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Hiranyakeshi Dharmasutra

Hiranyakeshi Dharmasutra belongs to the Taittiriya Shaka of Krishna Yajurveda. It is part of Hiranyakeshi Kalpa. It is a textbook on rules of conduct and religious and civil law. The text is credited to Satyasadha Hiranyakeshi and is believed to have been composed during 2nd century AD.

It forms the 26th and 27th prasnas of Hiranyakeshi Kalpa. It is also not an independent work as many of the rules found in the book is found in other Dharmasutra texts.

What makes Hiranyakeshi Dharmasutra an important work in later Vedic literature is that it may be taken as the oldest proof for checking the authenticity of the text of Apastamba. Srauta Sutra or Apastamba belongs to the Taittiriya Shaka of Krishna Yajurveda.

The text is concerned with the rules, duties and responsibilities about the conduct of the people as the members of a family, society or a kingdom. It also deals with marriage, sacraments, brahmacharin, etc.