The Hindu codes of religious and social laws are known as Dharmasastra, or smriti. The texts belonging to this sastra are many and varied. Besides, there are smriti material outlining the principles of jurisprudence may be found in other classes of literature, such as the puranas. Dr. Banerji who has established himself as an authority of the subject has collected and critically edited with an annotated translation the verses from the Agni-purana, an encyclopaedic mythological text, which deals with the basic principles of the Hindu jurisprudence. This forms the first volume of the book. The second volume consists of texts from the Yajnavalkyasmrti in the same subject with translation and adaptation. The work shows the critical and analytical insight of the author. Several glossaries and indexes have greatly enhanced the value of the work.
