Within the Hindu scriptural landscape, the Vedas and the Smritis stand in a relationship of source and application, revelation and remembrance. The Vedas, known as śruti or “that which is heard,” are regarded as eternal, impersonal revelation, not attributed to any human author and received by ancient seers. They contain hymns, sacrificial formulas, ritual instructions, and profound philosophical reflections on ultimate reality, such as Brahman and ātman. Because of this status as apauruṣeya, they are treated as the highest and primary authority, fixed in principle and not open to alteration.

The Smritis, by contrast, are “that which is remembered,” and are attributed to specific sages who systematized and articulated the implications of Vedic teaching for concrete human life. Texts such as the Manusmṛti, Yājñavalkya Smṛti, Nārada Smṛti, and others in the Dharmaśāstra and Dharmasūtra traditions codify social order, moral conduct, law, and domestic ritual. They address matters such as varṇa–āśrama duties, marriage, inheritance, penalties, governance, and daily religious observances, thereby translating the more primordial Vedic vision into detailed norms for society. In this way, they function as an applied extension of Vedic principles into the realms of ethics, law, and custom.

A crucial distinction lies in their respective degrees of authority and flexibility. While Smritis are deeply respected and can be highly influential, their authority is explicitly secondary and derivative: they are binding only insofar as they are consistent with the Vedas, and where conflict is perceived, śruti is held to override smṛti. Precisely because they are human compositions, Smritis are understood to be adaptable to changing times, places, and social conditions, and later Smritis may revise or reinterpret earlier ones. The Vedas thus provide the enduring spiritual and ritual framework, while the Smritis continually rearticulate that framework into evolving codes of social and moral life, as seen paradigmatically in texts like the Manusmṛti.