The Early Buddhist View of the State

Author(s): Balkrishna Govind Gokhale

Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 89, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1969), pp.
731-738
Published by: American Oriental Society
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/596944
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 THE EARLY BUDDHIST VIEW OF THE STATE

BALKRISHNA GOVIND GOKHALE

WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY

The early Buddhist (circa 500-25 B.C.) thinking on the nature and functions of the state
passed through three distinct phases. The initial phase is contained in the throry on the
origin of the state as given in the Mahdsammata story of the Digha Nikaya. The state begins
as a quasi-contractual arrangement under which the king agrees to perform specific func-
tions in behalf of the people in return for certain rights conferred on him, including taxa-
tion. The second stage is concerned with the problem of relationships between Buddhism
and a well-entrenched and all powerful Monarchical despotism and the solution is proposed
in the theory of two equal spheres of life, one, that of the Dhamma and the other, ana. In the
third and final phase the Buddhists explicate their own ideal of the state in which the state
simply becomes an instrument of the Dhamma which now assumes the form of a cosmic force
capable not only of containing the challenge of the power of the state but also of regulating
its behavior. In this sense the state becomes an ethical institution drawing its authority
from the Dhamma and guided by its repository, the Samgha.

ROYAL SUPPORT was one of the leading factors domain of Magadha.1 Besides, the kings easily fell
that helped the spread of early Buddhism in India. under the spell of the Buddha's personality which,
The Buddha claimed some of the powerful kings by all accounts, was extraordinary in its impact.
of his time, Bimbisdra and Ajdtasattu of Magadha Outside of these adventitious factors, however,
and Pasendi of Kosala, among his ardent votaries there were other, and more compelling causes, for
and the contributions of the Maurya emperor the early Buddhists to establish their own pattern
Asoka (circa 273-232 B.C.) to the expansion of of relationships with the state. Early Buddhism
Buddhism in India and the adjacent areas are began outside the confines of organized society for
well known. The Buddha established a special the Buddha's strivings and his early sermons took
relationship with the monarchs of his time and the place, not in towns and cities, but in the forests
creed established by him benefitted in many ways surrounding the tiny hamlets of Magadha. But
from royal patronage. These kings built monas- Buddhism could not for long remain outside its
teries for the Samgha and amended many of their society for even in the depths of the forests the arm
laws which otherwise would have made the
1 Cf Bhagava pi kosalako ahampi kosalako in Bhikkhu
Sawgha's activities very difficult, if not impossible.
J. Kashyap (ed.) Majjhimanikaya (Ndlandd, 1958), p.
Early Buddhist art enjoyed the patronage of the
371; The PAli texts used for this paper are from the series
state in a variety of ways and early Buddhism edited by Bhikkhu J. Kashyap and published from
cannot be understood fully without taking into NalandA by the PAli Publication Board (Bihar Govern-
consideration the role played by the state in it. ment); their dates of publication and abbreviations used
The relationship between the state and Budd- are Mahavagga (1956), MV; Cullavagga (1956) = CV;
Dighanikaya-three volumes (1958) = DN; Majjhi-
hism developed in an adventitious and circum-
manikaya-three volumes (1958) = MN; Samyuttanikaya
stantial manner. In the initial stages it was largely -four volumes (1959) = SamN; Anguttaranikaya-four
a matter of personal equation between the Buddha volumes (1960) = AngN; the other PAi texts belong to
and his royal contemporaries. Pasendi claimed a the series published by the P&i Text Society from
special bond between him and the Enlightened London; the dates of their publication and abbrevia-
tions used are Milinda Painha (1880) = MilP; Jataka-
One because both were Kosalans while Bimbisdra's
six volumes (1963) = Jat; Suttanipata (1913) = SN;
special interest in the Buddha was due to the fact for the early contact between Bimbisdra and the Buddha
that much of Buddha's ministry was spent in his see SN, pp. 72-74.

