One of the tradition's most influential Dharmashastra texts, covering creation, law, conduct, and social order, presented as the teaching of Manu, the first human in Puranic tradition.
लगभग २री शताब्दी ई.पू. – २री शताब्दी · circa 2nd century BCE - 2nd century CE
Composed in verse across twelve chapters, the Manusmriti addresses creation, the duties of the four varnas and four ashramas (life stages), civil and criminal law, and the conduct expected of a king, presenting itself as the teaching of Manu, the first human and progenitor of humankind in Puranic tradition. It is one of several Dharmashastra texts rather than the sole authority on any of these subjects within the tradition itself.
The text frames its own authority through a chain of transmission: the assembled sages ask Manu to describe the dharma of all four varnas, Manu instructs the sage Bhrigu in the teaching, and Bhrigu in turn recites the full text to the sages as they had originally asked — the frame through which the Manusmriti presents itself as received rather than independently authored.