In January, Oxford University Press will release “The Roots of Hindu Jurisprudence: Sources of Dharma and Interpretations of Mimamsa and Dharmashastra” by Domenico Francavilla (Institute of Canon Law and Comparative Religious Laws, Lugano). The publisher’s description follows:

This book is a detailed, innovative, and comprehensive examination of the sources of dharma, which is among the key concepts in Hindu jurisprudence. The book is also an introduction to the main topics of Hindu legal theory. Underlying the work of authors of various texts of Sanskrit juridical literature, including the dharmashastra, commentaries, andnibandhs, as well as of interpreters of questions concerning dharma, is a theory of the sources of dharma. Understanding the theory requires in-depth examination of the basis of the authority of different sources and of the issues that arise in case of conflict. The book begins with a detailed analysis the concept of dharma itself and the general problems concerning the knowledge of dharma (chapters 1-2). Then it studies the arguments used in the literature to establish the authority of sources (chapters 3-5). It pays special attention to the authority of smrti andsadâcâra, which are the two crucial sources in the practical functioning of the system. It examines the theory of sources of dharma as reconstructed mainly through an analysis of Medhatithi’s commentary on Manu II.6-15 and of thesmrtipada of the Tantravarttika of Kumarila Bhatta, a pivotal text in the Mimamsa philosophical tradition. It concludes with a look at wider issues of legal theory, the acceptance of universal and particular authorities in Hindu jurisprudence, the role of rulers, and the law in practice.