A Treatise on DharmaA Treatise on Dharma, written in the fourth or fifth century, is the finest example of the genre of dharmasXXXXstra texts on religious, civil, and criminal law and the duties of rulers that informed Indian life for a thousand years. It illuminates major cultural innovations, such as the prominence of documents in commercial and legal proceedings, the use of ordeals in resolving disputes, and the growing importance of yoga in spiritual practices.