A teaching receives authority
A narrative frame introduces a teaching about dharma. It asks the reader to recognize a particular source of order before individual rules are set out.
02Every text has
Follow the story
Every text has
a journey.
Follow four connected moments. These are interpretive steps through the subject, not a claim that its history occurred in four simple stages.
The person enters a social world
Education, eligibility, household roles, ritual, and disciplined conduct are organized through unequal social classifications. The organization is itself something to study critically.
The ruler and court appear
Kingship, evidence, punishment, property, and family relations expand the text beyond private conduct. Its categories require historical context rather than automatic application today.
The text is read again
Commentaries, colonial legal uses, reform, and anti-caste critique form later reception histories. These must not be silently attributed to the base text itself.
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