Savigny, the founding father of the historical school of jurisprudence, aptly observed that "Law is like a language — it has national character and develops with the life of the people." The proper appreciation of present law thus necessitates evaluation of legal evolution since ancient times.

The synthetic school of jurisprudence, as propounded by M.J. Sethana, advocates the amalgamation of analytical, sociological, historical and philosophical methods to achieve an integrated approach — finding connecting links and reconciliations to arrive at proper solutions.

The ancient Hindu legal system draws from Vedas, Smritis, customs and good conscience. While the Vedas form the 'basic structure', other sources remain amenable to the needs of the time.

The Vedas comprise Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyakas and Upanishads, with operational manuals in the Sutra, Grihya and Dharma texts. The Epics and Puranas lay down post-Vedic principles, for which Manu and Yajnavalkya provided practical Smriti manuals.

By the 5th century CE emerged the Nibandha texts — systematic commentaries explaining various topics of law. This entire corpus constitutes Dharmashastra.