Manu’s Code of Law will Help Create Ideal Individuals

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Manu’s Code of Law is a post-Vedic authoritative text that describes the customs and appropriate conduct for the people within the Hindu caste system, and is essentially viewed as the laws that will help create ideal individuals. In the text, Manu rigidly defines the caste system into four distinct groups: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The manner of the narration makes it clear that the main actors being addressed in each caste are male, and although the Laws of Manu discuss the duties of each caste, the narration is predominately focused on the Brahmin caste, which is the top of the hierarchy of these ideal models of male action. A masculine ideal of orthodox Brahmin males is created through Manu’s laws—the perfect Brahmin male becomes characterized as someone who yearns spiritual knowledge, holds their power humbly, masters renunciation, and is well-disciplined. This characterization leads to the normalization of asceticism and following traditional customs as being the definition of “manliness” for Manu, which contrasts more contemporary definitions of manliness that ...

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