Floods in The Area and Composition of Manusmriti
About 10,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age and beginning of holocene period, because of fast melting of glaciers, rivers worldwide had floods causing wide spread destruction. This is mentioned in Persian book Avesta as well as several Indian Sanskrit Books or Vedic Granths. After the floods, Rishis in the Vedic state of 'Brahmavarta', also called 'Devbhumi' in 'Manusmriti' approached the oldest Seer at that time Manu, who was four hundred years old and who had escaped floods successfully, to "guide the community from his 'memory' and experiences, on how to face such calamities in future and lead life peacefully in an organised manner. It was a conference of important saints and seers of that period to launce a 'civilised and organised society'. Conference held in 'Brahmavarta' state, the abode of Rishis of that time, can be called a formal launching of 'Vedic Sanatan Dharma'.
Manu and Bhrigu narreted shaloks on various aspects of life, which were carried for a long time verbally through generations and then compiled in written form gradually as facilities appeared. The document is known as 'Manusmriti'. It was only an 'advisory' by veteran Rishis, Manu and Bhrigu, and not an 'ordinance' by Manu, as wrongly described by British linguist Sir William Jones. However, Sir William Jones had a great respect for Manusmriti and considered it containing valuable information. After his death in 1794 in Calcutta, East India Company, which was ruling most of Indian territory at that point in time, got installed a statue of him at the premises of Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, holding a copy of 'Manusmriti' in hand. Britishers had taken 'Manusmriti' as a 'Law Book' for Hindus during their administration.
Also the first edition of the English translation of 'Manusmriti' which appeared in the series 'Sacred Books of the East', Vol. 25, in 1886 written by German Prof. George Buhler Friedrich Nietzsche described Manusmriti "an incomparably spiritual and superior work" compared to the christian Bible.
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