731

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732 Journal of the American Oriental Society, 89.4 (1969)
of the state reached, theoretically if not always
practically. The Buddha and his disciples were
subjects of the state in the areas they lived and
worked and they could not ignore, much less defy,
the power of the state with impunity. The Buddha
could declare that he was an "all-conquerer"
(sabbdbhibhzi)2 but he could not compel the kings
of his time to accept that fact. In course of time as
Buddhism developed into a religion, with the ad-
mission of lay-devotees, its relationships with the
state became even more crucial as is indicated by
the services of surgeons like Jivaka Komdrabhacca
and the banker Anathapindika who worked for
the state and were also enthusiastic supporters of
the new creed. The Buddha and his disciples, on
the other hand, perceived at an early stage the ad-
vantages accruing from a felicitous relationship
with the state and did everything in their power to
accommodate the demands of the state. This is
clearly shown in the modifications to many a
Vinaya rule. There was a further advantage to be
gained by such a relationship for only through it
could the Buddhists influence the actions of the
state and induce the rulers to live up to the ideal
of the state they were laying down.
Human life to the early Buddhists comprised
two distinct spheres, the temporal and the spirit-
ual. This is conveyed by the terms dittadhamma
and sampardya.3 It was admitted that the two
were intimately connected with each other for
life was a spectrum or a continuum in which one
sector gradually merged into another. But it was
also recognized that on a lower level, ditthad-
hamma was conditioned by an entriely different
set of assumptions and circumstances than
samparaya. This near-dichotomy was further ex-
expressed through two other terms, attha and
dhamma. Both terms are versatile in their mean-
ings and are used in a variety of contexts. The
term attha is translated as interest, advantage,
gain, good, blessing, welfare, profit, prosperity,
well-being, riches and wealth.4 There seem to be
2 MV, p. 11.
3 SamN, I, p. 81.
4 T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede (Edrs),
Pcdi Dictionary (London, 1959), p. 23.
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two distinct phases in the development of its
usage. In the first phase it was used generally to
mean something that is vital and desirable both in
this world and the next. In the secod phase its use
was more or less related to affairs of this world,
especially of organized society, and came close to
the Sanskrit technical term artha which Kautalya
describes as varta (economy) and dandaniti
(polity).' In this sense we find phrases such as
sabbe satta atthajata or Bimbisdra administering
ditthadhammika attha over his thousands of villages
in the kingdom of Magadha. There is also a men-
tion of an officer called sabbatthaka amacca (minis-
ter in charge of general administration) who would
be rightly concerned with the problems of varta
and dandaniti, to usetheKautalyan phrase. Finally,
a statement attributed to Ajdtasattu is specially
indicative of this recognition of the two spheres of
human life, temporal and spiritual. According to
the sotry, the leading disciples of the Buddha de-
cided to hold a synod soon after his demise at
Rajagaha, the M/Vagadhan capital. The purpose
was to collect and authenticate the words of the
Buddha before what was spurious passed muster
for the Buddhavacana (the Buddha's sayings). As
they got ready to meet, Ajatasattu told them to
proceed, secure in the assurance that he would do
everything in his power to help them. He is re-
puted to have said that while their's was the
dhammacakka ("wheel of the law"), his was the
dnacakka ("wheel of command").6 The statement
is of great significance as it enunciates clearly for
the first time the theory of the "two wheels"
which became the basis of much of the early
Buddhist political theory. Affairs of this world
and those of the next are like two wheels. Each has
its own distinct identity but they are also like the
wheels of the chariot, the axle on which they re-
volve, in this case, being the human society, its
desires, aspirations and destiny. There is also the
implication that dhamma cannot operate in this
world by itself as it needs the acquiescence, if not
6 R. P. Kangle (Ed), The Kautiliya Arthagastra
(Bombay, 1960), I, pp. 5-6.
6 See N. K. Jayawicrama (Trans), The Inception of
Discipline and the Vinaya Niddna (London, 1962), p. 8.
 GOKHALE: The Early Buddhist View of the State 733

