Partial preview of the text
Download SOURCES OF HINDU LAW and more Study notes Family Law in PDF only on Docsity!
Sources of Hindu Law Ancient and modern source of Hindu Law Hindu system of law has the most ancient pedigree of the known system of law. If the Vedic period is accepted to be 4000 to 1000 B.C., Hindu law is about 6000 years old. In this span of 6000 years, it has passed through various phases and molded as per the need and demand made from the society. It has existed with remarkable durability. Even without any direct law-making machinery, the law has. shown remarkable adaptability. The study of sources of Hindu Law is the study of various phases from which is passes of its development which gave it a new drive and enable it to conform to the changing needs. Originally the law came to sub serve the needs of pastoral people but now it has come to sub serve the needs of modern welfare society. |.Ancient Sources I. Sruti a @ The word Sruti literally means, “which was heard” or “what was heard”. The word Sruti is derived from the word ‘Shru’ which means ‘to hear’. a The Hindu Law is spiritual in nature. The theory is based upon that some of the Hindu Sages had attained the divine revealation from the God himself. And these revelations is contained in Sruti or Vedas. a The synonym of Shruti is veda. It is derived from the word ‘vid’ meaning ‘to know’. the Vedas are said to contain the voice of God, they are considered to be the fundamental or the primary source of law. The Vedas are said to be the source of all knowledge. the Sruti is considered to be the fundamental source of Hindu law. Revelations are supposed to be the divine utterances to be found in the 4 Vedas, 6 Vedangas and the 18 Upanishads. The Shruti (or the Vedas) depict the life of our early ancestors, their way of life, their way of thinking, their customs, their thought, but does not deal with rules of law in any systematic manner. a There are four Vedas namely, ° Rig Veda (containing hymns in Sanskrit to be recited by the chief priest), ° Yajurva Veda ( containing formulas to be recited by the officiating priest), 
