RBSE VU Dharma Shastra cheat sheet

Shruti ("that which is heard") denotes the Vedas: four Samhitas plus Brahmana, Aranyaka, and Upanishad layers; it is held to be authorless (apaurusheya) and therefore the highest authority.

Smriti ("that which is remembered") covers Dharma Sutras, Dharma Shastra texts, the two Epics, and Puranas; it is human-authored tradition and ranks below Shruti in authority.

Manu 2.6 names the entire Veda as the first source of dharma, then tradition (smriti), the conduct of the good, and finally what is pleasing to oneself (atmatusti).

Manu 2.10-11 states that Shruti and Smriti do not contradict each other: where a Smriti conflicts with Shruti, the Shruti prevails.

Yajnavalkya 1.7 gives a similar hierarchy: Shruti, Smriti, the conduct of the virtuous (sadachara), and what is agreeable to one's own conscience.

The Mimamsa school holds the Vedas to be eternal and intrinsically valid (svatah pramanya), with Vedic injunctions (vidhi) as the sole source of dharma proper.

Custom (achara) functions as a subsidiary source: Manu 8.41-46 and Yajnavalkya 2.21-23 recognize established local and family custom where it does not conflict with scripture.

Apaurusheyatva, the authorlessness of the Vedas, is the doctrinal basis for their primacy; Smriti texts derive authority from their conformity to Shruti.

The four Samhitas are Rigveda (hymns, hotri priest), Samaveda (melodies, udgatri priest), Yajurveda (formulas, adhvaryu priest), and Atharvaveda (spells and healing, brahma priest).

Each Veda has four layers: Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka, Upanishad; the Brahmanas explain ritual procedure and its meaning, the Aranyakas are forest texts, and the Upanishads teach knowledge of Brahman.

The Rigveda Samhita contains 10 mandalas with 1,028 hymns (suktas); mandalas 2-7 are the oldest family books, and mandala 10 includes the Purusha Sukta (10.90).

The Yajurveda exists in two recensions: Shukla (White, with the Shatapatha Brahmana, which contains the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad) and Krishna (Black, with the Taittiriya Samhita and Taittiriya Upanishad).

The principal Upanishads traditionally number twelve to thirteen; the Muktika list names 108, and Shankara commented on about ten to eleven.

The Shrauta ritual uses three sacred fires (garhapatya, ahavaniya, dakshina) and the Soma sacrifice (jyotishtoma); the Grihya Sutras govern domestic rites.

The Aranyakas bridge Brahmana ritual and Upanishadic knowledge, and the Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads are the oldest and longest of the principal Upanishads.

The four Vedangas are Shiksha (phonetics), Chandas (meter), Vyakarana (grammar), Nirukta (etymology), Jyotisha (astronomy), and Kalpa (ritual), which total six auxiliary disciplines.

The Dharma Sutras, older than the Dharma Shastras, are the prose ritual and legal manuals of the Vedic schools: Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhayana, Vasishtha, and others.

The Manusmriti (Manava Dharmashastra) has 12 chapters and about 2,694 verses; chapters 1-6 are on creation, education, marriage, and the stages of life, and chapters 7-12 are on the king, law, and penance.

The Yajnavalkya Smriti has three chapters (achara, vyavahara, prayashchitta) and about 1,010 verses; its systematic law section made it a main subject of the commentaries, including the Mitakshara of Vijnaneshvara.

The Narada Smriti, extant in an early form (probably 5th-6th century CE), is chiefly a procedural law text on vyavahara; it is often called the Naradiya Dharmashastra.

Other major texts are the Brihaspati Smriti, Katyayana Smriti, Vishnu Smriti, Parashara Smriti, and the Arthashastra of Kautilya, which treats statecraft and law in a separate tradition.

The Manusmriti's authority rests on its early prestige and its use in colonial-era British Indian law, not on any claim to be the only or the most ancient text.

The Dharmashastra tradition is one of the oldest and most influential sources of Hindu law; the texts were composed over many centuries, with Manu probably between 200 BCE and 200 CE.

The Mitakshara commentary on Yajnavalkya and the Dayabhaga of Jimutavahana are the two main schools of Hindu inheritance law.

The four varnas are Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra; the classical duties (svadharma) are teaching and learning, protection, trade and agriculture, and service.

The four ashramas are brahmacharya (student), grihastha (householder), vanaprastha (forest-dweller), and sannyasa (renunciant); the first three are the "twice-born" varnas, marked by the upanayana.

Brahmacharya is the stage of Vedic study with the teacher, and grihastha is the central stage of marriage, sacrifice, and charity, which supports the other three stages.

Vanaprastha and sannyasa are optional and progressive: the forest-dweller moves away from household ritual, and the sannyasi renounces all ritual and social ties.

The varnashrama system is idealized as a division of duties, not of birth; the Bhagavad Gita 4.13 and 18.41-44 describe it as based on qualities (guna) and actions (karma).

The doctrine of svadharma holds that performing one's own duty imperfectly is better than performing another's duty well (Bhagavad Gita 3.35 and 18.47).

Manu 2.224-237 and 6.1-97 describe the stages: the student's rules, the householder's duties, the forest-dweller's austerities, and the sannyasi's wandering and meditation.

The ashrama scheme is not uniform across texts: the Baudhayana and Apastamba Dharma Sutras present variants, and the four-stage model is a later systematization.

The classical list has sixteen samskaras; the Grihya Sutras describe the domestic rites, and the Dharma Shastras add the social and legal dimensions.

The prenatal and infant rites are garbhadhana (conception), pumsavana (male child), simantonnayana (hair-parting), jatakarma (birth), namakarana (naming), nishkramana (first outing), annaprashana (first solid food), and chudakarana (tonsure).

