Large categories such as marriage, ritual purity, inheritance, criminal law and basic commercial law are covered, but also the details of everyday life: what and what not to eat, how to brush your teeth, when and where to move your bowels, how to recognize suitable spouses and much more. The sophistication of the Code of Procedure reflects a long legal tradition, the development of which can be vaguely traced through the increasingly sophisticated treatment of issues such as test management. The oldest texts know only two tests: fire and water. Subsequent texts undergo up to nine examinations. Atmatusti is defined as that which pleases oneself and is considered by some to be the fourth source of the Dharma. [16] However, only the legal texts of Manu and Yājñavalkya mention atmatusti as the fourth source of law. [17] Most scholars do not recognize Atmatusti as the source of the Dharma in Hindu law because it does not have the same authority as sruti, smriti and acara. Atmatusti is used as a last resort when a person is only allowed to use it if the first three legitimate sources do not address the issue in question. [18] Thus, only Hindus (whose applicability could be verified under section 2 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955) are covered by this law. Levinson notes that Shruti and Smriti`s role in Hindu law is a source of guidance, and his tradition cultivates the principle that „the facts and circumstances of a particular case determine what is good or bad.“ [39] Later Hindu texts contain four sources of the Dharma, Levinson says, including Atmanastushti (satisfaction of conscience), Sadachara (local norms of virtuous individuals), Smriti and Sruti. [39] [40] [41] The Dharmasūtras and metric smṛtis claim to be the teachings of great sages who made the Dharma known to mankind.
The rules contained in these texts are specific statements on the principles of justice (Dharma) and world order (ṛta) taught in the Veda. While the Veda is the theoretical source of all the law contained in the Smṛti literature, very little of what is contained in the Vedic literature could itself be called a „law“. The exact manner in which the specific laws are derived from the largely ritual priestly literature of the Vedas is never clarified; Therefore, the connection between the Vedas and Smṛti is not obvious, apart from their common theoretical concern for the Dharma. The test of the orthodoxy of any smṛti or interpretation of smṛti was its acceptance in practice by the educated and righteous men of the community. This is most likely the real link between the Vedas and the Dharma literature – the Dharma literature records the practice of those who are imbued with the teachings of the Veda. Precisely because this literature dealt with the Dharma, its rules and regulations were considered inviolable: the fact that the Dharma itself is the order of the universe confirms the rules relating to it. Ideally, the Dharma literature was used to define who and what was a righteous believer in the Veda. Dharmaśāstra literature consists of four types: (1) the first aphoristic texts, the Dharmasūtras, each of which is attributed under a pseudonym to a famous sage of antiquity; (2) later metric, also pseudonymous texts, often referred to as „metric smṛtis“ and (somewhat confusingly) as opposed to Dharmasūtras as dharmaśāstra; (3) commentaries (bhāṣyas) on the previous two; and (4) legal „digests“ called nibandhas. It is important to know what legal procedures are associated with a valid marriage.
This article gives a brief idea. First, let`s find out what actions are related to marriage in India. In India, there are different marriage records for different religions. For Hindus, there is the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, which also applies to Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists. Muslims also have their personal law, which states that nikah or marriage is a contract and can be permanent or temporary, allowing a man to have four wives as long as he treats all equally. For Parsees, there is a Parsee Marriage & Divorce Act, 1939, which regulates the provisions of their marriage and their law. For an Indian Christian, there is the Indian Christian Marriage Act 1889. Hindu law was part of the British colonial legal system and was formally introduced as such in 1772 by Governor-General Warren Hastings, who stated in his Plan for the Administration of Justice that „in all claims concerning inheritance, marriage, caste and other religious customs or institutions, the laws of the Qur`an concerning the Mohammedans and those of the Shasters concerning the Gentoos must be observed without exception.“ (See § 27 of the Administration of Justice Ordinance of 11 April 1780). The substance of Hindu law implemented by the British was derived from early translations of Sanskrit texts known as Dharmaśāstra, the treatises (śāstra) on religious and legal duties (Dharma).
However, the British misunderstood the Dharmaśāstra as a code of law and did not realize that these Sanskrit texts were not used as declarations of positive law until they decided to do so.
