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Is it explicitly mentioned anywhere that dharma can change with desa-kAla conditions? If not explicit mention, is it implied anywhere? If it can change, how much can it change? What was considered dharma/adharma before can become adharma/dharma at some later point in time?

Comment I am aware of yuga dharmas. My question is more simple. Whether something that was considered as dharma/adharma, say 1000 years ago, can be considered the opposite now.

Rickross
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  • I am aware of yuga dharmas. My question is more simple. Whether something that was considered as dharma/adharma, say 1000 years ago, can be considered the opposite now. @sv. –  Feb 15 '20 at 09:11
  • @yAdRcchika, of course, certain practices advocated for previous yugas are not advocated for current yuga. Does it mean the dharma 'changed' ? Suppose I write a law : If morning, work. If afternoon, eat. If night, sleep. Does it mean the law 'changes' with time ? Both Yes and No. The law is different for each time. But the law was created before the day even started, and it takes into account all possible future times, so there is no need to 'change' it to suit the current time, because current time is already accounted for. So the law is "static, but not same". – ram Feb 15 '20 at 09:39
  • If you already know about Yuga Dharma then why are you asking "Does Dharma change with kala (time)?"@yAdRcchika – Rickross Feb 16 '20 at 06:20
  • Regarding parishtithi (situation) then that is also dealt with here:https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/27617/can-dharma-%c5%9b%c4%81stras-be-suspended-during-emergencies/27625#27625 – Rickross Feb 16 '20 at 06:21
  • Your Q is about Dharma more than anything else .. hence the Dharma tag. @yAdRcchika – Rickross Feb 16 '20 at 06:22
  • @Rickross See comment by Ram about yuga dharma. It is not really a change in dharma. See my comment in the question about comparing dharma now and 1000 years back. Paristhiti is desa-kAla paristhiti. It is a simple question. –  Feb 16 '20 at 07:00
  • For different times (Yuga) different Dharmas has been prescribed. One set for Krita, one for Treta and so on .. so to answer the kala part of ur Q we have to cite Yuga Dharma only. For answering the paristithi part we can reproduce my another answer. @yAdRcchika – Rickross Feb 16 '20 at 07:06
  • @yAdRcchika The question I linked doesn't talk about yuga dharma but one of the answers there does. I marked your question as a dup of the other - there is a difference. – Say No To Censorship Feb 17 '20 at 20:50

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Yes, definitely.

However, discard the desire (kama) and material wealth (artha) if contrary to Dharma; as also, any usage or custom or rules regarded as source of Dharma if at any time they were to lead to unhappiness or arouse people's indignation.

(Manu Smriti 4.176)

Basically what this means is that scripture must be reasonable. Otherwise a Hindu does not have to accept any thing simply because it is in scripture. I have given below 2 examples of such reasoning.

Yoga Vasistha II.18 says:

yuktiyuktamupādeyaṃ vacanaṃ bālakādapi | anyattṛṇamiva tyājyamapyuktaṃ padmajanmanā || 3 ||

The remark of a child is to be accepted, if it is in accordance with reason; but the remark of even Brahma Himself, the creator of the world is to be rejected like a piece of straw if it does not accord with reason.

REF: Vasistha's Yoga translated by Swami Venkatesananda, p 35.

Sri Vachaspati Mishra, another Advaita Vedanta philosopher, says,

Na hy āgamāḥ sahasram api ghaṭam paṭayitum īṣate (Bhāmatī, Introduction)

A thousand scriptures cannot make a jar into a cloth.

REF: Quoted by S. Radhakrishnan in his book, Indian Philosophy, Volume 2.

Pradip Gangopadhyay
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    This looks like a blank cheque to disregard anything in the dharma-shAstras. Or could you provide an alternate interpretation? –  Feb 15 '20 at 09:19
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    Not disregard anything. Only disregard things that lead to unhappiness or arouse people's indignation. Basically scripture must be reasonable. – Pradip Gangopadhyay Feb 15 '20 at 15:24
  • This does not seem to be the best interpretation. As yAdRcchika says it is coming across as carte blanche, either for the individual or for the collective conscience. Kindly refer to Medatithi's commentary here - https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/manusmriti-with-the-commentary-of-medhatithi/d/doc200281.html . – Artist Formerly Known As CSD Feb 16 '20 at 06:27
  • Also vedantists might place sabda pramana lower in the hierarchy among pramanas, but other Hindus may not agree. – Artist Formerly Known As CSD Feb 16 '20 at 06:29
  • Sabda pramana is only necessary for spiritual matters that are beyond human reason. Sabda pramana can not be used in matters that can be decided by reason. – Pradip Gangopadhyay Feb 18 '20 at 06:51