POLITY AND LEGAL SYSTEM IN SANGAM AGE:

 
There were three kingdoms (Moovendar) in the Sangam age. (exclusively, in south India- TN,
AP, and Kerela)
1. CHOLA
2. CHERAS
3. PANDYA
 
 Cholas had their ancient capital at Trichy- Woraiyur, whereas the Imperial Cholas had
their capital at Thanjavur.
 Pandya'S capital at madurai, kabadapuram.
 Chera's capital at vanji and kamur mussoorie.
 Later on came the pallavas, their capital being Kanchipuram.
 
The Sangam literature gives a different definition of justice. Justice is usually based on law;
they are normally inseparable. There were many scholars who wrote about the history,
the culture and ethics of the Sangam age. But, there were very few scholars who wrote
about its legal sytem. There are more than 3500 poems available right now, and there
were more than 70 poet and poetess who wrote all of these.
 
THOLKAPPIYAM- is the biggest collection of the rules of tamil grammar. As the author of
this was not known, he/she was given a name of 'tholkaapiyar'.
Same applies to thirukural.
 
Almost 197 kings and royalties patronized these poets and poetess. Approximately, all of
them spanned over 9990 years of sangam age.
 
 They were very particular in the sangam age that law must be created by an organ /
institution and not by an individual.
 The violator of the law must be punished.
 There must be an established court to render punishment. The court only gives the
judgement.
 In the sangam age, law was called 'aram' which means 'truth'. It was a government
order. This concept of 'aram' was associated with the kingship.
 There was 'written law' in the sangam age. Though, we don't know if it went through the
process of enactment, the laws were written down.
 avai
 pothu ill
 ambala
 mandram
 sabai (saba)
 avaiyam
 arangoor avaiyar
  arakkalam
 
Pallavas were usually inclined to the north Indians and they moved from calling their courts as
'avai' to 'sabai'. That was how the word 'grama sabha' came up.
This was also taken up by imperial cholas and called them as grama sabhas.
 
Comparable to mayor court (1687) and admiralty courts (1683). E.g : puhar or poompuhar.
 
'aram'- law and ' kalam'- courts.
 
 The judges were sometimes elected and sometimes appointed. Age and experience also
matters in the choice. They were called ' andhanar'.
 There were three kinds of evidences:
o aatchi - customary evidence periyapuranam revealed these.
o Aavanam- documentary evidence
o Ayalar kaatchi- 3rd person evidence ( at present, eye-witness / oral evidence)
 
All these have been followed in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
The cases have also been properly documented and forwarded to other courts for
reference. The attestation of village headsman was important , after which it can be
transferred to another court. In tamil, it was known as - " yeru poduthal"
 
Sangam literature was divided into categories: 18 anthologiese
1. pathinenkeel kanakku. (pre-sangam literature)
2. Pathinenmel kanakku. (sangam lit)
 
 
what kinds of punishment?
1. Torture - cutting human organs
2. Fine- porul kedal
3. Death sentence - koral
 
SANGAM POLITY
o Sangam literature flourished in Madurai pandya rulers. Scientific
analysis gives us that the kadai sangam poems were approximately in the
Christian era.
o Kinship was hereditary. King was despotic.
o King's assembly was known as ' nallavai'.
o The highest court was 'maanaram'.
o They had a powerful army including a chivalry and they had a
commander in chief known as , 'enaadhi".
o They also had female gods inside the palace. Or (in the existence of them)
o War was the major source of income. 1/6th of the produce was taken as
tax for the royalty.
o Internal trade was flourished.
o Taking away cows by force is known as 'pettachi'; as cows were
considered a major source of income.
 
THEORIES OF KINGSHIP : 3/6/2018
 
VEDIC AGE: 1. Later vedic age 2. Early vedic age
  
 
 
 Indus valley site provides much cultured, rich and mature civilization
existed before Aryans.
 Harappan culture was followed by vedic culture.
 Aryans were the originators of vedic civilization.
 Concept of race is no longer accepted as a valid one in India.
 
