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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Print Price: $137.50

Format:
Hardback
576 pp.
156 mm x 234 mm

ISBN-13:
9780198702603

Publication date:
December 2017

Imprint: OUP UK


The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Law

A New History of Dharmasastra

Edited by Patrick Olivelle and Donald R. Davis

Series : Oxford History Of Hinduism

Through a pointed study of an important aspect or topic of dharma in Dharmasastra, this collection shows that the history of Hinduism cannot be written without the history of Hindu law. Part One provides a concise overview of the literary genres in which Dharmasastra was written with attention to chronology and historical developments. This study divides the tradition into its two major historical periods - the origins and formation of the classical texts and the later genres of commentary and digest - in order to provide a thorough, but manageable overview of the textual bases of the tradition. Part Two presents descriptive and historical studies of all the major substantive topics of Dharmasastra. Each chapter offers readers with salest knowledge of the debates, transformations, and fluctcating importance of each topic. Indirectly, readers will also gain insight into the ethos or worldview of religious law in Hinduism, enabling them to get a feel for how dharma authors thought and why. Part Three contains brief studies of the impact and reception of Dharmasastra in other South Asian cultural and textual traditions. Finally, Part Four draws inspiration from "critical terms" in contemporary legal and religious studies to analyze Dharmasastra texts. Contributors offer interpretive views of Dharmasastra that start from hermeneutic and social concerns today.

Readership : Students and scholars of Hindu scriptures and texts; of Hindu studies.

List of abbreviations
List of contributors
Introduction, Donald R. Davis, Jr.
PART I: HISTORY
1. Social and Literary History of Dharmasastra: The Foundational Texts, Patrick Olivelle
2. Social and Literary History of Dharmasastra: Commentaries and Legal Digests, Donald R. Davis, Jr. and David Brick
PART II: TOPICS
3. Epistemology of Law: dharmapramana, Patrick Olivelle
4. Social Classes: varna, Mikael Aktor
5. Orders of Life: asrama, Patrick Olivelle
6. Rites of Passage: sanskara, Axel Michaels
7. The Vedic Student: brahmacarin, Timothy Lubin
8. The Vedic Graduate: snataka, Timothy Lubin
9. Marriage and the Householder: vivaha, grhastha, Stephanie W. Jamison
10. Women: stridharma, Stephanie W. Jamison
11. Children: putra, duhitr, Donald R. Davis, Jr.
12. Inheritance: dayabhaga, Ludo Rocher
13. Daily Duties: ahnika, Timothy Lubin
14. Food and Dietary Rules: abhaksya, abhojya, Patrick Olivelle
15. Gifting: dana, David Brick
16. Funeral and Ancestral Offerings: antyesti, sraddha, Matthew R. Sayers
17. Impurity and Purification: asauca, Mikael Aktor
18. Ascetics: pravrajita, vanaprastha, Patrick Olivelle
19. Law During Emergencies: apaddharma, Adam Bowles
20. King: rajadharma, Mark McClish
21. Punishment: danda, Mark McClish
22. Legal Procedure: vyavahara, Patrick Olivelle
23. Titles of Law: vyavaharapada, Mark McClish
24. Penance: prayascitta, David Brick
25. Vows and Observances: vrata, Donald R. Davis, Jr.
26. Pilgrimage: tirthayatra, Knut A. Jacobsen
27. Images and Temples: pratistha, Richard H. Davis
PART III: INFLUENCES
28. History of the Reception of Dharmasastra, Donald R. Davis, Jr.
29. A Buddhist Vinaya as a Source for Indian Law, Gregory Schopen
Part IV: INTERPRETIVE APPROACHES
30. Body, Ariel Glucklich
31. h 31:, Maria Heim
32. Ritual, Axel Michaels
33. Self and Subjectivity: The Wandering Ascetic and the Manifest World, Jonardon Ganeri
34. Material Culture and Society: The Ancient Indian Alestake, James McHugh
35. Embodiment of Dharma in Animals, Andrea Gutierrez
36. Vernacularization, Christian Lee Novetzke
37. Economics and Business as vaisyadharma, Donald R. Davis, Jr.
Bibliography

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Patrick Olivelle is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on the ancient Indian legal tradition of Dharmasastra. Olivelle has won several prestigious fellowships, including Guggenheim, NEH, and ACLS. He was elected Vice President of the American Oriental Society in 2004 and President in 2005. He is the editor of A Dharma Reader: Classical Indian Law (Columbia University Press, 2016).

Donald R. Davis is Associate Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His current research broadens his interest in the practice of Hindu law in historical perspective, using materials beyond the Dharmasastra texts and from many parts of medieval India.

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Special Features

  • Shows that the history of Hinduism cannot be written without the history of Hindu law.
  • Provides a concise overview of the literary genres in which Dharmasastra was written with attention to chronology and historical developments.
  • Presents descriptive and historical studies of all the major substantive topics of Dharmasastra.
  • Contains brief studies of the impact and reception of Dharmasastra in other South Asian cultural and textual traditions.
  • Draws inspiration from critical terms in contemporary legal and religious studies to analyze Dharmasastra texts.