support, of ana or the state. The state and Order by the institution of taxation which is a payment
are separate in their own identities but their inter- for specific work. The obligation is mutual and if
dependence cannot be ignored completely. one party violates it unilaterally the other is no
Attha and and, then, are intimately linked for longer obligated by the terms of that contract.
one cannot exist without the other. Attha, as But the contract is a basic condition of organized
worldly good, involves the right to enjoy private human society for in the absence of such a contract
property and the prerogative to found a family before the birth of the state, anarchy prevailed. It
without the fear of molestation and disruption. is, therefore, existential and neither the subjects
Property and family can exist only under a set of nor the state have any choice outside of it.
laws which ana alone can impose on all. Attha by The sutta also makes some further interesting
its very nature is the unfolding of the acquisitive comments. It explains that the king is called
instinct in man which, in order that it may benefit khattiya because he is the overlord (adhipati) of
the largest number, must be regulated by an farms (khetta) and he is called racja because he
agency higher than the several members of the pleases the people with dhamma (dhammena pare
society within which it may operate. It can be a ran-jeti). Dhamma, thus, is now introduced as a
source of unbridled kama (passion, desire) and basic constituent of the state.' By making the king
gedha (greed) which left to themselves would master of the farms there is an implicit acceptance
create anarchy. In such a state of anarchy the of the state's control, if not ownerhsip (for he is
distinction between dhamma and adhamma (non- called adhipati and not sami = owner) of all
dhamma) is blurred. This is well-illustrated in the forms of property within the realm though this
early Buddhist version of the origin of the state right is inexorably linked with dhamma (righteous-
contained in the Aganiia sutta of the Digha Nikaya. ness), conceivably an antidote against any ex-
In the dim distant past, so goes the story, there propriatory tendencies inherent in the state.
was no need for the state since all creatures were For the early Buddhists the state generally
pure in heart and none covetted the goods of means the monarch though the Buddha and
another. But there was a fall from this state and may of his prominent disciples came from oli-
men became victims of greed and passion. Prop- garchic republics. The terms commonly used for
erty and family became insecure and anarchy the state are rattha (country), rajja (kingdom) or
reigned supreme. To extricate themselves from vijita (subjugated territory).8 The state is a
this dangerous condition men elected an outstand- sovereign entity and its sovereignty is expressed
ing individual from among themselves (Mahasam- by a variety of terms such as arna, ddhipacca,
mata) and told him to "be indignant at that where issariya, vasa and siri. Ana means order or com-
at one should be rightly indignant, censure that mand and implies an ability to give orders to all.
which should rightly be censured, banish him who Adhipacca signifies overlordship, the quality of
deserves to be banished." In return for his work imposing superiority over others. Issariya, which
the people promised to give him a share of their is also called vasa is the quality of exercizing over-
produce. whelming influence or control, the capacity to im-
The state, in this manner, arises as a punitive pose sovereignty. Siri is splendor, beauty, good
institution charged with the responsibility of im- fortune, glory, majesty and prosperity and is
posing law and order without which human beings based on material possessions (siri bhoganam
cannot survive as an orderly society. The state be- asayo). Sovereignty connotes total authority
comes an agreement between the government and (sabbajanamanusse abhibhavitvd) an ability to re-
the ruled, wherein the ruled transfer a part of theirward and punish (nadayanto-socayanto), capacity
sovereignty to the state for a specific purpose. The
relationship between the state and the subject is a
7 DN, III, p. 64-73; T. W. Rhys Davids (Trans),
contractual obligation in which one commands Dialogues of the Buddha (London, 1957), III, p. 88.
and the other obeys. The contract is symbolized 8 SamN, I, pp. 39, 42; SN, verse 46.

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734 Journal of the American Oriental Society, 89.4 (1969)

