The Parasara Smriti is noted for its advanced views and it is considered most suited for the kaliyuga.
The Katyayana Smriti specially deals with stridhana (a woman’s personal property).
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? Answer:
Both 1 & 2
Notes:
The Manu Smriti is the most ancient and authoritative among them. It has twelve chapters dealing with achara, vyavahara, and prayaschitta. It is looked upon as having served as a model to all the later Smritis. It has many masterly commentaries like those of Medhatithi, Govindaraja, and Kulluka Bhatta. The extant work is a version compiled by Bhrigu, one of the disciples of Manu.
The next in importance is the Yajnavalkya Smriti, which has three kandas (sections) on achara, vyavahara, and prayaschitta. It agrees with the Manu Smriti on many points, but disagrees on issues like niyoga, inheritance, and gambling. It has got a few valuable commentaries like Balakrida, Apararka, and Mitaksara, of which Mitaksara is the most critical and authoritative.
The Parasara Smriti is noted for its advanced views and it is considered most suited for the kaliyuga. It deals with achara and prayaschitta only. It mentions the apaddharma of the four castes: agriculture, trade, and commerce for the Brahmins, etc. Its commentary by Madhavacharya is very popular and authoritative and explains vyavahara under raja-dharma.
The Narada Smriti occurs in two recensions and deals with vyavahara only.
The Brihaspati Smriti has seven sections dealing with vyavahara, achara, and prayaschitta. It closely follows the Mannu Smriti and is known as a parisista (supplement) to the latter.
The Katyayana Smriti follows closely the works of Manu, Brihaspati and Narada. It specially deals with stridhana (a woman’s personal property).