2

In tro du ct or y O bs er va tio ns

I. CH OO SIN G AN AP PR OP RIA TE NA
ME
• Th~ su~ jec t of our stu dy in
_fixed des1gnat1on. Th e nam es genera anc ien t Ind ia had no single or
we re • R • dJ, lly em plo yed for the
.- • . a1a . iar ma , D anu,,ani ti, Nit isa stra
d1scuss1ng the ir app rop riat ene ss and and Arthasastra. pur pose
Before
com ing to some conclusion
wo uld als o ma ke a bri ef referen
ce to oth er designations. 'T~e
Pan cha tan tra in its ope nin g· verse
'AT cal ls this branch- of knowled e
J.vrpasastra ( ,.,c1
C" •
ence of
•
Kin -
gs) ; Ka ma nda ka' s treatise is called Nz'tz ge
y · , . . . · .
a1s am pay an s wo rk ts ent itle d Nitiprakasika; the Pur ana s hav sara,
Ra jan iti (al ong wit h Raj adh arm a), e used
Ch and esw ara has given the name
Ra jan it i Ra tna kar to his wo rk;
and Kshtravidya occurs in the
Ch han do gy a Up ani sad .
'
RAJ ADH ARM A
•
• _ 6 t me ans reli gio n of the
kin g; but her e the wo rd 'religion'
imp lies duties. 'Ac cor din g to Ma hab
har ata Rajadharma is the whole
dut y of the king. Raj adh arm a, he (Bh
ishma) says, are the refuge of
all living cre atu res , and not only the
three-fold end of life but salva-
tio n itse lf depends upo n them; the kin
gly duty (dharma) is held to be
the me ans of controlling the world
just as the reins are upto- the
steed. ' 1 Rai adh arm a, as the pro per dis
charge of the functions of the
king, was reg ard ed of so much vital imp .
ortance to society that failure
to car ry tha t out pro per ly involved the
destruction of society itself;
Th e des tru ctio n of society bro ugh t
on by the remissness of the king
(whose fun ctio n it act ual ly was to pro
tec t society) was considered the
nat ura l con com itan t of social life wit
hout the essential administrative
ma chi ner y. Since the ter m 'dharma'
was understood in a very wide
sense, Rajadharnia inc lud ed not only
the duties of the king but also
oth er ma tter s reg ard ing governance.
)
• U. N. Ghoshal, A History of lncfklf(j,ol
itical Ideas, 189.

.
.
 23
INTRODUCTORY ODSERVATIONS
duties as given in
\1/hen we con1pare the concept of king's
in the canonical Dharma-
Kautil ya's Arthasastra with the same concept
the common element, namely,
sastras, the reference should be made to
king. ffrom th.is standpoint it
the category of pub] ic functions of the
arnta have virtually the same
appears that both Arthasastra and Rajadh
of government in a monarchic
nature, involving in either case the art
fines itself exclusively to the
state. The Arthasastra, however, con
state, while Rajadharma deals
investigation of the phenomenon of the
prehensive scheme of duties
with the same as· an incident in a com
canonical writers mention
ordained by the creator. Hence \\, bile the
ion, the secular authors are
only the rudiments of public administrat
rged canvas, t~ey treat the
able to treat their subject on a vastly enla
mal and healthy as well as
institutions of the state alike in their nor
make the first serious attempt
abnormal and diseased condition, and
e wit h the concrete pro blem s of adm inistration. '1
to grappl
the chief among all
According to Bhishma, rajadharma was
all the varnas. All sorts of
-kinds of dharma, because it preserved
kinds of learning were also
sacrifices were seen in rajadharma and all
er the fact that in ancient
included in it. 2 But we have to rememb
non-kingly or republican
India besides kingdoms, there were also
government is disappearing
states. Moreover, monarchical form of
the modern age religion has
fast from the world scene. Finally, in
e does not appear to be
been separated from politics, so this nam
appropriate.

