The Vīramitrodaya refers to a Hindu law digest written by Mitra Miśra, a

brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

from ''Gopācala'' (present day

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

) which covers nearly every aspect of ''

Dharmaśāstra ''Dharmaśāstra'' () are Sanskrit Puranic Smriti texts on law and conduct, and refer to treatises (shastras, śāstras) on Dharma. Like Dharmasūtra which are based upon Vedas, these texts are also elaborate law commentaries based on vedas, D ...

''. The work was done at the behest of King Vīrasimhadeva of Orchha during the reign of

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

. The Privy Council recorded the text to be a work of high authority regarding

Hindu law Hindu law, as a historical term, refers to the code of laws applied to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs in British India. Hindu law, in modern scholarship, also refers to the legal theory, jurisprudence and philosophical reflections on the na ...

, revered throughout North India. Mitamiśra's text includes hundreds of citations from many Hindu religious texts (a large volume of which are either lost or remain unpublished) in which he analyzes and critiques numerous arguments, following which he puts forward his own opinions. The same title is also applied to a commentary of the ''Yājñavalkyasmṛti'' also written by the same person.

Text

The ''nibandha'' titled ''Viramitrodaya'' is composed of 22 sections, called ''prakāśas.'' The following 12 are available in printed form ● ''Paribhāṣā-prakāśa'' - deals with etymology (similar to ''Etymologiea'') ● ''Saṃskāra-prakāśa'' - deals with

rites of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...

● ''Āhnika-prakāśa'' - deals with rites to be performed daily (like bathing, ''sandhyāvandanā'', ''tarpaṇa'' etc) ● ''Pūjā-prakāśa'' - deals with rites of '' pūjā'' ● ''Lakṣaṇa-prakāśa'' - deals with physiognomy (similar to '' Physiognomonics'') ● ''Rājanīti-prakāśa'' - deals with rites & duties related to royalty (like enthronement, issuing edicts, consecrating royal seal, securing victory, maintaining sovereignty etc) alongside division of power & criminal laws as espoused in ''śāstra''s. ● ''Tīrtha-prakāśa'' - deals with rites of pilgrimage ● ''Vyavahāra-prakāśa'' - deals with judicial procedure as espoused in ''śāstra''s ● ''Śrāddha-prakāśa'' - deals with rites of ''

śrāddha Śrāddha (Sanskrit: श्राद्ध), is a ritual that some Hindus perform to pay homage to their pitṛs (dead ancestors). They believe that the ritual would provide peace to the ancestors in their afterlife. It is performed on the death an ...

'' ● ''Samaya-prakāśa'' - deals with rites related to observance of festivities ● ''Bhakti-prakāśa'' - deals with the concept of '' bhakti'' ● ''Śuddhi-prakāśa'' - deals with ritual pollution & rites to cleanse them (not to be confused with the similar concept introduced much later) The following 10 haven't been printed yet ● ''Pratiṣṭhā-prakāśa'' - deals with rites related to consecration of artificial structures like houses, roads, temples, forts, idols of deities, waterbodies etc ● ''Dāna-prakāśa'' - deals with rites of charity ● ''Vrata-prakāśa'' - deals with rites of observing holy vows ● ''Jyotiśa-prakāśa'' - deals with time-keeping &

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

● ''Śānti-prakāśa'' - deals with rites of pacification ● ''Karmavipāka-prakāśa'' - deals with the rites related to ''karmavipāka'' ( Hindu theory to explain how people can be afflicted in the form of misfortune & diseases without any apparent reason due to bad deeds performed in past lives) ● ''Cikitsā-prakāśa'' - deals with rites aimed at curing diseases ● ''Prāyaścitta-prakāśa'' - deals with rites of penitence ● ''Mokṣa-prakāśa'' - deals with the concept of '' mokṣa'' ● ''Prakīrṇaka-prakāśa'' - deals with miscellaneous topics not discussed in the preceding works

''Vyavahāra''

* The ''Vyavahāra-Prakāśa'' is considered to be the largest ''nibandha'', or digest written on the '' Vyavahāra'' * The text is divided into four parts:

1.) Composition of the Court

* Constitution of the ''sabhā'' * The Appointment of judges * Conflict with the ''

'' * Various grades of the courts * Burden and means of proof

2.) Modes of Proof

* Witnesses * Documents

3.) 18 Titles of Law

# the first is the non-payment of debts # deposits # sale without ownership # partnerships # delivery and non-delivery of gifts # non-payment of wages # breach of contract # cancellation of a sale or purchase # disputes between owners and herdsman # the Law on boundary disputes # verbal assault # physical assault # theft # violence # sexual crimes against women # Law concerning husband and wife # partition of inheritance # gambling and bettingOlivelle, Patrick, The Law Code of Manu, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 123

4.) Matters for the king

''Paribhāśā''

''Samskāra''

*Astrological matters relating to marriage

''Rājanti''

*The qualifications of ministers *Preparing for battle *Routine for kings *Time and procedure for coronation

''Āhnika''

* The daily duties to be done when rising and before going to bed.

''Pūjā''

*Those entitled to perform worship of the gods * Proper flowers and clothing for worship

''Tirtha''

* Discuss those able to undertake a pilgrimage * Times for a pilgrimage * Ceremonial acts to be done for men, such as bathing, fasting and shaving.

''Laksana''

* The human body * Qualities needed for the queen, ministers, astrologers, and physicians.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Viramitrodaya Hindu law 17th-century Sanskrit literature