Smriti

The Smriti, literally “that which is remembered”, is a body of Hindu texts usually attributed to an author, traditionally written down, in contrast to the Śrutis (Vedic literature) considered authorless, which were handed down verbally across generations and fixed. The Smriti is a derivative secondary work and is considered less authoritative than the Sruti in Hinduism, except in the Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy. The authority of the smriti accepted by the orthodox schools is derived from the authority of the shruti on which it is based.

The literature of Death is a corpus of diverse diverse texts. This body includes but is not limited to the six Vedāngs (ancillary sciences in the Vedas), the epics (Mahabhārata and Rāmāyana), the Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras (or Smritiśāstra), the Arthasaśāstras, the Purānas, the Kāvya or poetic literature, the extensive Bhasyas (reviews and commentaries on Shruti texts and non-Shruti) and numerous Nibandhas (digests) covering politics, ethics (Nitisastras), culture, art and society.

Each Smriti text exists in many versions with many different readings. The Smritis were considered fluid and freely transcribed by anyone in the ancient and medieval Hindu tradition.

Smriti is also a symbolic synonym for number 18, from the 18 scholars who are credited in Indian tradition for writing dharma-related smriti texts. These 18 smritis are :-

1. Angirasa Smriti: Sage Angira is described in the Rigveda as a teacher of divine knowledge, a mediator between men and gods, and in other hymns she is also mentioned as the first of the Agni-devas (gods of fire). He is known by both the names Angiras and Angira. In some texts he is called Angiras and in others Angira. Angira Smriti is divided into two parts – Purva Angiras dealing with “Sraddha” in 1113 verses as a single chapter; and the second Uttara Angiras in twelve chapters dealing with the subjects of Parisad and Prayaschitta etc.
2. Vyasa Smriti: It has a special place in the Smritis. In this the verses related to varnasrama-dharma are compiled “Dharman varna vyasasitana” (Vyás Smriti). It contains 4 chapters and 250 verses dealing with the importance of good land, method of Shodas rituals, Gurumahima, householder, Pativrata, Rajodharma, morality of householder and kamikarmadi and virtue etc. and in 50 verses of the fourth chapter the importance of charity is given.
3. Apastamba Smriti: The Dharmasutra is attributed to Apastamba, the founder of the Shaka (Vedic school) of Yajurveda. According to Hindu tradition, Apastamba was a student of Baudhayana and himself had a student named Hiranyakesin. Each of these three founded a Vedic school, and each of their schools produced a body of literature within the tradition of the Krishna Yajurveda, which included separate compilations of the Kalpasutra.
   The text is in sutra format and is part of the thirty prashnas (प्रशन, parts, issues, questions) of the Apastamba Kalpasutra. The Apastamba Dharmasutra is the 28th and 29th prashnas of this compilation, while the first 24 prashnas are related to the Srautasutras (Vedic rituals), the 25th is a minor mantra section, the 26th and 27th are the Grihyasutras (domestic rituals or final transition) and the 30th prashna is Shulbasutra (mathematics for building an altar).
4. Daksha Smriti: The Daksha Smriti is an ancient text containing a code of conduct for Hindu society to follow. Written by a revered sage named Daksha Praapati, this text highlights the caste system to be followed in society. There is also a detailed description of the individual phases of human life.
   Daksha Smriti is based on the Vedas. The teachings are divided into seven chapters, each covering a particular aspect of the duties to be performed by a Hindu. The first chapter examines the caste system. The second focuses on the various rituals to be performed. The third describes the importance of the householder and the benefits gained by donating. The next chapter deals with the various qualities of a woman. The fifth chapter contains the merits of purity and cleanliness along with the demerits of impurity. While the sixth chapter contains a discourse on life and death, the last chapter deals with the complex subject of samadhi and philosophy related to yoga.
