When considering the right of Ancient India, the LawsManu is the first thing that they pay attention to. This collection is the most famous and accessible to the public a monument of ancient Indian legal culture. He enjoyed authority both in antiquity and in the Middle Ages. According to the traditions of the Hindus, its author is the ancestor of people - Manu.
Actually, the Laws of Manu are not so ancient.Throughout the 6th-5th centuries BC, India created new large states with a slave system. The powers developed, changes occurred both in ideology and in tribal institutions. And the usual oral law, which existed before, could no longer correspond to the level of development of states, could not satisfy their needs. Then there were Dharmasutras - collections of written rules that were based on the Vedas. The first mention of the Dharmasutra Manu dates back to the 9th century BC. Modern researchers have come to the conclusion that the laws of Manu, such as they came to us, developed in the 2nd century BC. In this case, according to the prominent Sanskritologist G. Bühler, a certain dharmasutra i, which formed the basis of the collection, has not survived to our time.
The text of the Laws of Manu is twelve chapters. The collection consists of 2685 articles, which represent a couplet.
The laws of Manu have a certain logic for the presentation of the material, but the division of law into branches does not yet provide. Also, the norms of law in the collection are very closely intertwined with religious postulates.
In the Laws much attention is paid to the protection of lawownership of movable property. So, here there are norms regulating the contract of donation, purchase and sale, loan and others. There are also guarantees for the performance of obligations - pledge and surety. The loan agreement has already been developed in detail, but still it is not legally literate. This fact indicates a high level and flourishing of usury.
The laws of Manu despise hired labor and support slavery.
The Dharmasutras were, rather, the arches of rules,teachings and recommendations, rather than the current legislation. In such a collection, as the Laws of Manu, there is a rather interesting basis and philosophical meaning. Many of the recommendations became the basic rules used in studying the tactics of warfare and in developing strategies. For example, the duties of the ruler, according to the Laws of Manu, included being brave in battle, always protecting their subjects, being ready for war every day. Also, the king had to hide his secrets, but be able to find out the weaknesses of enemies.
