The Manusmriti, also known as the Manava-Dharmashastra or the Laws of Manu, is a major legal text among the Dharmashastras of Hinduism. It contains rules on many aspects of dharma and is especially known for its discussion of separate rules for the four varnas, the inherited social classes often called caste. The metrical Sanskrit text is dated to between the second century BC and the second century AD and presents itself as a discourse given by the sages Manu and Bhrigu on duties, rights, conduct, and virtue. In 1776 it became one of the first Sanskrit texts translated into English, by the British philologist William Jones, and it was subsequently used to help construct the Hindu law code applied in territory administered by the East India Company.
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