to give orders to all and receive orders from none.9 tion of war as strictly within the jurisdiction of
The sovereignty of the state is made manifest attha and ana and take a somewhat neutral atti-
through its many constituent organs. The Budd- tude toward it. The Buddhist works are full of
hists do not offer a systematized list of consti- injunctions against violence but these are, more
tuents of the state (prakritis) like the one con- often than not, related to the level of individual
tained in the Arthasastra of Kautalya. There are, and inter-group relations. The horrors of war are
however, several passages which contain sugges- duly recognized but no decisive or overt effort
tions which, taken together, may give as the seems to be made to insist on outlawing war it-
Buddhist ideas on the constiutents of the state. Of self. Perhaps in this the Buddhists reconciled
these the king, naturally, is the leading consti- themselves to their inability to influence the con-
tuent. Next to him comes territory (rattha). This duct of the state beyond giving it ethical advice.
is followed by the mention of the bureaucracy They did envision an ideal state which would
(amacca and parisajja), the armed forces (balam), eschew the use of force or violence and this will be
the treasury (kosakotthagara), allies (anuyutta dealt with later. But for all practical purposes the
khattiya and kuddarajano) and the people Samgha largely withdrew itself from considera-
(manussa). The list does not have forts (durga) as tions of war. The Buddha forbade the admission
a constituent of the state as in the Kautalyan list, of serving soldiers into the Samgha and denounced
otherwise the two lists are very similar.10 Some of talk and stories of war and witnessing of army
these have their own sub-divisions. For instance parades as waste of time.'4 We have no evidence to
the territorial organization is often described as assume that the Buddha ever advised his con-
fourfold, comprising villages (gama), market temporary kings to disband their armies and beat
towns (nigama), countryside (janapada) and city their swords into ploughshares. Even the great
(nagara). The people are supposed to have four Buddhist emperor Asoka is not known to have
different assemblies (parisas), one each for the disbanded his army after the traumatic experience
khattiyas, brahmanas, householders (gahapati) of the Kalinga war and history knows of Buddhist
and ascetics (samana).12 Sometimes another ele- kings who have waged wars, often very devastat-
ment is added to the list of the components of the ing, against other Buddhist kings. Probably the
territory and it is the frontier (paccanta) whose Buddhists recognized that they had little influence
security is alwasys a matter of anxiety for it is in the matter of war and territorial acquisition and
often in a state of rebellion (kupita).13 felt that the most they could do in these matters
The state is often conceived as a very delicate was to influence the minds of kings to keep the
balance of forces. The dangers confronting it are horrors of war within reasonable limits. The state-
persistent and may arise from a variety of factors. ment of Ajdtasattu concerning the distinction be-
As an institution of force it is prone to call into tween the temporal realm and spiritual life ex-
being counter-force, whether from outside its pressed a consistent Buddhist policy toward the
frontiers and from within, through rebellion andstate in this respect.
banditry. The early Buddhists regard the institu- The most frequent challenge came from within.
The king had many enemies. As king Milinda
9 See the long description of royal functions in MilP, says: "If I were to give up my household life and
pp. 226-227.
renounce the world, it would not be long I should
10 For the Artha~&stra list of Prakritis see Kangle,
have to live, so many are my enemies."'5 The king
op. cit., I, p. 205; also U. N. Ghoshal, A History of Indian
Political Ideas (Bombay, 1959), pp. 84-86, 125-126; was constantly threatened with plots against his
bureaucracy, DN, I, (1958), pp. 116, 121, SamN, I, p. throne and life and had to be guarded at all times.
192, army, SanN, I, pp. 82, 84; Treasury, MilP, pp. 37, His kingdom may be infested with robbers who
61; allies AngN, V, p. 22, MilP, p. 57.
11 MV, p. 208, Jat, III, p. 3, AngN, V, p. 102.
12 MN, I, p. 102, SamN, I, p. 57. 14 DN, I, p. 8.
13 MV, p. 208; Jat, II, p. 2, III, p. 3, AngN, V, p. 101. 15 MilP, p. 88.

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 GOKHALE: The Early Buddhist View of the State 735

