4 Dharmaśāstras and the Human Conduct

K Srinivas

1. Introduction

Dharmaśāstras are books concerning the code of human conduct in society. This post-Vedic literature is of immense importance to social life of individuals. They are practical expansions of the philosophy of action. Without proper code of conduct a society cannot progress. The teacher is called ācārya for the student gathers information from about the dharmas. Here in this context dharmas are understood as codes of human conduct. If mother and father produce the body of the baby the teacher gives his student a new birth in knowledge. In this lesson let us focus on Āpastamba-dharmasūtra, Guatama-dharmasūtra and the laws of Manu.

2. Āpastamba-dharmasūtra

It is a part of Kalpasūtra. According to this sūtra, the student must be soft, subdued, controlled in senses, and desist from doing anything wrong. He must be firm in his fortitude, and not lazy, not irascible, not jealous. The student should not indulge in self praise and must not run down others. It is held in this sūtra that one should not perform one’s ordained worldly duties with an end in view. Such duties do not bear any fruit in the end. Just as a fruit tree is planted for the sake of fruit, the tree provides us not only with fruit, but also with shade and fragrance. So also an ordained duty when performed is attended by material gains. One should not react to the words of hypocrite, the crook, the heretic, and the juvenile for they are not worthy of reaction. One should conform to the conduct, in all realms, that enjoys social sanction of the noble ones, well disciplined persons, elders, self-possessed and those who are free from avarice and vanity. This is the way that one gains the advantage of both the worlds.

Further it is said in this sūtra that there are evils that scorch the bodily elements. They are: anger, elation, avarice, delusion, vanity, enmity, speaking untruth, overeating, traducing others, jealousy, ill-feeling, passion, lack of self-possession and of mental concentration. These evils have to be destroyed through the practice of yoga. The approved form of conduct for all men in all stations of life include pleasantness, truth speaking, moderation in eating, refraining from talking ill about others, sharing one’s good things with others, sacrifice, straightforwardness, absence of cruelty, contentment, friendliness with all beings, softness, quietude, and self-control. By observing all these, one becomes universally benevolent. In addition to these, it is also suggested that what should be eaten by the householder and what should be offered to gods and other living beings in this sūtra. These offerings not only take one to heaven but also good for nourishment. After these offerings one has to feed those to whom priority is given. The guests are to be fed along with young, aged, invalid and pregnant women. The couple of the house should not turn away anyone who comes at the time of eating time and asks for food. If food is not available, they must be given a place for rest, water for refreshing oneself, a reed mat for relaxing. They must be welcomed with pleasing words. These are the things which we expect in the houses of all the good.

It is clearly mentioned in the Dharmaśāstras that there are four stations of life. They are: student stage, householder’s stage, forest dweller’s stage and the stage of a mendicant. One who renounces everything should go about without any sacrificial rite in fire, without a house, without any enjoyment, without seeking anybody’s shelter. He opens his mouth only to recite mantras like ‘AUM’. He accepts only that much from the village so as to keep his soul and body together. He should not indulge in any act for this worldly or otherworldly prospect.

3. Gautama – Dharmasūtra

According to this sūtra, besides forty sacraments, there are eight qualities of the soul. Some of the qualities overlap with the qualities highlighted in the Āpastamba. They are: forbearance, absence of jealousy, purity, moderation, auspiciousness, dignified conduct of one’s self and freedom from avarice. One who possessed all the sacraments but do not possess these required eight personal qualities would not attain the world of Brahmā. More than the sacraments the personal qualities are important for attaining the identity with Brahmā. The places for meditation are hills, all river beds, holy lakes, waters, and āśramas of holy sages, cow-pens and temples. Continence, truth speaking, ablutions in the morning, noon, and evening, remaining in wet clothes, lying on bare ground and fasting are penances.

3.1. Kriyāpāda of Gautama – Dharmasūtra

This is the practical aspect of the Gautama-dharmasūtra. The accepted conduct of men in society is as follows. One has to get up in the last quartet of the night with a composed mind by casting of sleep. The vital and falling breaths have to be controlled by invoking the Sun god in one’s heart. One should walk towards any water resource with one’s shoes on without treading on bones, excreta, urine, ash, and worms. The purpose is when one gets into the water source the source should not get polluted when one takes bath. Before entering into water one should leave all his belongings in a clean place. One should not answer the calls of nature in the precincts of sages, temples, gardens, anthills, water, land with cultivated crops, lake, hill, stone, holes, in front of open sky and quarters, others’ excreta, the moon, fire, the sun, cows, Brahmans, women, nor in shades of trees used for rest by travelers nor in ploughed field, road or water.

