Common Sense and Legal History in India: Collected Essays on Hindu Law and Dharmasastra

Common Sense and Legal History in India: Collected Essays on Hindu Law and Dharmastra brings together the shorter works of Richard W. Lariviere on one important tradition of law in classical and medieval Indiathe corpus of Sanskrit legal texts called dharmastra. Larivieres contributions to both general and specific topics of Hindu law have changed our understanding of the depth and complexity of legal ideas, the possibilities and limits of Sanskrit legal sources for historical study, and the continuing relevance of dharmastra in colonial and contemporary India. The essays collected here demonstrate the value of careful philological study of Sanskrit materials and exemplify an approach to Indological studies that highlights the achievement of traditional scholarship while maintaining critical modern perspectives. Larivieres research and interpretations, now all collected in one place, are essential reading for legal historians of India.