THE SACRED LIBRARY
About Narada Smriti
Narada's name supplies the work's traditional authority. This is a legal teaching, separate in genre from stories of the sage's travels or works associated with his devotional and musical roles. Its main concern is the resolution of contested claims through judicial procedure.
The opening accounts for lawsuits through a decline from truthful conduct into desire, anger and greed. It recognizes several levels of decision-making, from kin groups and associations to appointed authority and the king. The judicial world is broader than a monarch deciding every matter alone.
More About Narada Smriti
Narada Smriti belongs to the dharma literature concerned with duties, religious conduct and legal or social questions. Surviving forms and attribution differ between works.
AT A GLANCE
Identity & Context
- Identity
- Text
- Form
- Smriti & Dharmashastra
- Tradition
- Hindu religious traditions
INSIDE THE TEXT
Stories & Teachings
ROLE & ESSENCE
Themes & Meaning
The work gives detailed form to the process of deciding a dispute. A recorded complaint identifies the issue; the answer establishes what is contested; evidence then supports the decision. Its attention to procedure coexists with unequal status rules and the use of ordeals within its historical legal system.
Library Category
Form / Textual Family
Smriti / Dharmashastra
Traditional Attribution
Traditionally associated with Narada; traditional attribution is not a proof of single historical authorship.
Subject & Teachings
Narada Smriti belongs to the dharma literature concerned with duties, religious conduct and legal or social questions. Surviving forms and attribution differ between works.
Associated Deities / Figures
Textual Relationships
Historical Context
Composition, transmission and redaction must be distinguished; no unsupported exact date is assigned.
Reading Notes
A historical religious text, not a statement of current civil law. Identify the edition and distinguish descriptive study from endorsement.
Tradition Notes
Names and accounts can vary by recension, region and commentary. This entry distinguishes attested details from identifications still requiring a passage-level source.
Archive Classification Notes
Original archive annotations are retained here. The current playable classification is shown in the side panel.
- Tradition Dependence
- High — compare the identified textual or regional account.
- Structure
- Consult the identified edition for chapters, recension and numbering.
TRADITION & MEANING
Traditions & Interpretations
The transmitted work includes different versions and commentarial explanations. Legal verses and explanations added by later commentators are distinct parts of that transmission.
Reliable records are central to this process. The final document confirms the result, while dishonest witnesses or judges can justify reconsidering a case. These rules distinguish a defective hearing from a party's ordinary defeat and explain why the conduct of court participants matters to the validity of the outcome.
Names and accounts can vary by recension, region and commentary. This entry distinguishes attested details from identifications still requiring a passage-level source.
FOLLOW THE THREADS
Connected Cards
3 connected profiles. Every path leads to an original record.
The Sacred Library2
Narada’s work specializes in the judicial dimension of dharma.
Narada’s legal work also treats pleadings, evidence and judicial procedure.
