after a consonant is not a separate letter but merely represents the aspirated version of a consonant. Thus ‘bh’ is pronounced somewhat as in ‘abhor’, and ‘ph’ not as in ‘physics’ but as in ‘shepherd’. The dental group of consonants (t, th, d, dh, n) are distinguished from the retroflex group indicated by a dot placed beneath (t., t.h, d, dh, n. ). The distinction in their pronunciation is somewhat di˙ ffi˙cult for the Western ear. The dentals are pronounced with the tip of the tongue placed behind the upper front teeth, and the sound is similar to the way these letters are pronounced in Romance languages such as French (e.g. toi, de). The English pronunciation of these letters is closer to the Sanskrit retroflex, but the latter is pronounced with the tip of the tongue striking the roof of the mouth further back. Thus ‘t.’ is somewhat like t in ‘try’, and ‘d’ is like d in dental. The difference between the dental ˙ ‘n’ and retroflex ‘n. ’ is very difficult for untrained ears to dis- tinguish and is better ignored. The same applies to the palatal sibilant ‘s´’ and the retroflex ‘s.’; both may be pronounced as sh in ‘shame’. ‘m. ’ nasalizes the preceding vowel sound, as in French bon. ‘h.’, with a dot underneath and most frequently at the end of a word, is a pure aspiration and is to be distinguished from the consonant ‘h’. In practice, the vowel sound preceding it is pronounced faintly; thus ‘h.’ of bhuvoh. is pronounced like the ho in Soho when it is pronounced with the accent on the first syl- lable and the second shortened. Finally, an apostrophe before a word indicates an elided ‘a’, which is not pronounced. xii Guide to the Pronunciation of Sanskrit Words Pronounce Sanskrit as in English a cut a¯ far i sit ¯ı me u put u¯ too r risk ˚ e pray o hope ai sigh au sound c church g give n˙ anger ñ punching xiii BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources Aitareya A¯ran.yaka, ed. A. B. Keith (reprint, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969).