One must sit facing east without any distraction and clean one’s teeth with a green twig cut properly with skin and nodes, astringent, bitter or sharp in taste, from a thorn tree or of a fragrant smell. After cleaning one’s teeth the twig used must be thrown away with the recital of the prayer “O’ tree (twig), grant us longevity, strength, fame, lustre, progeny, cattle and wealth, sacred love, knowledge and intellect.” The sharp or bitter taste of the twig kills the germs in the mouth apart from cleaning the teeth. It is also suggested that one must take bath before the actual sunrise in the sea, confluence of sea and river, lake, tank, and river in order to destroy the heinous sins committed by one. From the midst of water one must pray gods, facing east, to get their blessings, pray sages, facing north, and the forefathers, facing south. After the bath one must twist one’s wet cloth to discharge water out of it with the words “Those born in our line and clan who passed away without sons, let them take this water offered by me by the pressing of wet cloth.”

After outer cleaning, the most important thing is inner cleaning or mental bath. Such inner cleaning is possible only when one contemplates on the all-pervasive Lord of the form of undiminished bliss and knowledge. Due to some exigencies of physical unfitness, unsuitability of time and place, all kinds of bath have equal sanctity. The mental bath is the most important one. There is another kind of bath called mantra bath. This is prescribed when one is ill or undergoing medical treatment or unable to go out due to local commotion for political reasons, fear of thieves etc. Further it is added that the bath loses its sanctity if one’s talk is unrestrained and the fire in which the oblations are offered is deprived of prosperity. Therefore one has to be silent at the time of bathing, worshipping, and eating.

It is also held that when there is a river one should not bath in other waters. Gaya, Ganges, Kurukshetra are the holy places for sacred baths. One should not splash water with one’s feet and should not enter water when one is full of dirt. Also, one has to keep the water clean by not discharging blood, excreta, urine, spit, and semen. After washing one’s feet and palms one should sit facing the east with a steady mind to worship Sandhyā. One has to practice the control of breath and without Sandhyā worship one is unfit for performing all other rites for the person is impure. After control of breath and sprinkling of water one should stand facing the Sun and take water in both palms and sanctify it with Gāyatrī maṅtra. Ten repetitions of Gāyatrī destroy the sins of the moment; a hundred the sins of the day and night, and thousand those of an year.

After this one has to go home and enter the room where the divine images are kept. One has to worship the God or Goddess of once choice. One must not forget to worship the teachers, elders and those who are great Vedic scholars. Until noon one should continue with the Vedic study, and then go for mid-day worship of the Sun. Only after that one must eat. The act of eating must be accompanied by the propitiation of fire with oblations. One should avoid sex during daytime. One must concentrate on the study of one’s philosophy until the evening worship of Sandhyā.

4. Manuśmŗti

The laws of Manu are supposed to be most sacred and recognized as the foremost code of conduct (dharma). Manu is known as man’s first progenitor and is praised in the Vedas that whatever is prescribed by Manu is considered medicine. The single syllable ‘AUM’ is the supreme Brahman. To control one’s breath is the supreme penance. There is nothing higher than the Gāyatrī. It is always advised to speak truth rather than keeping silent. Mere utterance of a maṅtra, a Brāhmin attains spiritual success to one. A Brāhmin is friend of all.

Brāhmins possess superior knowledge. Kşatriyas are known for their valour. Vysyās are known for their grain and money, and Sūdras by their ability to perform all the menial jobs. The teaching of good to people must be done non-violently. One who desires dharma must maintain sweet and fine talk. Even when one is harassed one should not loose temper and use harsh words against the other. The harsh words are against heaven. A Brāhmin should keep away from honours, and maintain his cool when humiliated and accept it as nectar. One who is humiliated sleeps happily, wakes up happily, and moves about in the world happily. But one who causes humiliation perishes.

Fathers, brothers, husbands and brothers-in-law should honour the brides and deck them, if they desire welfare. Where the women are honoured there are gods and are delighted. Where the women are dishonoured, there every act becomes fruitless. When a śrāddha is performed for forefathers, one should ask them to provide conducive atmosphere for the Vedic studies, and the increase in the family. The faith should not go away from our house, and let us have much to give others.