The upanayana (sacred thread) marks entry into brahmacharya for the twice-born: the traditional ages are eight for a Brahmana, eleven for a Kshatriya, and twelve for a Vaishya.

The four life-stage (ashrama) samskaras are upanayana, vivaha (marriage), vanaprastha, and sannyasa.

The funeral rites (antyeshti) are the final samskara; the body is cremated, and the shraddha rites and pinda offerings follow at prescribed intervals.

The samskaras are held to purify the body and mind and to qualify the person for Vedic study and ritual; the Manusmriti treats the upanayana as the second birth (dvija).

The number and order vary by text: the Grihya Sutras list about twelve to eighteen, and the sixteen-samskara list became standard in later digests.

The jatakarma, namakarana, and annaprashana are domestic (grihya) rites performed by the householder, while the shrauta rites require the three sacred fires.

Rajadharma is the king's duty to protect subjects, uphold varna and ashrama, and punish the wicked; the king's authority is conditional on dharma, not absolute.

Manu 7.1-31 describes the king as created from divine particles for the protection of the world, and 7.13-19 requires him to appoint ministers and spies and to maintain an army and fort.

The Arthashastra of Kautilya (c. 4th century BCE to 3rd century CE) is the main treatise on statecraft, covering taxation, diplomacy, espionage, and the seven limbs of the state (saptanga).

The seven limbs (prakriti) are svami (king), amatya (minister), janapada (territory and people), durga (fort), kosha (treasury), danda (army), and mitra (ally).

The king's judicial duty is to decide cases with the aid of learned Brahmanas; Manu 8.1-10 describes the court and the eight elements of a legal proceeding.

The doctrine of danda (punishment) holds that punishment maintains order; excessive or unjust punishment destroys the state (Manu 7.17-31).

The Rajadharma includes the king's duty to be accessible to subjects, to protect the weak, and to set an example by his own conduct, and the king's own misdeeds are to be checked by the assembly and the learned.

The idea of the king as a servant of dharma, not its owner, is a recurring theme: the king protects dharma and dharma protects the king (Manu 8.15-18).

Vyavahara (legal dispute) is divided into eighteen titles of law (vyavaharapada), including debt, deposit, partnership, sale, boundary disputes, assault, theft, and inheritance.

The classical trial has four stages: the plaint (purva paksha), the reply (uttara), the evidence (sadhana), and the decision (nirnaya).

The recognized means of proof (pramana) are documents (likhita), witnesses (sakshi), possession (bhukti), and ordeals (divya); ordeals are discussed by Narada and later texts.

The ordeals (divya) include fire, water, poison, sacred libation, and balance; they were a last resort when documentary and witness evidence failed.

Prayashchitta is the expiation of sin through penance, distinct from civil compensation (damages) to the injured party; the two can be combined.

Manu 11.1-260 and Yajnavalkya 3.1-330 treat prayashchitta: penances include fasting (kricchra), recitation (japa), gifts (dana), and pilgrimage (tirtha).

The doctrine of karma underlies prayashchitta: sin (papa) produces future suffering, and penance removes or mitigates it; the Dharmashastra texts list graded penances by caste and offense.

The distinction between civil (vyavahara) and criminal (danda) matters is not absolute in the texts: theft, assault, and adultery appear in both the eighteen titles and the penance sections.

The four purusharthas are dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth and power), kama (desire and pleasure), and moksha (liberation); dharma is the regulating principle of the other three.

Karma is the law of action and consequence: good actions yield merit (punya) and bad actions yield demerit (papa), and the results (phala) accrue to the agent.

The three kinds of karma are sanchita (accumulated), prarabdha (begun, now ripening), and kriyamana (being made now); the Agami category is sometimes added.

Rebirth (samsara) is the cycle of birth and death driven by karma; the Bhagavad Gita 2.22 and 2.27 describe the soul's passing from body to body.

Moksha is release from samsara; the paths are karma yoga (action), jnana yoga (knowledge), and bhakti yoga (devotion), as taught in the Bhagavad Gita.

The doctrine of karma is not fatalism: the Gita 6.5 urges one to raise oneself by oneself, and present action shapes future results.

The purusharthas are described in the Dharmashastra texts as a hierarchy in which dharma governs artha and kama, and moksha is the final aim.

The karma doctrine is shared with Jainism and Buddhism, but the Hindu texts ground it in the authority of the Vedas and in the eternal self (atman).

Jain dharma centers on ahimsa (non-violence), anekantavada (many-sidedness), and aparigraha (non-possession); the five vows add truthfulness and chastity to non-violence.

Jain karma is a material substance (pudgala) that binds the soul (jiva); liberation (kevala and moksha) requires the removal of karma through austerity and right knowledge.

Buddhist dharma (Dhamma) is taught in the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path; it is not a theistic law but a description of conditionality (paticca-samuppada).

Buddhism rejects the permanent self (anatta) and caste by birth; the Sangha is open to all, and the Vinaya governs monastic discipline.

Sikh dharma teaches the oneness of God (Ik Onkar), the equality of all people, and the rejection of caste and ritual purity; the Guru Granth Sahib is the eternal Guru.

The Sikh ethical code includes the three duties: nam japna (remembrance of God), kirat karni (honest work), and vand chhakna (sharing with others).

All four traditions share karma and rebirth in some form, but they differ on the self: Hindu atman is permanent, Jain jiva is a permanent substance, and Buddhist anatta denies a permanent self.

The Sikh tradition rejects the authority of the Vedas and the Dharmashastra texts, while Jain and Buddhist canons form separate scriptural authorities.