5. Vishnu Smriti: The Vishnu Smriti (IAST: Viṣṇu Smṛti) is one of the most recent books of the dharmaśāstra tradition in Hinduism, and the only one that does not directly deal with the means of dharma knowledge. The text has a strong bhakti orientation that calls for daily puja to the god Vishnu. She is also known for dealing with the controversial subject of the practice of sati (burning a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre). A Banaras pandit, Nandapandita, was the first to write a commentary on the Vishnu Smriti in 1622, but the book was not translated into English until 1880 by Julius Jolly.
6. Yagyavalkya Smriti: The Yajnavalkya Smriti (Sanskrit: याज्ञवल्क्य सम्री, IAST: Yājñavalkya Smṛti) is one of the many texts related to Hinduism. It is dated between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD and belongs to the Dharmashastra tradition. The text was composed after the Manusmriti, but like it and the Naradasmriti, the text was composed in the shloka (poetic meter) style. The legal theories in the Yajnavalkya Smriti are presented in three books namely achara-kanda (customs), vyavahara-kanda (judicial process) and prayascitta-kanda (crime and punishment, penance).
   The text is the “best composed” and systematic example of the genre, with large sections on theories of judicial process, which had a greater influence on medieval Indian judicial practice than the Manusmriti. It later became influential in studies of legal processes in ancient and medieval India, during colonial British India, with the first translation published in German in 1849. The text is notable for its differences in legal theory from the Manusmriti, for being more liberal and humane, and for its extensive discussions of evidence and legality of legal documents.
7. Likhita Smriti: Liakhita Smriti is narrated in 93 verses by Sage Likhita. Sage Likhita is considered an authority by the followers of Shukla Yajurvedins. He co-authored the Dharma Sutra with his brother Sankha, which has been quoted by many but is now unavailable. Mainly a bit ordinary like Sankha Smriti.
8. Shankha Smriti: ‘Shankha’ directed and instructed the six duties of the Brahmins 1) Performance of Yagya. 2) help in performance of Yagya. 3) Studying 4) Teaching 5) Accepting alms or gifts and 6) Giving alms or gifts to others.
   Kshatriyas and Vaishyas were asked to study, donate and perform yagya in a suitable method, just like brahmins. In addition, the Kshatriyas were asked to look after the welfare of the subjects and the Vaishyas were asked to do agricultural work, tend to the cows and engage in trade. The fourth of the Varnashrams i.e. the Shudra was asked to create useful articles for the society by means of handicrafts. Apart from laying down duties for each caste, sage ‘Shankh’ also enjoined all to imbibe the values ​​of forgiveness, truthfulness, tolerance and purity.
9. Brihaspati Smriti: In ancient Hindu literature, Brihaspati is a Vedic-era sage who advises the gods. The manuscript of the Brihaspati Sutras has been lost to history or has not yet been found. However, the text is cited in other Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain texts, and this secondary literature was the source for the reconstruction of the Brhaspati sutraspartially. First of all, Brihaspati Smriti talks about four courts The four courts are fixed or fixed which resides in a village or a city, also the court has degrees. If the cause was not properly investigated by the kula, it could be decided by the sreni, if it was not investigated by the sreni, it could be decided by the gana and finally by the royal judges. Brihaspati speaks of twelve kinds of witnesses. Brihaspati allows peasants, artisans, indentured labourers, herdsmen, hunter-gatherers, root diggers and also fishermen to act as witnesses in case of house and field boundary disputes. Some of the principles of Brihaspati are embodied in section 95 of the Indian Penal Code. Brihaspati is one of the fundamental laws of Hindu law.
10. Atri Smriti: This is an ancient text by Sage Atri. It is also called Atri Samhita. It contains 400 verses and deals with most of the topics that the dharmasastras generally deal with.
11. Katyayana Smriti: Kātyāyana (कात्यायन) also spelled Katyayana (c. 2nd century BCE) was a Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician and Vedic priest who lived in ancient India. Katyayana Smriti contains a total of 29 sections. These sections cover a wide range of topics related to various religious rites and ceremonies in a comprehensive manner. They also deal with the duties of a Brahmin, male and female. Some sections deal with ceremonies involving deceased persons, while others focus on the wedding ceremony. There is a detailed description of the proper method by which the fire should be lit for the ‘Yagna’ (sacrificial ceremony). Also listed are various codes of conduct to be followed during the ceremony.
