Dharma Shashtras

Vedic texts are a large body of knowledge which are the underpinning for the development of humanity. Vedas contain the philosophy, rituals, procedures and practical understanding based on which humanity should conduct themselves.

As people learned the Vedas and as humanity evolved over a period of time, the dharma sastras originated.

In simple words dharma sastras are Vedic texts, which provide a comprehensive knowledge and wisdom for living righteously.

Vedic rishis like Manu, Yajnyavalkya, Apastamba, and Parashara compiled dharma sastras. Manu’s work, called the ‘Manava-Dharma-Sastra’ or Manu-Smriti, was considered most popular, authoritative and a rich genre of text.

There are two epic itihasas in India, one is the Ramayana and the second is the Mahabharata. The underlying message of these two epic stories is that humanity should stick to dharma and protect dharma for it to protect mankind eventually.

My attempt has been, and will continue to be, to interpret and share summaries of various ancient texts on dharma, which can help the larger world conduct ethical living and establish societal order.

You can expect some blogs too on these topics from me.