Briefly describe the basic characteristics of ancient Indian law?

1, India's many religions, affecting the structure and system of Indian law is exceptionally complex. Brahminism, with the Vedas as its highest classics. Buddhism to the Tripitaka as the basic classics. There is also Jainism, etc.

2, sinks and law, ethics and philosophy as one.

3. Codes were not promulgated by kings or legislatures, but were compiled by prominent religious figures or Brahmin monastic aristocrats in accordance with social needs and class interests.

4. The inequality of society was openly proclaimed, and the status and rights and duties of all inhabitants were defined in legal form, forming a complete caste system.

Expanded:

Ancient Indian law can be divided into a Buddhist branch and a Brahmanical branch, which flourished with each other. The representative legal documents of Buddhism include the Tripitaka, the Law, the Sutras, and the Discourses, which were compiled by the monks assembled by King Ashoka of the Peacock Dynasty (who reigned about 273 BCE-232 BCE). Brahmanical law enshrines the ancient texts of the Vedas, of which the Dharma Sutras function as a code, and the Chodama Dharma Sutras.

The Treatise on Government, a political and economic treatise written around the time of the Peacock dynasty in the 4th century BC, also includes many elements of legal norms. The most representative of the legal documents is the Code of Manu,*** which has 12 chapters and includes religious, moral and legal norms as well as philosophy. Ancient Indian law affirms the unlimited power of kings and also affirms the caste system of ancient Indian slave society.

In land law, the king had supreme ownership of the land in the country. Contracts were usually made by oath. Marriage was also a contract, with intermarriage between castes prohibited in principle, the rights of the head of the family and of the husband emphasized, and the wife and children placed on the same footing as slaves. In terms of criminal law, there are different penalties for committing the same crime between castes.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Indian Law System

Baidu Encyclopedia - Ancient Indian Law