are declared to be the common danger in the common enough.2' The destruction caused by the
world.'6 We often get a description of a troubled wrath of a king is compared to that by thieves,
kingdom harassed by thieves and bandits and it is fire, flood, evil spirits or wild animals and often the
said that as these become strong the state be- people have to flee from such kings to a territory
comes weak for it becomes unsafe for the ruler to outside their control or join the order.22
visit the cities and countryside and rule effici- The necessity of the possession of vast powers
ently.'7 An ideal kingdom is described as the by the state on the one hand and the constant
territory which is without thorns (akantaka, cf. danger of its abuse create a paradox. The Budd-
the use of the term kantaka by Kautalya) and un- hists stress the absolute necessity of the existence
troubled (annuppila) and men are happy and of the state for orderly human society by pointing
joyous, living in homes with open doors and play- out that the rights of private property and family
ing peacefully with children in their laps.'8 It is can prevail only under the state's regulatory and
the duty of the state, then, to rid its territory of all
punitive authority. This authority, according to
such thorns. The king must punish the wicked and the story about the origin of the state quoted
is allowed to use various kinds of punishments to above, stems from delegation by the people to the
deter the potential offenders. In this punitive task government, powers of imprisonment, imposing
the king is given absolute powers to the extent of fines, banishment, confiscation of unlawfully
banishing culprits from his kingdom or even exe- gained property and death. These powers were
cution of the convicted criminals.'9 The king's use considered essential for the state to discharge the
of force and violence in putting down lawlessness obligations entrusted to it by the citizens. The
is seldom questioned, much less criticized, the people have to come to terms with the state for
only advice given is that he should act with justice without it they are helpless victims of anarchy.
in giving punishments. A rhetorical question is Even the great Buddha duly rcognized the
raised: Is it possible for a king to rule without authority of the state by amending many a
violence, injury, causing suffering or death and Vinaya rule. The monks were forbidden from
with dhamma; there is no clear answer to it.20 The eating elephant flesh because the elephant was
implication is that it is practically impossible to regarded as a royal animal and the king would be
rule without the use of force and violence. This furious if he learnt that monks had eaten elephant
means a rather pessimistric view of human nature. flesh. They were to abstain from eating meat on
The assumption is that human beings will not, in those days when slaughter of animals was for-
all circumstances and under all conditions, behave bidden (mdghdta). They must postpone observing
righteously and must be kept on the straight and the vassa (rain-retreat) if the king so wished.
narrow faith of lawful conduct only on pain of They must not ordain serving soldiers or thieves
punishments for their infractions. of various descriptions wanted by the law and they
On the other hand the early Buddhists also were not to admit royal servants without appro-
clearly recognized the constant possibility of the priate permission.23 The right of asylum to fugi-
abuse of its power by the state. Kings are human tives from justice or lawful royal service was not
beings and are subject to all the human frailties. accorded to the Buddhist order. Whether such
The Buddhist books often betray a fear of royal asylum to those suffering from political injustice
tyranny and the description of kings as intolerant, was granted or not we have no means of knowing.
arbitrary, autocratic, greedy and expropriatory is Probably there was no clear distinction made then
between crimes and political opposition, for the
18 SamN, I, pp. 41, 43, 87.
latter was invariably construed as a criminal act
17 AngN, I, p. 68, DN, I, p 115.
18 DN, I, p. 116.
21 MN, I, p. 120, SamN, I, p 32, MilP, pp. 29, 32, 143,
19 SamN, I, p. 75; MN, I, p. 120, MilP, pp. 231, 359, 192.
Jat, I, p. 398. 22 MV, pp. 114-115, SamN, I, pp. 30, 89, MilP, p. 32.
20 SamN, I, pp. 115-116. 23 See MV, pp. 235, 234, 145, 34-35, 78-79.

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736 Journal of the American Oriental Society, 89.4 (1969)

