''Dhammasattha'' ("treatise on the law") is the

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

name of a genre of literature found in the

Indianized kingdoms Greater India, also known as the Indian cultural sphere, or the Indic world, is an area composed of several countries and regions in South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself f ...

of Western

mainland Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

(modern

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

) principally written in Pali, Burmese,

Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...

or the

Tai languages The Tai, Zhuang–Tai, or Daic languages (Ahom language, Ahom: 𑜁𑜪𑜨 𑜄𑜩 or 𑜁𑜨𑜉𑜫 𑜄𑜩 ; ; or , ; , ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai languages, Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spo ...

or in a bilingual ''nissaya'' or literal Pali translation (). Burmese is often transliterated "dhammathat" and the Tai and Mon terms are typically romanized as "thammasāt" or "dhammasāt" (). "Dhamma" is the Pali-cognate of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

-term "

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

", meaning "law and justice". "Sattha" is the cognate of "

śāstra ''Śāstra'' ( ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The word is ge ...

", which either means instruction, learning, or treatise. Dhammasattha texts are historically related to Hindu

dharmaśāstra ''Dharmaśāstra'' () are Sanskrit Puranic Smriti texts on law and conduct, and refer to treatises (shastras, śāstras) on Dharma. Like Dharmasūtra which are based upon Vedas, these texts are also elaborate law commentaries based on vedas, D ...

literature from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, although they are very significantly influenced by the

Theravada Buddhist ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dhamma'' in th ...

traditions and literature of Southeast Asia.

History

The word ''dhammathat'' is first mentioned in a Burmese inscription from 13th-century

Bagan Bagan ( ; ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that w ...

, although it is likely that dhammasattha texts were transmitted there earlier. Certain dhammasatthas claim to have been compiled during the first millennium. There are nine primary Burmese dhammathats, namely the Manu and Dhammavisala Dhammathats of the Pagan Kingdom, the

Wareru Dhammathat The ''Wareru Dhammathat'' (, ; also known as Wagaru Dhammathat or Code of Wareru) is one of the oldest extant ''dhammathats'' (legal treatises) of Myanmar (Burma). It was compiled in the 1290s in Mon language, Mon at the behest of King Wareru of H ...

(1270), Pasedha (1468), Dhammathat Kyaw (1581), and Pyanchi Dhammathats (1614) of the

Taungoo Dynasty ''taungnguumainn saat'' , conventional_long_name = Toungoo dynasty , common_name = Taungoo dynasty , status = Empire/ Kingdom , event_start = Independence from Ava Kingdom , year_start = 15 ...

, and the Myingun Dhammathat (1650) of the

Konbaung Dynasty The Konbaung dynasty (), also known as the Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်), was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. It created the second-largest empire in history of Mya ...

. The first dhammathat mentioned in Burmese chronicles is the ''Duttabaung'' Dhammathat, during the time of

Sri Ksetra Kingdom , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Sri Ksetra , common_name = Kingdom of Sri Ksetra , era = Classical Antiquity , status = City-state , event_start = Founding of kingdom , year_start = c. 3rd – 9th century CE , date_start = , ...

. In

Burmese customary law Burmese customary law, also known as Myanmar customary law (), is the foundational body of legal principles primarily applied to Buddhists in Myanmar, governing family matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and matrimonial rights. This leg ...

, the order of precedence was mutual arbitration, ''yazathats'', and ''dhammathat''. Burmese dhammathats were supplemented by interpretive guidance in the form of ''ameindaw'' (edicts) or ''pyandan''. There is an extensive tradition of dhammasattha exegesis, particularly in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. Hundreds of dhammasattha, commentaries, and related legal texts are extant in

parabaik Folding-book manuscripts are a type of writing material historically used in Mainland Southeast Asia, particularly in the areas of present-day Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. They are known as ''parabaik'' in Burmese, ''samut thai'' in Thai o ...

(

palm-leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and spread to ot ...

) form.

Legal history

Dhammasatths influenced a number of Southeast Asian societies prior to the colonial era in matters concerning marriage, theft, assault, slavery, debt, kingship, property, inheritance as well as other issues. In contemporary

, although colonial and post-colonial laws predominate, it remains acceptable practice to use dhammathat in law courts in certain areas of family and inheritance law.

References

* *Andrew Huxley. "How Buddhist is Theravāda Buddhist Law?" ''The Buddhist Forum, Volume 1: Seminar Papers 1987-1988''. New Delhi: Heritage Publishers, 1990. *Mya Sein. Mranʻ mā dha leʹ thuṃʺ tamʻʺ upade. Mandalay, 1970. *Than Tun. Khetʻ hoṅʻʺ rājavaṅʻ. Rangoon, 1961. *Lammerts, Dietrich Christian. 2010. Buddhism and written law dhammasattha manuscripts and texts in premodern Burma. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Cornell University, May 2010. *Lingat, Robert. Les régimes matrimoniaux du sud-est de l’Asie; essai de droit comparé indochinois. 2 vols. Paris, 1952–55. Religious law Legal history History of Buddhism in Myanmar Legal literature Burmese Buddhist literature Buddhist law {{Buddhism-stub

History

Legal history

See also

References