DANDANITI
h a science and art of
According to ancient thinkers it was bot
re of the Hindus dandaniti is
government.. From the extant literatu
inistration dealing both with
understood as the science of Hindu adm
government. 3 All coercive
the functions and the machinery of
ected to act impartially and
authority vested in the king, who was exp
intaining the life, property
administer the laws, with a view to ma
erved the four orders and
and discipline of his subjects. Danda pres
uals and classes... 'Danda or
defined the limit of the activity of individ
basis of Rajya or political
coercion was thus conceived to be the
with the thinkers of the '
society. •The Epic thinkers in common
principle ·in the evolution of
modern age regarded it as the primary
tical Theories, 1923, 80-81.
1
U. N. Ghoshal, A History of Hindu Poli
2 ~ia-ifr mruli 51'trFrr: ~icfurf: cn{'~inm '+fcrf.cr 1
tr.f, 63 : 27.
l!: 11 tl'QT'+l'Hcf wr~a
«ciRlJTiTT meP l'! ~,~~PT ijff:q'Ts~i~ ~TUT
e Institutions, 1.
1
V. R.R. Dikshitar, Hindu Administrativ
 24 ANCIENT INDIAN POLITICAL T
HouoHl
1
the state. ' 1
'The concept of da11da was one of the inost important P0 1..
•
ideas produced by ancient I nd'1a.... Tlus • brought to 1.t 1ca1
• worId 1s
eousness through dancla, the rod of punishment, hence the scie:Jght.
kingship is called da11daniti and it pervades the three worlds of ce of
men and demons. Dandaniti controls the four varnas so as tog~dS,
them on to the perforn1ance of their duties, and when. it is empl0 ead
. . • Yed
by the ruler properly 1t makes them desist from adharma (unrighte
. k . d . d ous..
ness); Da11da, says t I1e N 1ru ta, 1s enve from the .root 'dad', meanin
'to hold.' It also suggests the root 'dam' as the origin of 4and g
Gautama ren1arks : 'They decJare that the word danda is deriv~
from the verb '~amayati' (he restrains); therefore he shall restrain
those who do not restrain themselves.' Other texts also agree that
danda is so called because it restrains and punishes.
Manu, Brihaspati, Usanas (Shukra) and Kautilya hold that
dandaniti was one of the four kinds of learning (vidya) in ancient India.
According to Kautilya, danda ,vas concerned with all those means
which were employed for the acquisition, protection, increase and
distribution of worldly things. In this context, he did not regard
danda as concerned o·oly with the power of punishment, but something
which .dealt° with the whole complex of social and political relations,
J which in addition to other things included the king, his ministers and
I
army, etc. •Dandaniti was the most imp0rtant of all the four kinds of
\, ]earning, because according to Shu.kra, other kinds of learning
depended on Dandaniti, which was the means of attaining the aims of
Anvikshiki, Trayi and Varta. ' 2
The great importance of danda can be realised from the fact
that individuals as well as states could make achievements only under
the rule of danda; and they could preserve as well as increase their
attainments so Jong as danda ruled. Manu has called danda, the king
or the real ruler. 'It is danda that rules the subjects, it is danda that
protects all. It is danda that keeps awake and guards people when
they are asleep and hence the learned style danda itself as dharma.' 3
Kamandaka says that 'suppression of crimes is danda'. It is on
, acc-1unt of this that the king himself is called 'danda' and king's
administration is calJed dandaniti. Niti (policy) is that which leads,
because it has been derived from the root 'ni' which means 'to lead'.
So dandaniti was called the science of government. But this
. .
1.N. C. Bandyopadhyaya, Development of Hindu Polity and Political
Theories, Part I, 283
2
arr:1"tf1::rct>T~lftqtcrftlt 1.WTiirararr) ~u~: of7.r rrr@: ~mftfu: 1
1 V. R. R. Dikshitar, op. cit., 10.
 25
OBSERVATIONS
INTRODUCTORY
to be ap pr op ri ate today because
es not appear foundatio~ o f the
designation, too, do rd ed as the so le
longer rega y.
danda (force) is no s a pa rt o f the subject o f our stud
no te
state. It silnply de
d; so
NITISASTRA
o f n it i ha s al ready been explaine
The liternal n1ea
ning human
kn ow le dg e w hi ch '1eads and guides
anch o f actually the scienc
e of
ni1isastra is that br a, ni tis as tr a w as
ancient Indi e science o f wisdo
m.
beings in life. In un de rs to od as th
ch was also called his well-know
n
moral conduct, whi ry se ns e an d he
it in this ve e science o f govern
-
Bhartribari took w as take n fo r th
. But later it Kamandaka called
work as 'Nitisataka' at S hu kr a an d
this reason th al o f nitisastra is
ment. It was for a sa ys th at th e go
Nitisara. Shukr the source o r
their treatises as al so co ns id er ed
) o f society; it is the means o f
the good (welfare a an d it is a/so
ma, artha and kam ld always study
foundation o f dhar ce th e ki ng sh ou
(saJvation). Hen nquer his
1
obtaining moksha o f th is kn ow ledge he can co
the help sure for the subjec
ts.
this. Only with th e ca us e o f pl ea
mself can be not simply ethics
or
enemies and he hi o f vi ew , ni tis as tra is
aim
From this point a sc ie nc e o f th e whole society. Its
ment, but only through defenc
e,
science o f govern ca n be at ta in ed
ciety, which actually the aims o
f
is the welfare o f so th at th es e w er e
The fact is ters adopted simil
ar
peace and justice. ve ra l o th er w ri
ent India. Se ara-Niti-ratnakara
the state in anci pa ta ru , C ha n de s w
m id h a r- N itikal tisastra like that
names, e.g., L a ks h ug h th e ai m o f ni
itiprakasa. Altho o f society, yet
an d Mitramisra-N al l- ro un d pr og ress
vernment was the more appropriatel
y be
o f the science o f go ni tis as tr a sh ou ld
ern values
according to mod
nym for ethics.
regarded as a syno