and as such asylum to the offender could not be life. In the second phase of theorizing the early
given by the Buddhist order without provoking Buddhists endeavored to use the state to further
the wrath of the state. The Samgha was to pursuethe ends of dhamma by asserting the supremacy of
an a-political role for once again the doctrine of the dhamma over dna. A monk once asked the
separation between ana and dhamma inevitably Buddha as to who was higher than the king. The
entered all relationships between Buddhism and Buddha promptly and unequivocally replied that
the state. The ceremony of ordination was always dhamma was the lord of the king.26 This dhamma is
preceded by a lengthy questionnaire which asked not to be understood as a metaphysical system or
of the initiate whether he was guilty of sundry and sectarian creed which could differ from time to
numerous offenses and this was expected to weed time or prophet to prophet. Rather it is taken to
out those who had offended the laws of the state.24 mean righteousness, propriety, norm and is
If inadvertently such a person was ordained he equated with sama, impartiality and justice.27
could be expelled from the order, whereupon he This dhamma is a mystic force obeying its own
was promptly seized by the minions of the state. exorable laws and rewarding and punishing kings
Early Buddhism, thus, carefully avoided any in its own cosmic right.28 Dhamma and adhamma
overt confrontation with the state in the awareness (non-dhamma) do not have the same consequences
of its awesome might which it, as a purely religious for adhamma casts one into hell while dhamma
organization, was ill-equipped to challenge. The leads to a good destiny hereafter. Dhamma is a
monks were forbidden to involve themselves in cosmic force which regulates not only the conduct
politics and their only protest against a particu- of the state and its subjects but also the order of
larly atrocious ruler could be to leave his territory nature. If a king does not follow what is dhamma
and reside elsewhere to await a change in his then there is untimely rain or danger of drought,
disposition or his downfall.25 famine, pestilence and war.29 On the other hand,
But if a vicious king could not be directly or the possession of dhamma by a king enables him to
successfully challenged through overt political acquire mastery over the phenomena of nature for
expedients, there were ways to prevent a king be-a righteous king could compel it to rain after the
coming objectionable in his behavior. One such performance of specific ceremonies such as fasting,
way was to enunciate an ideal under whose in- distribution of charity, observance of the vows of
fluence the state could be made subordinate to righteousness and meditation for a period of seven
dhamma. In the first phase of political reflection days.30
the early Buddhists simply recognized the neces- A political office may be a condition and reward
of public service but kingship was declared to be
sity of the existence of the state and also the neces-
sity of its possession of vast powers. The separa- the result of good deeds in a former life.3' It was
tion of dnd from dhamma was an attempt to during this second phase of political speculation
insulate religion from the vagaries of the state by that the early Buddhists ascribed a moral and
insuring the autonomy of the Samgha. The theory spiritual character to the state and elevated the
of contractual obligations between citizens and ideal king to be the prototype of the Bodhisattva
the state belongs to this first phase wherein the or the Buddha. The ideal ruler is a man of dhamma
state is regarded nerely as a human organization who has put away falsehood, anger and scorn, is
and a political institution. But soon if was felt full of patience and forbearance, keeps benevolent
that such a theory was becoming inadequate. The
state had become powerful and was poised to 26 AngN, II, p. 403.
secure control over the entire range of human 27 Pali Dictionary, pp. 335-339, Jat, III, p. 2.
28 For a discussion of Dhamma as a political concept in
24 See Parivara (1958), pp. 388 fif. Early Buddhism, see B. G. Gokhale, Journal of Indian
25 As in the case of Panthagu, the successor of ShinHistory, XLIV (August 1968), 249-261.
Arhan, the primate of Pagan, who left Burma for Ceylon 29 Jat, II, p. 124.
during the time of Narathu (1167-1170), D. G. E. Hall, 30 Jdt, II, p. 368.
A History of South-East Asia (New York, 1968), p. 154. 31 MilP, p. 49, SamN, I, p. 222.