European theory
 expounded (1786) by Sir. W jones, he reached conclusion to cpmaritive
linguistics in various languages that included geek, latin, sanskrit, and
english that almost have similar words.
 Giles say, the physical structure of Aryans resemble people from the
plains of hungary.
 Panka's views says aryans resemble the Germans and Shroeder points to
France based people.
 
Central Asian theory (most accepted)
 German orientalist- max muller- studied avesta and vedas- concluded
that the ancestor of Indians and iraman aryans- must have lived together
for a very long period.
 The vegetation and animals mentioned in the avesta and vedas are
usually found in central asia, which must be the original homeland.
 
Artctic region theory
 Put forward by bala gangadhar tilak
 Concluded by making comparative study of avesta and vedas.
 Vedas speaks- 6 months long day and long night- happens in only artic
region.
 Northern arctic region- suitable for dwelling- was the original homeland
for Aryans.
 
Indian theory
 Very less indian scholars believed that aryans were form India
 Dr.sampurnanand and AC Das- sapta sind region was considered as the
original homeland.
 Ganga nath jha- bhramarishi desh- was also considered as homeland.
 LD Kala says kashmir might be the original homeland and RD Pandey
say Madhya Pradesh is their homeland.
 
Tibetan theory
 Swami dayanand sarswathi- exponent of this theory.
 By referring to the vedas and other Aryan books.
 Few- accepted this theory.
 
 
 
 
 Society was mostly semi-nomadic tribal and pastoral economy. (accord.
To vedas)
 Rig veda mentions it was mostly a tribal polity and teher were no
restrictions; equal rights and freedom.
 Head of the state was not any arbitrary ruler.
 Janapada (territory), jana was the chief of the tribe.
 State was tribal in nature and did not have defined or standard
administrative machinery. But, there were a lot of assemblies - sabhas
(elite), samitis (commons), vidatas (women also can take part). King
presides over all such meetings.
 Only officers mentioned in rig veda- senani ( general), purohita (the
priest), gramani (the head of the gram)
 No evidence of regular army maintenance
 Raja or king was hereditary- chosen by s tribe -- Jan or vish
 No taxation system
 Bali was the main source of income- native voluntary donation made by
the subjects. Main source of income of the gvt.
 
RIG VEDA MENTIONS THREE POPULAR ASSEMBLIES
1. VIDATHA- earliest assemble - women also participated
2. SABHA AND SAMHITI- more imp. In later days
 
 
broad - mostly a folk assemble- all the members of the Jan
participated
 
Exclusive body and elite section were its members.
 
 Presence of king was mandatory is all assemblies
 Assemblies performed multi dimensional functions of political, social,
religious, cultural and economic nature.
 
 POLITICAL ORGANIZATION - 3/6/2018 4:03 PM
 
KULA - organized themselves into basic unit-
All these courts were held under the tree and the trees were named after the
court.

CHALTRY COURT
Vila maram

 
GRAM - higher unit or bigger group

 
VISH- constituted by the whole tribe as

 
JAN

Five famous JAN in rig Veda JAN

1. Yadu
2. Au
3. Drahyu
4. Puru
5. Turvasa
 
 Besides there are mentions about Bharat Jan- which had famous rulers
like Sudas and Divodas.
 Reference about Dasragya Yuddha (war of ten kings)
 Rig Vedic Age was the period of political turmoil and war fare.
 
