A Varanasi pandit, Nandapandita, was the first to write a commentary on the Vishnu Smriti in 1622, but the book was not translated into English until 1880 by Julius Jolly.
[1] It is commonly agreed upon that the Vishnu Smriti relies heavily on previous Dharmashastra texts, such as the Manusmriti and Yajnavalkya smrti.
Olivelle shows that the text was very likely composed between 700 and 1000 CE, based on several factors: 1) the centrality of written documents and events which occurred in the Common Era being cited within the text, 2) the vocabulary used (for example, the word pustaka, which was first used by a sixth-century astronomer), 3) the fact that the Vishnu Smriti is the only Dharmaśāstra to mention satī or to deal comprehensively with tīrthas, and 4) unique iconographic correlations between descriptions of Vaishnava images in the text and specimens found only after the eighth century in Kashmir.
This frame story remains present throughout the text, unlike many Dharmaśāstras where the simple expounding of laws takes over for the majority of the books.
Vishnu then assures her that she should not worry because, “Good people who take delight in the conduct of the social classes and the orders of life who are totally devoted to the śāstras, O Earth, will support you.