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 GOKHALE: The Early Buddhist View of the State 737
company, possesses the ten royal virtues (dasard-
jadhamma) and makes the people happy with the
display of the four qualities of uniting the subjects
(cattdri samghavatthfini).32 He is well-born (ubhato
sujato), handsome in appearance, possesses
great wealth, a powerful army, is a man of faith
and charity, learned and wise.33 He possesses
qualities which make for dhamma in thought and
action and it is dhamma which constitutes his
charisma without which he cannot rule over
others. This charisma is bestowed on him by his
coronation and symbolized in his possession of the
several elements of his regalia such as the um-
brella, slippers, sword, crown, throne and the fly-
whisk.34 This quasi-divine quality makes it pos-
sible for him to be obeyed by his subjects. The
primeval contract is now substituted by dhamma
and its charisma as the basis of loyalty of citizens
toward the state. The state, in this line of thinking,
becomes a quasi-divine institution operating under
super-human norms and non-rational criteria.
In their doctrine of dhamma as the basis of the
state the early Buddhists discovered the means of
escaping from the paradox of the utter necessity of
the existence of the powerful state and the con-
stant danger of its abuse of powers. In the earlier
phase of their speculations they spoke of large-
scale migration of the people as a remedy against
an evil king.35 As the state extended its territorial
dimensions this remedy was regarded as no longer
practicable. They then postulated dhamma as an
all-powerful force able to destroy an unrighteous
king. The culmination of such theorizing came in
the concept of the cakkavattin (universal monarch)
who is declared to be the dhammiko dhammaraja36
(the righteous ruler) and a counterpart of the
Bodhisattva in the temporal world. Such a ruler is
32 DN, III, p. 61, SamN, I, pp. 87-88, 222, Jat, I, p.
135, III, p. 262, IV, p. 176, V, p. 352, VI, p. 274; for Early
Buddhist Kingship see B. G. Gokhale, The Journal of
Asian Studies XXVI, No. 1 (November 1966), pp. 15-22.
33 DN, I, p. 117, MilP, p. 357, which states that a low-
born king is soon deprived of his glory, Cf Kautalya's
ideas in Kangle, op. cit., I, p. 208.
34 SamN, I, p. 226, Jat, III, pp. 238-239, IV, pp. 39-46,
231, V, p. 248, VI, pp. 39ff; MilP, p. 330.
35 MilP, p. 32.
36 For the concept of Dhammiko Dhammaraja see B. G.
37 AngN, I, p. 106.
Gokhale, Indica (Bombay, 1953), pp. 161-165.
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a mahdpurisa (Great Man) endowed with the 32
signs of Great Men (mahapurisalakkanani) even
as the Bodhisattva is endowed with them. Like
the Bodhisatta, he is possessed of iddhis (super-
natural powers) and is unique, for there can be
no more than one cakkavatti at a time in the world
(this distinction is reserved for the Buddha alone
for there can be no more than one sammdsam-
buddha at a time in the world). As in the case of
the Buddha the places where a cakkavatti was
born, crowned, where he wins his most significant
victory and where he passes away, are declared to
be "memorable."37 The funeral of the cakkavatti
must be carried out exactly in the same way as the
funeral of the Buddha. And after the cremation a
stzipa is to be raised over the relics of his body as in
the case of a Buddha, visits and homage to the
stilpa of a cakkavatti being declared to be a pious
act.38 The similarities between the status of the
Bodhisattva/Buddha and the cakkavatti are so
clear and striking that the conclusion becomes
inescapable that the bases of the cakkavatti's
power are no longer regarded as human or rational,
much less contractual.
In the cakkavatti ideal the early Buddhists
create the apotheosis of the state. They start with
the hypothesis of the separation between the state
and religion (dnd and dhamma) and finally end up
with making the state subordinate to the dhamma.
By ascribing dhamma as the basis of loyalty to the
state they endow it with a charisma which at once
becomes an instrument for the legitimization of
political power in the state and its control by an
agency higher than itself. The state, thus, emerges
as a mystic entity controlled by non-rational
forces and obeying norms of continuance and dis-
solution beyond the reach of its subjects. This is a
far cry from the earlier hypothesis of contractual
obligations and its emergence must be related to
the territorial extension and growth of the power
of the state itself. Under such a state the function
of the Samgha is consent and advise to the state.
But the Samgha also takes upon itself, in Buddhist
constitutions, the role of the conscience-keeper of
38 MN, III, pp. 65 if, DN, II, p 143.
738 Journal of the American Oriental Society, 89.4 (1969)

the state and is equipped with sanctions far more
subtle, and powerful in certain circumstances,
than the might of the state itself. The voice of the
Samgha becomes far more extensive and pervasive
than the commands of the state for the organiza-
tion of the SaMgha reaches down to the smallest
village through the monastery. The dichotomy
between and and dhamma, with which the early
Buddhist speculation on the nature of politics
began, still persists, for whereas the state com-
mands, the Samgha persuades through its spiritual
authority. This spiritual authority becomes ranged
against a king who ceases to observe the dhamma
which results in the loss of his charisma and the
restriction of the legitimacy of his authority.
Opposed to the will of the Samgha the king be-
comes the usurper and deserves the fate of one.
This balance of forces between ana and dhamma
limits the potential despotism of the state and its
subordination to the dhamma makes it an instru-
ment of morality. In the Buddhist view, then, the
state becomes a moral institution.

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