 LATER VEDIC POLITICS
 
 There were significant changes in the political structure during the later
vedic politics.
 The age of janapad instead of Jan.
 Territorial state- replaced the tribal state of Rig Vedic
 Aryan tribal underwent the process of merger.
 Puru and Bharat- to Kuru jan later- joined panchal jan- became kuru-
panchal.
 With the emergence of the janapad, office of king underwent a lot of
changes.
 Became king in true sense of the word- no long was the office of king
considered a mere tribal chief.
 According to a theory, a need for leadership during war time.
 Other theory believed in divine origin of king.
 Changing- nature of kingship resulted in strengthening of the authority
and power of king.
 Passage in atharva veda declares that rashtra (territory) held by the king
was made strong by Varuna,Brihaspati, Indra and agni.
 Many indicators to the change- status of king.
 No longer known by- title of raja or rajan- became maharaj, adhiraj,
rajadhiraj, ekrat, samrat etc.
 To strengthen the authority and power performed sacrifices (yaggya)
 Rajsuya( boat race held by the kings, soma juice), vaipeya (soma yajana,
races, soma and sura juice) and asvamedha (performed by kings to
improve the profile of the king) - most prominent sacrifices.
 Sabha and samhiti lost their prominence in the later vedic period.
 The office of kingship was no longer elective but heredity.
 Dynasties ruling for a number of generations.
 Emergence of territorial state was accompanied by emergence of class of
state officers and the taxation system.
 Bhagadugha- officer who is responsible for taxation system.
 Literature mentions- 12 important officers called 'ratnin'
 King paid visit the houses of these ratnin at the time of coronation
 Samgrahiti- officer in charge of treasury.
 Akshavay- in charge of gambling. (popular culture)
 Palagal- messenger, official communication.
 Takshshana- carpenter.
 Govikartana- King's mate in hunting.
 Rathakar- chariot maker.
 Suta- an important ratnin.
 Form of the govt. was not uniform; there were almost ten forms of gvt.
Prevalent in diff. regions.
 RIG VEDIC ARYANS- NATURE OF SOCIETY
3/7/2018 9:20 AM
 Aryan tribes called - jan. jan became janapadas.
 Other social units referred as vis, sangh, gan, vrat, etc.
 Based on the principle of brotherhood.
 Damily, i.e., PARIVAR - basic unit of rig vedic society.
 Not nuclear family, but joint family.
 Many generations lived together in the same roof.
 Family is patriarchal- eldest male is the household head and had
absolute control.( women had significant freedom)
 Meted out cruel punishment to erring members of family.
 Boys were preffered to girls
 Rig vedic aryans- prayed for birth of a son.
 Patriarchal society- doesn't mean women were living in a life of
subjugation and subordination.
 Women had a a respected place in society.
 Enjoyed freedom.
 Women Participated in all social and religious functions.
 Attended vidath meeting
 Access to education - few also contributed to literature.
 Free to choose partners- no child marriage, sati, parda system.
 Widows can remarry.
 Monogamy was the general rule; but polygamy was also practiced.
 
VARNA SYSTEM
 Though- tribal brotherhood existed, the society was not an egalitarian
(equal) society.
 Division of labor was introduced.
 The priests and ruling elite enjoyed special status.
 Rig vedic society- was not a society organized on VARNA-VYAVASATHA
(system of four fold varnas).
 Only mention of 4 varnas- brahman, kshatriya, vaisya, sudra- only found
in PURUSH SHUKTA of the 10th mandal of Rig Veda
 Most scholars upon this mandal as an interposition which was added
later to the rig vedic age.
 No restrictions - imposed on the people of different varnas.
 One could even change his varna.
 
 NON ARYAN SOCIAL GROUPS
 Dasyu and Das are frequent in rig veda- formed an integral part.
 Rig veda criticizes them for not having faith in vedic and aryan gods.
 Rig veda mentions that aryan looks upon dasyu as a more bitter than
das.
 
 
SOCIAL LIFE IN LATER VEDIC AGE
 Underwent major changes during Later Vedic age.
 Most important Varna system - fully established Brahmanism.
 Supreme- earlier they were just one among the 17 categories of priest.
 Brahmins are now totally synonymous to priesthood.
 Sacrificial tradition- was perpetrated by this Varna.
 
KSHATRIYAS
 Second in rank- were warrior class- ruled and protected people
 
VAISHYAS
 Agriculture, crafts and trade
 Paid tribute to Kshatriyas and donation to Brahmins
 Common social roots of these three Varna- entitled to put the sacred
thread and were called twice born (dwiji).
 
