“hearing,” the dharmasu ̄tras aresmr.ti“recollection.” Some of the dharmasu ̄tras
start with the phrase: “the source ofdharma is the Veda.” The fact that not all
rules on dharma can be found in the Vedas was accounted for by means of a
variety of fictions, resulting in the belief either that the .rs.iswho were privileged
to “see” the Veda did notsee it in its entirety, or that parts of the Veda are lost to
us. And, even though the dharmas ́a ̄stras make it clear that in case of conflict
between the s ́ruti and the smr.ti, the former prevails, the smr.ti, occasionally
supplemented by the behavior (a ̄ca ̄ra) agreed on by those who know the Veda, is
considered to be a source ofdharma which is “eternal” (sana ̄tana):thesana ̄tana-
dharma has been revealed once, perfectly, for all time to come.
Few dharmasu ̄tras have been preserved. Four of them were translated with
extensive introductions and notes, more than a century ago, by Georg Bühler,
in volumes II (A ̄pastamba and Gautama) and XIV (Vasis.t.ha and Baudha ̄yana)
of F. Max Müller’s Sacred Books of the East series. Recently, Oxford University
Press published a new translation of the four su ̄tra texts (Olivelle 1999; the trans-
lation of each dharmasu ̄tra is preceded by a detailed survey of its contents).
Even though the .rs.iGautama is traditionally connected with the Sa ̄maveda,
the Gautamadharmasu ̄tra is not part of any known kalpasu ̄tra. It may not
have been the first dharmasu ̄tra since it refers to earlier a ̄ca ̄ryas“teachers,”
but there seems to be general, though not absolute, agreement that the
Gautamadharmasu ̄tra is older than any of the other preserved dharmasu ̄tras to
none of which it alludes. Differently from the other dharmasu ̄tras, it is entirely in
prose, without inserting any verses either as part of the text or in the form of
quotations from earlier sources. It is divided into 28 adhya ̄yas(“chapters”), either
numbered throughout from 1 to 28, or numbered separately within three
pras ́nas(“questions”) containing 9, 9, and 10 adhya ̄yasrespectively. Hence a ref-
erence to a particular Gautama su ̄tra may consist of either two or three digits:
10.1=2.1.1; 19.1 =3.1.1.
Some scholars consider not the Gautamadharmasu ̄tra but the A ̄pastambadhar-
masu ̄tra to be the oldest preserved dharmasu ̄tra. In this case the dharmasu ̄tra is an
integral part (chapters 28–9; chapter 27 contains the gr.hyasu ̄tra, chapter 30 the
s ́ulbasu ̄tra) of the s ́rautasu ̄tra of the A ̄pastamba school of the Taittirı ̄yabranch of
the Black (kr.s.n.a)Yajurveda. The text is subdivided into two pras ́nas, each of which
contains 11 pat.alas(“baskets”); concurrently with the pat.alasthe first pras ́na
comprises 32, and the second pras ́na 29 khan.das(“sections”). A reference to an
A ̄pastambasu ̄tra contains four digits, e.g. 1 (pras ́na), 11 (pat.ala), 32 (khan.d.a), 1
(su ̄tra); some omit the reference to the pat.ala,sothat 1.11.32.1 may appear as
1.32.1. As far as the subject matter is concerned, the A ̄pastambadharmasu ̄tra is
far better organized than the other dharmasu ̄tras. After a brief introduction on
the sources ofdharma and on the four social classes, the first pras ́nadeals with
the duties of a brahmaca ̄rin, up to the ritual bath at the conclusion of his stu-
dentship. The second pras ́na is primarily devoted to the gr.hastha, and, as such,
includes passages on marriage, on sons (and inheritance), and on ritual for the
dead (s ́ra ̄ddha). It ends with a description of the king as the protector of his
subjects, the collector of taxes, and the head of the judicial system.
the dharmas ́a ̄stras 105