ARTHASASTRA ed the sc ie nc e o f government as

a has designat t as
Although Kautily his ce le br at ed work on the subjec
11as entitl ed f
Dandaniti, yet he gi ft o f an ci en t In dia in the field o
is the greatest f a series o f such
Arthasastra, which ra is th e la st o
B ut his Arthasast d therefore
political science. lth o r pr op er ty an
terally means wea valent o f 'E co n o m
ic s' -
works. Artha li cons id er ed eq ui
l
rightly be o f study in politica
Arthasastra should . T he su bj ec ts
nce o f wealth. there is a great
the modern scie n o t w ea lt h. So
d government and
science are state an owledge.
the two branches o f kn
difference between
I
1 ::r cr Tu :;r ~ ITTlif~ffffMJfo Wmfcfl{ ---'\."-
1 • i
 26 ANCIDNT INDIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

But Kautilya has used the word 'artha' in a special sense. He

says : 'Humanity depends on artha and artha is the territory where
people Jive together. The means of acquiring and protecting this
territory are laid down in the science known as the Arthasastra.' This
application was not coined by him for the first time or used for the
last time. Shukra also says that the scqpe of arthasastra is not merely
t11e discussion of the means of acquiring wealth or property, but a]so
to forn1ulate principles of government. Arthasastra has been given
as the S) nonym of dandaniti in the Amarkosa-and the poet Dandi has
called Kautilya's work dandaniti. Actually, if we look at the first
chapter · of Arthasastra, it becomes clear that he intended to use the
word dandaniti for his work. But to ~esignate the science of govern-
ment as arthasastra cannot be considered proper, particularly in our
time when economics and politics are treated as distinct sciences.
Moreover, the sense in which 'artha' has been used by Kautilya is
far-fetched.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DANDANITI AND DHARMASASTRAS

It may be observed· that dandaniti, arthasastra, nitisastra and
rajadharma and rajasastra are more or less synonymous signifying, in
general, the rules of conduct of kings, regulations relating to the
production and acquisition of wealth and ideals of administration
which came within the purview of the science of government. Dr.
•Kane writes : 'Though Arthasastra and Dharmasastra are often contra-
.distinguished on account of the difference of the two sastras in ideals
and in the methods adopted to reach them, Arthasastra is really
,br~nch of the Dharmasastras as the former deals with the
responsibilities of the kings for whom rules are ]aid down in many
treatises on dharma. Rajad~arma is a very important subject of the
dharmasastras. Prof. Aiyangar is of the opinion that the dandaniti was
not born out of the dharmasastra but was developed on independent
lines.' In the Nitisastra we have, ... an independent body of Jiterature,
whose origin, standpoint, outlook and standards differ from those of
the canonical Jawbooks (i.e., those on the dharmasastras).
Pr?:essor A.B. Keith who, while admitting that the arthasastra,
or the nztlsastra or the dandaniti were one and the same viz the
science of conduct, or the conduct of kings, affirmed 'that' the
•arthasastra and the nitisastra were opposed to the dh~rmasastra in as
muc~ as the~. are. not codes of morals but deal with man's action in
prac~tcal pohtics and conduct of the ordinary affairs of every-day life
and intercourse. But Kautilya assigned to th e d'-"armasasI ras, th e
• ht f d
ng o prece ence over the dandaniti, or, over all other matters of
 TIONS 27
INTRODUCTORY OBSERVA

