The oldest and the recognized of the smrtis, is that of Manu also called Manava Samhita or Manava Dharmasastra. It is the most famous of the lawbooks. Its unique quality is its combination of all features beloved by Hindu society in a treatise on Duty. Manu remains the principle dharmasastra though no legal commentary accepts it as exhaustive or final. Its age perhaps between 200 B.C. and A.D. 100. was not yet one of compulsive encyclopedism, such as is reflected in the puranas, to the fascination of which medieval digest writers succumbed. It is a standard and the most authoritative work on Hindu law and presents the normal form of Hindu Society and civilization. It is a storehouse of information on social, cultural, religious, ethical, educational, political, judicial and geographical life of the period and this is perfectly natural.
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