Dharma Sutras

The Dharma Sutras can be called the guidebooks of dharma as they contain guidelines for individual and social behavior, ethical norms, as well as personal, civil and criminal law.

They discuss the duties and rights of people at different stages of life like studenthood, householdership, retirement and renunciation.

These stages are also called ashramas. They also discuss the rites and duties of kings, judicial matters, and personal law such as matters relating to marriage and inheritance.

However, Dharma Sutras typically did not deal with rituals and ceremonies, a topic that was covered in the Shrauta Sutras and Griha Sutras texts of the Kalpa (Vedanga).

Extant Texts

The Dharma Sutras were numerous, but only four texts have survived into the modern era. The most important of these texts are the Sutras of Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhayana, and Vasistha. These extant texts cite writers and refer opinions of seventeen authorities, implying that a rich Dharma Sutras tradition existed prior to when these texts were composed.

The extant Dharma Sutras are written in concise sutra format, with a very terse incomplete sentence structure which are difficult to understand and leave much to the reader to interpret. The Dharma Shastra are derivative works on the Dharma Sutras, using a shloka (four 8-syllable verse style chandas poetry, Anushtubh meter), which are relatively clearer.

The extant Dharma Sutra texts are listed below:

• Apastamba (450–350 BCE) this Dharma Sutra forms a part of the larger Kalpasūtra of Apastamba. It contains 1,364 sutras.
• Gautama (600–200 BCE) although this Dharma Sutra comes down as an independent treatise it may have once formed a part of the Kalpasūtra, linked to the Samaveda. It is likely the oldest extant Dharma text, and originated in what is modern Maharashtra-Gujarat. It contains 973 sutras.
• Baudhāyana (500–200 BCE) this Dharma Sutra like that of Apastamba also forms a part of the larger Kalpasūtra. It contains 1,236 sutras.
• Vasishtha (300–100 BCE) this Dharma Sutra forms an independent treatise and other parts of the Kalpasūtra, that is Shrauta- and Grihya-sutras are missing. It contains 1,038 sutras.

Credibility of Authorship

The Dharma Sutra of Āpastamba and Baudhayana form a part of the Kalpasūtra but it is not easy to establish whether they were historical authors of these texts or whether these texts were composed within certain institutions attributed to their names.

Moreover, Gautama and Vasiṣṭha are ancient sages related to specific vedic schools and therefore it is hard to say whether they were historical authors of these texts.

The issue of authorship is further complicated by the fact that apart from Āpastamba the other Dharma Sutras have various alterations made at later times.