SUDRA
 Positioned as the last rank.
 Duty was to serve the three higher Varna
 Bulk of them for labors
 No right put sacred thread- were under the control of the other three.
 They were not as slave- but their life and social status at par with slaves.
 
SOCIAL ORGANISATION
 Divided into four varnas. The bhramanas, rajanyas or kshatriyas,
vaishyas and sudras.
 First three- varnas shared one common feature - as dvijas (twice born)
i.e., they were entitled to upanayana or investiture with the sacred thread
according to the vedic mantras.
 According to the Aitreya Bhramana- the Bhramana is described as a
seeker of livelihood and an acceptor of gifts.
 A vaisya is called tribute-paying, meant for being beaten, and to be
oppressed.
 The worst positon is reserved for the sudra.
 Called the servant of another.
 Certain section of artisans- rathakara or chariot maker enjoyed a higher
status.
 Term nagara appears- first time showing joint beginnings of town life.
 Women were given a lower position.
 Some woman theologians took part in philosophical discussions and
some queens participated in coronation rituals.
 Ordinarily, women were considered inferior and subordinate to men.
 
MARRIAGE
 Eight types of marriage were prevalnet in the later vedic age.
 Of these, four( brahmin, daiva, aarsa and prajapati) were generally
approved and were permissible to brahmins.
 These were religious marriages and were indissoluble.
 Anuloma marriage- marriage of a man below his varna.
 Pratiloma marriage- marriage of a girl/woman to one lower varna man.
 
FORMS OF MARRIAGE:
1. BHRAMA- marriage of a duty dowered girl to a man of the same varna
with vedic rites and rituals.
2. Daiva- father gives the daughter to the sacrificial priests as a part of fee
or dakshina.
3. Arsa- a token bride-price of a cow and bull is given.
4. Prajapati- marriage without dowry and bride-price.
5. Gandharva- marriage by the consent of two parties, often clandestine. A
special form of it was swayamvara or self choice.
6. Asura- marriage by purchase.
7. Paisacaha- deranged or drunk, hence it can hardly be called a marriage.
8. Rakshasa-marriage by capture.
 
 
MAURYAN AGE 3/9/2018 9:16 AM
 
WHO WERE MAURYAS?
 spooner (scholar and statesman) - says they were persians
 Mudrankshasa- this play describes he belong to the son of Nanda king.
 Kathasaritsagar (literature) and Brihat Kathamajari (lit.) - sanskrit-
belong to the Gupta dynasty.
 Parishtiparvan - jain text- says they came from a community that rears
'peacock' .
 Punyasharva- jain texts- they belong to kshtariya tribe.
 Arthashastra's chanakya- chandra gupta annexed the nanda dynasty
and came to power.
 
 
 They had a very centralized and systematic administrative system
 They have united many tribes of North India
 They had enlightened despotism and able guidance.
 Though it was autocratic, it was very organized.
 They had a strong central and bureaucratic govt.
 There were Council of Ministers and certain administration secretariat
took care of all ministries.
 King was the fountain head of all administration, but did not claim
authority through divine origin theory.
 King was always assisted by CoM called as ,Mantri Prasad. They were
supervised by Amartyas.
 YUVRAJ- prince, looked after the capital
 There were about 32 amartyas, mentioned in the Arthashastra.
 
