Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-297) and index.

Machine generated contents note: Foreword; List of contributors; Chr onology; Map; Introduction Timothy Lubin, Donald R. Davis, Jr and Jayan th Krishnan; Part I. Hindu Law: 1. An historical overview of Hindu law Donald R. Davis, Jr; 2. Dharmaâsåastra: a textual history Patrick Olive lle; 3. Hindu legal practice in premodern India Axel Michaels; 4. The c reation of Anglo-Hindu law Rosane Rocher; 5. Marriage and family in col onial Hindu law Rachel Sturman; 6. Hindu law as personal law Rina Verma Williams; Part II. Law in Ancient and Medieval Hindu Traditions: 7. Hi ndu jurisprudence and scriptural hermeneutics Lawrence McCrea; 8. Indic conceptions of authority Timothy Lubin; 9. âSåudra Dharma and legal tr eatments of caste Ananya Vajpeyi; 10. Law, literature, and the problem of politics in medieval India Whitney Cox; 11. Hindu law as performance : ritual and poetic elements in Dharmaâsåastra Robert Yelle; Part III. Law and Modern Hinduism: 12. Temples, deities, and the law Richard Davi s; 13. In the divine court of appeals: vows before the God of justice A ditya Malik; 14. Contemporary caste discrimination and affirmative acti on Laura Dudley Jenkins; 15. Law and Hindu nationalist movements Smita Narula; 16. Law and the Hindu Diaspora: a thumbnail survey Jayanth Kris hnan; Appendices; Glossary; Bibliography.

"Covering the earliest Sanskrit rulebooks through to the codificatio n of 'Hindu law' in modern times, this interdisciplinary volume examine s the interactions between Hinduism and the law. The authors present th e major transformations to India's legal system in both the colonial an d post colonial periods and their relation to recent changes in Hinduis m. Thematic studies show how law and Hinduism relate and interact in ar eas such as ritual, logic, politics, and literature, offering a broad c overage of South Asia's contributions to religion and law at the inters ection of society, politics and culture. In doing so, the authors build on previous treatments of Hindu law as a purely text-based tradition, and in the process, provide a fascinating account of an often neglected social and political history"-- Provided by publisher.