Hinduism and Law: An Introduction

Covering the earliest Sanskrit rulebooks through to the codification of 'Hindu law' in modern times, this interdisciplinary volume examines the interactions between Hinduism and the law.

The authors present the major transformations to India's legal system in both the colonial and post colonial periods and their relation to recent changes in Hinduism. Thematic studies show how law and Hinduism relate and interact in areas such as ritual, logic, politics, and literature, offering a broad coverage of South Asia's contributions to religion and law at the intersection of society, politics and culture.

In doing so, the authors build on previous treatments of Hindu law as a purely text-based tradition, and in the process, provide a fascinating account of an often neglected social and political history.

• Connects the sources and development of Hindu law with its role in modern India, bridging the gap between traditional treatment of a purely text-based tradition and the social and political history
• Covers new ground by discussing law within a broader cultural context than in previous studies
• Includes glossary, chronology and bibliography, providing clear and concise reference information on the topics discussed