or e em ph at ic on th e po in t. He states :
m
St at e. Y aj na va lk ya is ev en sa stra ; an d th at when the
th e A rtha
Dharmasastra is st ro ng er th an e dh ar m as as tr a wiJJ prevail. It
co nf lic t, th
fo rm er an d th e la tt er ar e in th e da nd an iti occupied a
thas as tr a or
is cl ea r fr om th is th at th e ar th e dh arm as astr as . 1
pari so n to
su bo rd in at e po si ti on in co1n

~A JA SA ST R A 11 ed by different
o f ou r st ud y is ca
In o u r ow n da y, th e su bj ec t po li ti ca l theory an d
ti ca l ph il os op hy ,
na m es , e. g. , po li ti cs , po li fit~es s of ne w developments
be in th e
po li ti ca l science. It w ou ]d m e fo r th e su bj ec t o f ou r
ap pr op ri at e na
th at we ch oo se th e m os t
y an d th at w ill be R aj as as tr a. )
st ud
- - _ _ ,... "T "" c: ,,· 1- ,rr nv
 . . .
' '

(
.IV. CHARACTER
... ' ISTICS OF ANCIENT INDIAN POLITICAL-
THOUGHT

'EVOLVED AS AN ASPECT. OF DHARMA .

: ' ' , l •

: • The first and t~e fore most cha~acteristic of ancient Indian. poH-
tical thought is that it evolved as an aspect of dharma (not merely
1:eligion).. The word 'religion' has generally been_ taken as an equt~
... , ...

alent for the Sanskrit word dharma. But religion is only an aspect
dharma and never ·the whole of it. In the Vedic literature the
'dl!arma' has been used primarily for custom or law, but in the
rmasutras and Smritis its connotation becomes so comprehensiv~
o include the totality of relationships in which an individual
• to everything· else.· The Aranyakas and Upanisads, may be
1 a. s. Sharina, _Of, cit., io-13,
 34 ( ANCIENT INDIA N POLIT ICAL THOUOJ.ft
I
I said to represent the transitional period in the conception of dharm
l
a
, from the earlier to the later stage. It was on ac~ount of this
I
I
Hindu political thinkers did not se·parate politics from dharma. As
that
I a
I
matter of fact, this is not only the most important characteristic
j
but
also the greatest gift of ancient Indian thinkers to the modem poli-
tical science_. The chief function of the state and the chief duty
of
the king were to see that all people observed their 'dbar ma'- varn
a-
dharma as well as asratna-dharma and even the war was .to be fough
t
. in accordance with the rules of dharma in this respect. As a result
of this politics in ancient India was characterised by morality
and
the subject itself was designated 'Nitisastra'.
Secular Aspect not contrasted with Religious Aspect. As religion
and politics •were integrated, the secular was not contrasted with
the
,religious aspect of Hindu life and activity. 'Such a division of
the
• life of the Hindu is not, however, correct. Hindu thought does
not
recognise the distinction. Secular and religious considerations
are
. inextricably interwoven in Hindu motives and actions. •This featur
e
is reflected in Dharmasastra. Legal capacity is held to rest on spiri-
tual. ... The assumption of a secular, as distinguished from a religi
ous
division in Indian legal and political literature is responsible for
the
magnification, in modern times, of Arthasastra, supposed to repre
-
•sent the realistic and secular, as contrasted with Dh_a~mas
astra
reflecting the idealistic and religious element. ·The assumption
of
the origin of Arthasastra from a secular source is opposed to India
n
tradition, which attributes a semi-divine, or at ]east an inspi
red
source to it. It was counted in smritis among the sources of law,
to
which judicial recognition was due. ' 1
Divergent Opinions Recorded. The second aspect of this charac-
teristic was that in the purely speculative fields of religious thoug
ht,
ancient Indians had room for such agnostic teachers as Briha
spati,
whose school came to be called Charvaka or Lokayat. Furth
er,
in the ~urely practic~I side of life, they had in the fourth centu
ry
_·B.C., a great statesman and thinker, who not only mentioned
the
prominent. theorists preceding him, but criticized the·m, including
his
own unnamed teacher, in the most unequivocal terms. 'It woul
d,
therefore, be incorrect to maintain that the •ancient theorists
merely
echoed ?ne another ; on the other hand, they carefu]]y main
tained
what their predecessors had said in regard to political thought,
recor-
ded _wherever ~~ce~sary divergent op.inions, and thereby added
to the
, totahty and cont1nu!ty of the subject.' Such a sequence is notic
eable
between the successive chapters or periods in the history of one
1
and
K. V. Rangaswami Aiyangar, Ra/ad'1arma, _ ,
9 11
 ATIONS 35
INTRODUCTORY OBSERV
ture of' our study which
I