Even when one speaks truth do it in a pleasant manner but not in an unpleasant manner. Similarly, one should not speak untruth just because it is pleasant. This is the eternal dharma. Whatever rests on others is misery, and whatever rests on oneself is happiness. Although one is entitled to receive gifts, one should avoid an occasion for them. One’s spiritual effulgence vanishes by accepting gifts. After duly clearing one’s obligations to the great sages, ancestors, gods, and other living beings, one should entrust everything to son and slowly develop the sense of detachment from the worldly things by thinking about the good of his own soul.

Without killing and harming the living beings one cannot eat flesh. By killing living beings one would not attain heaven. Therefore, one should avoid eating flesh. The wise get purified by forbearance. The wrong doers must silently repeat mantras. The limbs are cleansed by water, the mind by truthfulness, the soul by learning and penance, and intellect by knowledge.

The housewife must always be cheerful and must be good in domestic work. She must keep herself clean in her domestic wares, and restrained in expenses. The woman of the house need not do any fasting, vow, and perform any sacrifice. She has to take care of her husband by that she attains heavens. Once the husband dies, the chaste wife reaches heavens even if she is childless. She must have perfect control over her mind, word and body.

For any twice-born there is no fear if he detaches himself from his body. He should rejoice neither in death nor in life. He should be looking forward to his time like an employee. He should endure highhanded criticism and should not insult anyone. In this body she should not pick up enmity with anyone. He should not return anger for anger; instead she should say a good word. According to Manu, nonviolence, truth speaking, non-stealing, purity, sense control are foremost parts of dharma and all the four varņas have to practice them. There are many more practices that are prohibited. They are: not doing one’s duties, performing condemned acts, addition to objects of senses killing a Brāhmin, drinking wine, theft, having a crush on elder’s wife or associating with those who commit above mentioned crimes. They are the sins. The sinner gets released from the sin by public confession, repentance, penance, repetition of holy maṅtras and by giving gifts. That which is hard to get over, hard to get, hard to reach, hard to do, can be achieved through penance. There is nothing which cannot be overcome by it.

5. Yājňavalkyaśmŗti

In this text one comes across the difference between fate and effort. According to Yājňavalkya, both fate and effort are equally important in achieving anything. He success is not merely dependent on any one of them. As a matter of fact, fate is only a consolidated force of the personal exertion in the previous birth. Just as a chariot’s progress is not dependent solely upon on a single wheel, without personal exertion, fate alone cannot bring any success.

One of the most important things that we come across in the Yājňavalkyaśmŗti is it is not wrong if a brāhmin performs a duties of a kşatriya or a vysyā when there is a need. However a brāhmin is prohibited from selling fruits, soma, silk, medicinal creepers, curd, milk, ghee, water, sesame seeds, cooked rice, heavy metals, acids and alkalis, honey, lac, requisites of Homa, cloth, stone, utensils flowers, vegetables, clay, leather shoes, deer-skin, silk, salt, meat, oil cakes, roots and perfumes. But some exemption is made with regard to some items. They can be sold along with sesame seeds, and grain for the purpose of a sacrifice. Even in dire necessity a brāhmin should not sell them. Instead he is advised to take up cultivation. Even horses cannot be sold.

6. Parāśaraśmriti

Parāśara was the grandson of the sage Vaśişţa. Parāśaraśmriti texts are meant for those who live in Kali-Yuga. Fools alone nurture anger and wise do not entertain it. As per law of karma, every individual reaps the fruits of his own actions. What is achieved by man with great difficulty gets ruined by anger. The fame, the austerities get nullified though anger. It prevents one from obtaining heaven or liberation. One must not get influenced by anger at any point of time. Anger leads to the spirits of darkness. There is no substitute for mercy. It is the only might of the righteous. According to the tradition, Krişņa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa, who codified the Vedas into Rg, Yajur, Sāma, and Atharva, was the son of Parāśara.

7. Summary

Dharmaśāstras of the great sages of the past intended to maintain greater cohesiveness among the various social groups existing in the ancient Hindu society. Since there was no other secular agency through which the moral conduct is imposed these śmŗti texts came handy to the citizens of society to maintain peace, harmony and both personal and social hygiene. Therefore, the function of any welfare society rests on a prescribed code of conduct which can be practiced by the members by discharging their assigned duties as obligations

Web links

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmaśāstra
•  http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/dharma/dharma_index.asp

Bibliography

• John, M. Koller. Oriental Philosophies. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1970.
• ……………….. The Indian Way. Delhi: Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2006.
• Kenneth, Morgan. The Religion of the Hindus. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1996.
• Monier, Willimas, Indian Wisdom. New Delhi: Rupa & Co, 2003.
• P.T. Raju, Structural Depths of Indian Thought. New Delhi: South Asia Publishers, 1985