The sources of Manusmṛti

1. Veda 8 authority 8 citations · 31 passages

   chapter 1 4 passages anchored here · chapter 2 5 passages anchored here · chapter 4 5 passages anchored here · chapter 5 3 passages anchored here · chapter 6 2 passages anchored here · chapter 9 4 passages anchored here · chapter 10 3 passages anchored here · chapter 12 5 passages anchored here

   The Veda is repeatedly invoked as the ultimate scriptural authority underlying cosmology, naming, and the fruits of conduct.

   Whatever Dharma for any person has been declared by Manu, all that is set forth in the Veda, for the Veda is the embodiment of all knowledge.

2. Manu 6 authority 6 citations · 11 passages

   chapter 3 · chapter 4 · chapter 8 6 passages anchored here · chapter 9 · chapter 10 2 passages anchored here

   Manu is named explicitly in the third person as the source of these specific doctrinal declarations, functioning as a self-referential citation of authority.

   What is given by force, enjoyed by force, and also what is written by force—all things done by force, Manu has declared to be undone.

3. Svayambhuva Manu 2 authority 2 citations · 4 passages

   chapter 1 3 passages anchored here · chapter 8

   Manu is cited as the composer and authoritative source of the shastra being transmitted.

   To determine the duties of him and of the others in due order, the wise Svayambhuva Manu composed this *shastra*.

4. Vedanta 2 authority 2 citations · 3 passages

   chapter 2 · chapter 6 2 passages anchored here

   Vedanta is named as the textual source that teaches the fruit of pure speech and mind, invoked as an authority for the claim.

   A twice-born, having practiced this tenfold Dharma with a concentrated mind, and having duly heard the Vedanta, should renounce, being free from his debts.

5. Rigveda 1 neutral 1 citation · 2 passages

   chapter 4 2 passages anchored here

   Named specifically and distinguished by its deities and its interruption rule relative to the Samaveda

   When the sound of the Samaveda is heard, one should never study the Rigveda or the Yajurveda;

6. Samaveda 1 neutral 1 citation · 2 passages

   chapter 4 2 passages anchored here

   Named specifically with a distinctive ritual property (its sound is impure) tied to its association with the ancestors

   When the sound of the Samaveda is heard, one should never study the Rigveda or the Yajurveda;

Each stands at a single passage. The chapter carries the anchors.

chapter 1 2 sources

the Self-existent One (Brahma) · Śruti and Smārta traditions

chapter 2 2 sources

Smrti (sacred treatises on Dharma) · rationalistic treatises (hetu-shastra / nastika schools)

chapter 3 5 sources

Atri · Bhṛgu · Shaunaka · sacred texts on marriage law · the son of Utathya

chapter 4 3 sources

Puranas and Khilas · Yajurveda · Śruti and Smṛti

chapter 5 3 sources

Agastya · Prajāpati · the wise / the learned (sages generally)

chapter 6 4 sources

Chandrayana penance tradition · Smṛti · Upanishads · Vaikhanasa tradition

chapter 7 3 sources

Doctrine of the six political expedients (ṣāḍguṇya) · Sacred treatises (śāstra) on government and policy · Veda (triple Veda)

chapter 8 6 sources

Doctrine of the four expedients (upāya: conciliation, gift, dissension, force) · Kushmanda texts · Maṇḍala theory of interstate relations · Vasiṣṭha · Vedic revelation (regarding spoils of war) · Ṛc (Ṛgvedic verse beginning 'ud')

chapter 9 5 sources

Precedent of Daksha Prajāpati · Subrahmanya litanies · The twelve sons declared by Svayambhuva Manu · the Wind · Śruti (Veda)

chapter 10 5 sources

narrative of Ajigarta and his son · narrative of Bharadvāja · narrative of Vamadeva · narrative of Viśvāmitra · sacred treatises

chapter 12 5 sources

Atharva-Angirasas texts · Mānava Śāstra · Smṛtis outside the Veda / bad doctrines · Veda (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda / Śruti) · Śruti

The harvest records where a citation is made: the paragraph in the citing book, and the chapter that paragraph stands in. It does not record which page of this book is meant. Where the citing text names a locus, you will find it in the quotation.

1. Vīramitrodaya Mitra Miśra 2 authority 2 citations · 5 passages

   chapter 1 5 passages anchored here

   Explicitly named ('The Manusmṛti says...') as one of the proof-texts establishing Time's reality.

   > Having performed the *Pitṛyajña*, a Brahmin who maintains the sacred fires, at the waning of the moon, / > should perform the *piṇḍānvāhāryaka* *śrāddha* month after month.