'H er ein He s a sp ec ial fea

the sam~ society._ sti ng in the field of Eastern
pe cu lia rly int ere
marks 1t as being tutions. 'I •
Political Thought and Insti arac-
of the Sc ien ce of Sta te- Cr aft. The third aspect of this ch
. . Rise ence of
s th at ev en in su ch an atmosphere the new sci
teristic wa
d ac qu ire d ce rta in chara cteristics, some of ·
state-craft appeared an ideal of vijigisu, the activ
e role
taine d till its en d. 'T he
which it re the tendency towards a centr
a-
in the e_ co no mi c sp he re,
of the state is on war and diplomacy as the
ra tio n, th e em ph as
lized administ Jac k of inhibition in the adoptio
n
sta te- po lic y an d th e
instruments of sa tio n of state's objectives, are the
eth od s fo r the re ali
of immoral m dir ec t outcome of the contemporar
y
m ay be ca lle d the
features which Th e Arthasastra School arose in
a
lit ica l co nd iti on s.
social and_ po d continuous warfare, when
the
se po litica l riv alr y an
period of inten im pe rial dominion were resortin
g
sp ire d by the ide al of
monarchies in as the occasion demanded, to gain
pl om ac y, ac co rd ing
to war and di ers · deal with tl~e aims, politi
cs
Th e Ar th as as tra thi nk
their ends. wh ich had subordinated n1ora
l
of th es e m on arc hie s,
and conduct
rial aims. '2
considerations to their impe
I •

RATIONALITY
STRONG ELEMENT OF ught is
co nd ch ar ac ter ist ic of an cient Indian political tho
The se to
rationality in it. According
'

of a str on g ele m en t of
the presence dia's spirit was her strong
intel-
th e se co nd qu ali ty of In
Aurobindo, ty ). The Smritis formulate for the
e first be ing sp iri tu ali
• 1ectua1ity (th so cia l order involving the conc
ep-
m ar ka bl e Jaw of the
~ fi rs t time a re as a br an ch of the whole duty of th~
s
ng 's go ve rn m en t
tion of the ki d authors of the technical
science
Th e ea ;ly sc ho ols an
•individual. a str ong tendency towards a ma
te-
th as as tra ) ind ica te
of polity ( Ar lib er ate sacrifice of morals fo
r
life .as · we ll as the de
rialistic view of m en t of intellectuality, 'aJready
J
As reg ~r ds th e ele
political ends. ely the Vedic Samhitas and the
er ar y wo rk s (n am
•in our oldest lit fu nd am ental concept as that to
m e ac ro ss su ch a
Brahmanas) we co . Th e early Smritis introduce
sm ic or div ine Jaw
the omnipotent co nc e lik e that of the supremacy •
of ou nd sig nif ica
us to doctrines of pr its co m bin ed dogmatic and ratio-
cia l or de r wi th
of the law of the so ul tip le ba sis of the· authority and
th at of th e m
nal implications, and wi th its ref lection in the branches
po ra l ru ler
obligation of the tem d th e ru les of ceremonial purity.'
of pe na nc e, an
of State law, the law r pr in cip les of equal significance.
m a ad d ot he
Manu and Bhish
1 B. A. Saletore, ·op. cit., 4.
I a. Prasad, op. ell., xxi.
 IONS 39
JNTROOUCtOR 11 OBSERVAT
After all
sio n, and an arc hy , wh ich son1etin1es haunted them.
co nfu d far
st sub-c on ti~en t lik e In dia , whose ancient boundaries ha
in a va was
ed the no rt1 1-w est ern regions, and whose population
transce nd have •
d of divers e rac es, it wa s impossible that there could
compose
ere an d in all ag es a perfect type of government that
been· everywh
e. '1
created ideal conditions of Jif
•