3/12/2018 9:42 AM
 
 There were a lot of priests who advised the kings on religion- purohit
(main-chief), senapati (commander in chief), yuvaraj ( prince who looked
after the capital city), amartyas (supervised the above three).
 There were 32 KINDS of adhyakshas, (secretariat in modern world).
 Akara- is the in charge of mines. There were a lot of warfare in the earlier
stage
 Lauhadhyaksha- in charge of iron
 Lachnashyakasha- in charge of minting the coin.
 Swarnadhyaksha- in charge of gold.
 Panyadhyaksha- in charge of trade and commerce
 Kupyadhyaksha- in charge of forests and environments.
 Mandhyaksha- in charge of time and place of the king/ royalty.
 Mudhradyaksha- secretariat of passport. Megasthenes was given
passport by the mauryan dynasty.
 Sitadyaksha- in charge of agriculture.
 Suradyaksha- in charge of excise duty.
 The book also mentions two important high officials; sannidhata (in
charge of treasury) and samhata ( collection of land revenue).
 OTHER OFFICIALS:
 
1. DUAVERIKA- gatekeeper/ keeps record of who enters the gate of the
palaces.
2. DANDAPALA- punishment giver.
3. ANTARVAMSIKA- in charge of harem.
4. PAWRA- look after the perfection of capital city.
5. KARMONTIKA- in charge of manufacturing
6. DURGAPALA- In charge of court
7. VYAHARIKA- chief judge.
8. ANTAPALA- in charge of a particular frontier. Each frontier had one.
 
The mauryan empire's central administration was very comprehensive and
well organized.
 
JUDICIAL SYSTEMS IN ANCIENT INDIA. 3/13/2018 10:47 AM
1. No clear ref- existence of judicial organization in the vedic period.
2. village elders acted as judges and awarded punishment according to the nature
of the offence, in accordance with local usages and customs.
3. the king was considered the fountainhead of law and dispensed justice.
4. The growing and settled order of society made it impossible for the king to carry
out all functions of the judiciary.
5. The administration of justice was entrusted to experts.
6. King's court was reserved for appeals and severe crimes against the state. Other
litigations were entrusted to other courts.
 
JUDGES
7. A group of 6 members of the sabha also acted as judges in vedic society.
8. Kautilya advises the king to establish a court with a bench of 3 magistrates
for every 10 villages, with higher courts in the district and provinces.
9. Manu also suggested a bench composed of the Pradvivaka and three other
judges.
10. According to sudraka's mruchchakatika judges consisted of
 
 Adhikarnika (CJ)
 Sresthin (A wealthy merchant)
 Kayastha ( A representative of a particular folder)
 
HIGHEST COURT WAS KING'S COURT.
 
TYPES OF COURTS
11. In the vedic times, the sabha assumed character of national judicature,
exercised judicial functions as well.
12. The meeting of the assembly for justice may have been more frequent than for
general discussion and decision.
13. A standing committee (6 members) of the sabha might have permitted these
functions.
14. The thieves and criminals were dragged before the sabha- most influential men
had to submit to the decision of their peer assembled.
15. The dharma sutras evidence to the continuance of the judicial character of the
sabha even in later times.
 
Kautilya mentions two imp. Courts : (mauryan empire)
 
16. CIVIL COURT (DHARMASTEYA) - disputes included-
 
 Contracts
 Inheritance
 Labor
  Marriages
 Dowry
 Deposits
 Benefit.
 
 
17. CRIMINAL COURT (KANTAKASODHANA)- disputes included
 
 Protection of artisans and merchants.
 Detecting criminals by means of spies.
 Arresting the suspicious or real culprits.
 Post-mortem examinations.
 Discipline in various state departments.
 Punishment for mutilation
 Capital punishment.
 Miscellaneous offences.
 
 Kantakasodhana was in the nature of the 'doctrine of police power'.
 To remove all such impediments which were injurious to the peaceful
enjoyment of rights of the people.
 To root out all such anti-social elements which acted against the established
social order.
 There was no provision for the arrest of the persons three days after a
crime has been committed.
 The aged, the diseased, the mad, those suffering from hunger, who confessed
guilt, physically unfit, and the pregnant women were generally exempted from
persecution.
 
Court of Guilds
 
1. The guilds had their own rules and regulation called Srenidharma
2. The Guild had judicial rights over the jurisdiction.
3. The guilds were not allowed to exercise their powers like autocrats because
ultimately they were responsible to the state.
 
