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'''''Dhammasattha''''' "treatise on the law" is the [[Pali]] name of a genre of literature found in the [[Greater India#Indianized kingdoms|Indianized kingdoms]] of Western [[mainland Southeast Asia]] (modern [[Laos]], [[Burma]], [[Cambodia]], [[Thailand]], and [[Yunnan]]) principally written in Pali, [[Burmese language|Burmese]], [[Mon language|Mon]] or the [[Tai languages]] or in a bilingual ''nissaya'' or literal Pali translation ({{lang-my| နိဿယ}}). "Sattha" is the Pali cognate of the [[Sanskrit]] term for instruction, learning, or treatise, [[Shastra|śāstra]]. Burmese {{lang|my|ဓမ္မသတ်}} is often transliterated "dhammathat" and the Tai and Mon terms are typically romanized as "thammasāt" or "dhammasāt" ({{lang-th|ธรรมศาสตร์}}) Dhammasattha texts are historically related to Hindu [[dharmaśāstra]] literature, although they are very significantly influenced by the [[Theravada|Theravada Buddhist]] traditions and literature of Southeast Asia.

==History==
The word ''dhammathat'' is first mentioned in a Burmese inscription from 13th-century [[Bagan]], although it is likely that dhammasattha texts were transmitted there earlier. Certain dhammasatthas claim to have been compiled during the first millennium. There are nine primary Burmese dhammathats, namely the Manu and Dhammavisala Dhammathats of the [[Pagan Kingdom]], the [[Wareru]] Dhammathat<ref name=Coedes>{{cite book|last= Coedès|first= George|author-link= George Coedès|editor= Walter F. Vella|others= trans.Susan Brown Cowing|title= The Indianized States of Southeast Asia|year= 1968|publisher= University of Hawaii Press|isbn= 978-0-8248-0368-1}}</ref>{{rp|210}} (1270), Pasedha (1468), Dhammathat Kyaw (1581), and Pyanchi Dhammathats (1614)  of the [[Taungoo Dynasty]], and the Myingun Dhammathat (1650) of the [[Konbaung Dynasty]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Myint |first1=Htun |title=Challenges Facing "State" Building in Burma: Law and Legal Dimension |publisher=Indiana University |url=http://www.indiana.edu/~voconf/papers/myint_voconf.pdf}}</ref> The first dhammathat mentioned in Burmese chronicles is the ''Duttabaung'' Dhammathat, during the time of [[Sri Ksetra Kingdom]].<ref name=":0" />

In traditional Burmese law, the order of precedence was mutual arbitration, ''yazathats'', and ''dhammathat''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Thuzar Ko|first=|date=2019-11-18|title=Myanmar's Kingship and Judicial System in Konbaung Period|url=https://zenodo.org/record/3545254|journal=Dagon University Research Journal|volume=Vol.5|issue=2013|pages=27–30|doi=10.5281/zenodo.3545254|via=}}</ref> Burmese dhammathats were supplemented by interpretive guidance in the form of ''ameindaw'' (edicts) or ''pyandan''.<ref name=":0" />

There is an extensive tradition of dhammasattha exegesis, particularly in [[Myanmar]]. Hundreds of dhammasatth, commentaries, and related legal texts are extant in [[parabaik]] ([[palm-leaf manuscript]]) form.
==Legal history==
Dhammasatths influenced a number of Southeast Asian societies prior to the colonial era in matters concerning marriage, theft, assault, slavery, debt, kingship, property, inheritance as well as other issues. In contemporary [[Burma]], although colonial and post-colonial laws predominate, it remains acceptable practice to use dhammathat in law courts in certain areas of family and inheritance law.

== See also ==
* [[Burmese literature]]
* [[Thammasat University]] of Thailand

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{cite journal |last=Huxley |first=Andrew |year=1997 |title=The Importance of the Dhammathats in Burmese Law and Culture |journal=The Journal of Burma Studies |volume=1 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.1353/jbs.1997.0008 }}
*Andrew Huxley. "How Buddhist is Theravāda Buddhist Law?" ''The Buddhist Forum, Volume 1: Seminar Papers 1987-1988''. New Delhi: Heritage Publishers, 1990.
*Mya Sein. Mranʻ mā dha leʹ thuṃʺ tamʻʺ upade. Mandalay, 1970.
*Than Tun. Khetʻ hoṅʻʺ rājavaṅʻ. Rangoon, 1961.
*Lammerts, Dietrich Christian. 2010. Buddhism and written law dhammasattha manuscripts and texts in premodern Burma. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Cornell University, May 2010.
*Lingat, Robert. Les régimes matrimoniaux du sud-est de l’Asie; essai de droit comparé indochinois. 2 vols. Paris, 1952–55.

{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Religious law]]
[[Category:Legal history]]
[[Category:History of Buddhism in Myanmar]]
[[Category:Legal literature]]
[[Category:Burmese Buddhist literature]]
[[Category:Buddhist law]]


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