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Universal Civil Code of Manusmriti

Written by RAMAKANT. TIWARI

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About this book

Head of a caste based political party in northern Bharata had often been invoking the term 'Manuvada' and 'Manuvadi' to derogate political opponents from other parties. Too frequent invocation of these two terms ignited a controversy in authors mind as to what is so sinister about Manusmriti that those controversial comments are bandied around. Thus came the decision to scrutinise Manusmriti and ferret out facts and realities entirely unknown to masses hitherto. As multiple versions of Manusmriti are available on shelves, considerable explorations and confabulations with scholars had to be undertaken to select the most appropriate one to proceed with. Finally, it was Manusmriti authored by Dr. Surendra Kumar and published by Arsha Sahitya Prachara Trust, Delhi that came to be selected. Learned author has not only offered most accurate interpretations of Sloka-s but also discriminatively too. He has effectively identified Sloka-s as Praksepa-s on the basis of criteria like relevance, context, diction, repetition, not in harmony with Veda-s and continuity that in all probability had been appended later during foreign domination to distort and disfigure sacrosanct wisdom of Manusmriti in order to realise their dubious goal of 'divide, rule and destroy' Sanatana society to facilitate their occupation of the nation. Out of 2685 Sloka-s, 1471 were identified as Praksipta by the author with 1214 constituting supposedly original version of the Smriti. Since I am convinced with his conclusions after scrutiny, I decided to exclude all those Sloka-s from this title. Manusmriti is the greatest civil code ever authored on Planet Earth for human society thousands of years ago. During colonial occupation, Euro-authors were mobilised by the intruding British regime to insert Sloka-s to distort the philosophy in their bid to divide and rule Hindu society which was almost neutralised by the august institution of Arya Samaja through their extensive endeavours in this regard. Intensity and depth of the wisdom may be gauged from the fact that quite enigmatically, the philosophy is very much in action in various forms and manifests in all societies, in all countries even today being intrinsic to human psyche. Several Smriti-s came into being during that phase but none of them could survive in presence of the aura of Manusmriti. Antiquity of the Smriti is established by its being mentioned in scriptures like Satpatha, Taittiriya Upanisad etc.

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Reading guide

Themes, characters and key ideas in Universal Civil Code of Manusmriti, written by Chaptra AI.

  • about 15 hours
  • advanced
  • Scholarly
  • Investigative
  • Revisionist

RAMAKANT. TIWARI's "Universal Civil Code of Manusmriti" is a revisionist study born from the author's desire to understand the derogatory political use of 'Manuvada'. The book critically examines the ancient Manusmriti, adopting Dr. Surendra Kumar's methodology to identify and exclude 1471 interpolated verses (Praksepa-s) from an original 2685, presenting a purportedly pure version of 1214 Slokas. Tiwari argues that these interpolations were strategically inserted by British colonialists and Euro-authors to divide and rule Hindu society, a distortion later challenged by the Arya Samaj. The author passionately asserts Manusmriti as the greatest, most ancient, and universally relevant civil code, whose intrinsic wisdom continues to manifest across societies today.

Too frequent invocation of these two terms ignited a controversy in authors mind as to what is so sinister about Manusmriti that those controversial comments are bandied around.

Key themes

Textual Authenticity and Interpolation
This is the central theme, exploring the idea that ancient texts like Manusmriti are not monolithic but have evolved through time, accumulating additions that may not reflect the original intent. The book delves into the rigorous process of identifying 'Praksepa-s' based on internal consistency, context, and harmony with other sacred texts like the Vedas, arguing for a 'purified' version.
Colonialism and Historical Revisionism
A powerful theme asserting that foreign colonial powers (specifically the British) deliberately manipulated and distorted indigenous knowledge systems, including Manusmriti, to serve their 'divide, rule and destroy' agenda. The book frames the 'Praksepa-s' not merely as accidental additions but as intentional insertions by 'Euro-authors' during colonial occupation.
Universalism of Ancient Indian Wisdom
The book strongly advocates for Manusmriti as not just an ancient Indian text, but a 'Universal Civil Code' whose wisdom transcends geographical and temporal boundaries. It argues that the philosophy is 'intrinsic to human psyche' and manifests in various forms across all societies, even today, positioning ancient Indian thought as a global guiding force.

Worth discussing

How does the author's motivation (countering political derogation of 'Manuvada') influence the book's analytical approach and conclusions?

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