In the article, the author discusses the nature of the Burmese law books called ‘Dhammathat’ in the Burmese language, from the aspect of Indianization. In other words, the author attempts to examine how much the Indian concept of law was adapted to the Burmese legal literature and how much the Burmese legal literature imposed limitations on the Indian concept of law.
The Dhammathats, which are the main source of Burmese law for the secular society, were compiled in the successive dynasties of Burma. They originate in the Dhammasatthams which were compiled in the Pali language by Mon Buddhist scholars, probably during the Pagan period in the 12th and 13th centuries at the request of the Burmese Kings. The Dhammasatthams, laying down rules for administration of justice, are believed to have been compiled based on ‘Mon Dhammathats’, which in turn were modeled by the Mons upon the Sanskrit Dharmasastras; the Mon modified them to suit local customs and conditions. In compiling the Dhammasatthams, Mon writers borrowed only provisions from the so-called ‘Vyavahara’ of the Dharmasastras, which deals with administration of justice proper, because they were to be applied to Buddhist people. As a result, the size of the Dhammasatthams became very small, and they were tranformed into civil or lay law books.
There has long been a controversy between two major authorities on ancient laws of Burma as to the Hindu influence on the Dhammasatthams or Dhammathats, one emphasizing Hindu influence based on ‘Manu Smrti’, the other stressing the differences between Hindu and Burmese customary laws; yet both agree that the Dharmasastras are essentially religious whereas the Burmese Dhammasatthams or Dhammathats are secular and social, M. B. Hooker, a specialist in Comparative Law, pointed out that it is not too much to say that the descriptions of the Burmese law books have sometimes become distorted through the eagerness of the commentators to demonstrate an Indian derivation.
The author's view is that it is undeniable that Hindu influence on Burmese law books will be obvious if attention is paid to the fact that ‘Mon Dhammathats’ were produced through the impact of the Sanskrit Dharmasastras. On the other hand, it is quite reasonable to deny the Hindu influence if we notice the fact that the Pali Dhammasattams were produced as Mon writers modified the Dharmasastras, to suit local customs and coditions, namely to the Buddhist Burmese, and that finally the Dhammasatthams were considerably ‘Burmanized’ as the Burmese Dhammathats.
According to Dr. Forchhammer, a German archaeologist of the 19th century, the Sanskrit Dharmasastras were introduced prior to the 10th century A. D. from Southern India into Indian colonies on the coast of Burma, and being adopted by the Mons, became the law of the united Burmese and Mon dominion from the 11th to 16th centuries. On the other hand, J. Jardine, the late 19th century Judicial commisioner of British Burma, suggested the possibility that the Sanskrit Dharmasastras had been compiled at the courts of the ancient ‘Pyu’ kings of Prome before the 10th century, and perhaps also at early Pagan. Burmese jurists, while basing their view on chronicles, insist that ‘Pyu’ had three ‘Dhammathats’ before they became acquainted in the 11th century with ‘Mon Dhammathats’. Although no authentic records have yet been found, the author suggests that there may have been Hindu influence on Pyu Dhammathats'.
According to the eminent Burmese historian Dr. Than Tun, the word ‘Dhammathat’, appears only once in 1249 A. D. in epigraphic records of the Pagan period. Thus, he doubts whether Dhammasatthams as historical books referred to, had really existed in the earlier period. Another epigraphic record referring to ‘Dhammasattham’ or ‘Dhammathat’ of he Pagan period is the

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