Hindu Legal Theory and its Relevance in Current Times

Hinduism is not just a religion but is a way of life. It has shown since long time that dharma is the key factor for a greater life. Dharma is not law; it is way broader than the concept of law. Jurists like Mayne acknowledge Hindu Law as the oldest pedigree of jurisprudence and it is still standing against all odds. Hindu legal theory derives its concepts from many sources such as Dharmashashtras, Smritis, Shrutis, Vedic literatures, Bhagavat Gita, Puraanas, Upanishads, epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata etc. The jurisprudential aspects of these sources have helped and are still helping us to interpret laws and understand its importance in current times. The Hindu Legal Theory deals with the origin of law, its correlation with the state, conception of the term law by various people such as Manu, Jaimini and many more, law as duty and law with respect to morals and religion. This paper deals with the interpretation and understanding of these concepts by jurisprudential perspective and understands its relevance and existence in currents dynamics also. There are various statutes in law but in Hindu Law customs and usages were given equal importance as the laws which are written and as we know that the customs and usages are ever dynamic the concept of Hindu law has also evolved but the roots are still intact and have stood the test of time. Supreme Court and different High Courts time and again have interpreted the term dharma and other concepts of Hindu law and decided the cases based upon such interpretations. So, the understanding of Hindu law with jurisprudential perspective will be useful in understanding its relevance in current times.