The Spirit of Hindu Law

This introduction to Hindu law and jurisprudence questions the traditional perception of law, and reveals law's close linkage with religion.

Donald R. Davis, Jr (Author)

9781107627574, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 22 August 2013

208 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.2 cm, 0.31 kg

Review of the hardback: 'The Spirit of Hindu Law is a learned yet accessible and lucidly written overview of Hindu modes of legal thinking through detailed examination of Dharmasastra texts and commentaries. Focusing on Hindu law in its close connection to theology and ordinary life, Davis opens up a complex world of legal concepts and practices to the specialist and non-specialist alike. Illuminating comparisons are drawn throughout to our own Euro-American legal tradition, including a fascinating analogy between the Mimamsa hermeneutic project and the modern-day filing of federal income tax forms! This volume will appeal to anyone interested in Indian intellectual history, the study of South Asian religions, and comparative ethics and law. Anne E. Monius, Harvard Divinity School

Law is too often perceived solely as state-based rules and institutions that provide a rational alternative to religious rites and ancestral customs. The Spirit of Hindu Law uses the Hindu legal tradition as a heuristic tool to question this view and reveal the close linkage between law and religion. Emphasizing the household, the family, and everyday relationships as additional social locations of law, it contends that law itself can be understood as a theology of ordinary life. An introduction to traditional Hindu law and jurisprudence, this book is structured around key legal concepts such as the sources of law and authority, the laws of persons and things, procedure, punishment and legal practice. It combines investigation of key themes from Sanskrit legal texts with discussion of Hindu theology and ethics, as well as thorough examination of broader comparative issues in law and religion.

List of tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction (dharma??stra)
1. Sources and theologies (pram?na)
2. Hermeneutics and ethics (m?m?ms?)
3. Debt and meaning (rna)
4. Persons and things (svatva)
5. Doubts and disputes (vyavah?ra)
6. Rectitude and rehabilitation (danda)
7. Law and practice (?c?ra)
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Jurisprudence & general issues [LA], Buddhism [HRE]