VILLAGE COURTS
o Village panchayats: grama vruddgas
o Chief of the village was advised by 6 councilors.
 
COURT PROCEDURES
o Narada smriti gives detailed description of court procedures-
o Plaintiff-to make his plaint in writing.
o Defendant had given his reply also in writing - his own hand or with a
scribe.
o Answer could be in the form of confession/ he could also cite a record of a
prev. judgement.
o The sabhyas or assessors would procced to investigate the case by examing and
verifying all evidences
o After full deliberation, sabhyas would place finding before judges who give the
decision.
o The party in whose favour the decision is made was awarded a jayapatra
o The guilty party was given either punishment or had to pay the penalty
 
PLAINTIFF
o A plaintiff first filed a plaint before the registration officer(Lekhaka) with the
sufficient information.
o When the judge found that the matter was legally acceptable, he delivered a
sealed order to the defendant.
o Suits between the teacher and student, husband and wife, and master and
servant should not be entertained.
o (Manu) In case of more than one complaint at the same time, preference must
be given on the basis of varna of the plaintiff
o (Katyayana) Priority should be given to a plaint where the injury was greater or
cause more important requiring immediate attention.
 
DEFENDANT
 The legally maintainable plaint was read and recorded in the presence of the
defendant.
 Then the defendant was asked by the judge to file his reply as early as
possible.
 Defendant had to give immediate reply in urgent and important cases.
 Adjournment ranged from one day to one year or more.
 Katyayana(priority) does not favor adjournment, to avoid complication and
normal of course of judicial procedure.
 The defendant's reply was required to meet the points raised in the plaint
without deviating from the truth and without any confusion.
 The ordinary procedure in trials was by evidence, while in extraordinary
cases recourse was taken to divine evidence.
 There are instances of circumstantial evidence, particularly in the absence of
human evidence, being considered in the trial of cases.
 The trial involved the examination of documents, possession and evidence
tendered by the witness was discussed meticulously.
 
 
JURY TRIALS
 No evidence of types of the jury trials which were prevalent in the West.
 But, ancient times had Sabhyas which seem to be equivalent to modern jurors.
 There were no lawyers as we have now, to conduct actual cross examination of
witnesses.
 Yajnavakya Smriti says that the number of sabhyas were three, five or seven
 Off number probably takes care in the event of a tie so that a casting vote would
determine the final decision
 It is different from present system when jury has 12 members and their
decision has to be unanimous
 Most Smritis insist on Sabhyas being Brahmins
 Caste of the Sabhyas would depend upon the nature of the case to which caste
or community litigants belonged to and the law that applies
 Brahmins would be needed if law to be applied was part of the shastra
 The determining factor was knowledge of relevant law.
 
THE TRIAL
 The trial of the case began with the submission of the reply, in writing, by the
defendant.
 Depending on the decision of the judge they should submit the proof.
 According to many Smriti writing, at least three witnesses before the king and
Brahmins.
 Justice given according to law and in consonance with the accepted social
norms and every point in the case was subjected to close scrutiny.
 Smritis gave us details about different kinds of proof or evidence - acceptable in
a court of law
 In case of vyavahara(concept of Hindu law/legal procedure), most important
proof was written documents of various types
Types of documents:
 Document written or recorded by an authorized official, under the king's seal
 Document subscribed or signed by the witnesses.
 Document written by the mutual agreement of parties concerned with clear
record of names of signatories , their caste, gotra names of parents and other
relevant matters including date, attestation of witnesses (most important)
 These documents were deeds of partition, gift, purchase, mortgage or bonds
 During trial, documents had to be published and read pit to kula, shreni or
puga groups, whichever relevant in order to establish authenticity
 Forgery, age of document(30 years) could lead to it being rejected in court.
 
Mode of proof divided into two classes
 Human: documents, possession and witnesses(sakshi)
 Divine: divine proof consisted of ordeals
o Ordeals were resorted to only when "ordinary method of proof was not
possible.