12. Parashara Smriti: Parashara Smriti (also called Parashara Dharma Saṃhitā) is a code of laws which is given in the text as being for Kali Yuga and brahmins claim that the present age is Kali Yuga, that made me read it. The Smritis are based on the teachings of the Vedas. It lays down the laws governing Hindu national, social, family and individual duties.
13. Manu Smriti: Manu-smriti, (Sanskrit: “Laws of Manu” or “Remembered Tradition of Manu”), also called Manava-dharma-shastra (“Dharma Text of Manu”), traditionally the most respected of the Hindu code books (Dharma-shastra) in India. Manu-smriti is the vernacular name of the work which is officially known as Manava-dharma-shastra. It is attributed to the legendary first man and lawgiver Manu. The accepted text dates from around 100 CE.
    The Manu-smriti prescribes to Hindus their dharma—that is, the set of duties that each has as a member of one of the four social classes (varnas) and engaged in one of the four stages of life (ashrama). It contains 12 chapters of stanzas, of which there are a total of 2,694. It deals with cosmogony; definition of dharma; sacraments (samskaras); initiation (upanayana) and study of the Vedas (sacred texts of Hinduism); marriage, hospitality, funeral rites, dietary restrictions, pollution and means of purification; behavior of women and wives; and the law of kings. The last leads to reflections on matters of legal concern, divided into 18 headings, after which the text returns to religious themes such as charity, rites of reparation, the doctrine of karma, the soul, and hell. The text makes no categorical distinction between religious law and practice and secular law. His influence on all aspects of Hindu thought, especially the justification of the caste system, was profound.
14. Aushanasa Smriti: Aushanasa means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term, check the descriptions on this page. If you would like to contribute to this summary article, please add your comment or link to the book.
    The Aushanasa Smriti is a treatise on the code of conduct by the Ushanas. Ushanas as lawgiver is known from very early times. The Mahabharata (Sabha Parva 55-14, Shanti Parva 56. 29030, 57.3), Kautilya’s Arthashastra (111.61) and several dharmashastra commentaries and digest authors quote the Ushanas on all branches of dharma, viz. achara (conduct and custom), vyavahara (law) and prayaschitta (atonement) and that too in all genres like prose, verse and aphorism.
15. Harita Smriti: Harita was an ancient sage who wrote Harita Smriti and Harita gita. The Harita smriti is a very old Dharmasastra text in a mixed form of prose and verse. It describes topics like duties during brahmacharin, garhasthya and vanaprastha ashram, various injunctions and prohibitions. The Harita smritia also describes materials for yajna and Vedic prayers, lessons on statecraft, judicial proceedings, sins and expiation.
16. Gautama Smriti: The famous sage who wrote the Nyaya Sutra (also called Akshapada) and the Dharma Sutra was also credited as the author of the Smriti. Gautama’s Smriti not only contains sermons regarding man’s duties in all four stages of his life (Varnashram), prevention of his sins and expiation for them, but they are also more logical compared to Manu Smriti. He also described the duties of a man in times of need and reduced the number of initiations from sixteen to fourteen.
17. Yama Smriti: Yama Smriti is basically a very small book. The text discusses various types of repentance and also presents the theoretical principles behind them. Muni Yama has explained the types of penance right from the beginning of the book and has thrown light forward on the defilements caused by the death of a person and touching a corpse/dead body etc.
18. Samvarta Smriti: Samvarta Smriti is an ancient text written by sage Samvarta. This book deals with the moral code of conduct necessary for proper living in society. The Samvarta Smriti contains chapters dealing with topics such as celibacy, lack of chastity, daughter marriages, penance for sins and immorality. Great emphasis is also placed on donations. According to sage Samvarta, one can attain the highest state in human life by giving generously. Special mention is made of intoxicants, which Brahmins should abstain from. The teachings of Samvarta Smriti help one to achieve the four main goals of life which are ‘Dharma’, ‘Artha’, ‘Kama’ and ‘Moksha’.