ENT INDIAN
V. FOUNDATIONS OF ANCI
POLITICAL THOUGHT

DHARMA
st im po rta nt fou nd ati on of ancient Indian political
The mo
s dh arm a an d it ha d a much wider connotation than
thought wa
eIJma n ob ser ve s : 'In the en tire range of Indian thought,
religion. Sp nificant as that of dharrna.
l it is doubtful
This world ha
ethica~ nature.
wh
s a
eth

Dh
nu
er
n1
arm
an
be
a
y
r
me
co
of
an
nc
co
s
ep
nn
vir
t
ota
is

tue
ive
as
tio
, rig
rsa
sig
ns

l
and most of them are of an
ht action, the law of nature,
truth, a code of customs or
th wh at is pro pe r, un
accordance wi un changing order, Jaw, and
hte ou sn ess , the ete rna l,
traditions, rig s, political and social imp1ica..
all the se. It ha s rel igi ou
variations of wh ich all else may be judged.1
mo ral sta nd ard ag ain st
tions. It is the ref ore there is nothing higher
ks atr a of the ks atr a; the
'dbarma is the es the stronger with the help:
thu s ev en a we ak ma n rul
than dharma; { Th us, dharma is called the
wi th the he lp of a kin g.
of dharma as uth , they say that he declares
a ma n de cla res wh at is Tr
Truth; and if y say he speaks the Truth.
if he de cla res dh arm a, the
dharma; and 2 It has already been discussed tha
t political
They are both the sam e. '
Ind ia ev olv ed as an asp ect of dharma. 'The· State
thought in ancie nt
d to fos ter dh arm a an d the ir chief duty was to see
and the King ex iste
soc ial cla sse s (va rna s) an d the four social orders
that the four
a.
(asramas) observed their dharm
AR YAN RACE
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
d fou nd ation is the early history of the Aryan race in
The secon
low ing ac co unt, it will be seen, greatly, influenced the
India. The fol s land the
ian political thought. 'In thi
early evolution of ancient Ind ir sacrifices, their cows and
ir Na ture Go ds, the
Aryans, with the the Dasas
rses and the ir co nq ue ring zeal, came into conflict with
ho erunners
d Da syu s. Th ey we re inv incible; for they had what their for -
an like the
d no t-c ul tu ra l co he siv eness , powerful social institutions
ha
1 Ibid.
Theory of Ancient India, 98.
• John W. Spellman, Political
 I
l
40"

patriarchate.
, and a faith in the f . 11
.
tJA
ANC IEN t JND IAN POL ITIC AL THO \.JHt·

ir superiority. These bonds were

~1s wh~ sang in sacred
! I
further streng~hened by _a race o 1nte ectu ied sacrifices and· pursued
chants, worshipped their Gods through var e in this community wa
the quest of higher things. The cohesiv
e forc
pervading law -Rt a-w hic :
furnished by the basic idea of an aJl
duct of men; and the law
sustained the universe and regulated the con gre at'- Va run a.'
- 'the
I was presided over by mighty God As ura
'Vast conflicts were waged by the Ary an tribes with the non.
I ugh the country the races
l
Aryans. During the ir victorious ma rch thro
sted, a new harmony was
mingled, customs and beliefs were adju
ective consciousness that the .
evolved. Des pite the fusion, the coll
n-w ere the elect and their
Ary ans -wh eth er by descent or by ado ptio
, persisted. 'Th e Aryanisa-
ways Go d-o rda ine d, and hence unalterable
iring urge.'
tion of the. entire wo rld' remained the insp
of Ten Kings to the
'Th e several centuries, fro m the Battle
theme in the Mahabharata,
Bh ara t Wa r (C. 1500 B.C.), the central
es. The Aryans spread far
were fil1ed with inc·essant Ary an activiti
up jungles, established large-
and wide in the cou ntry . They opened
Before the Bha rat War, the
scale settlements, and founded cities.
I Ary an Tribes, ethnically mixed, had
kingdoms. The ir cul ture had becom
already established powerful
e a conscious instrument of
I pro vid ing a social pat tern based on a
Jaw, ela bor ate ritu als, background of
kin d of trad itio nal common·
heroic trad itio n preserved in
ratu re and a philosophy of
epic rec ital s, a pow erfu l lan gua ge and lite
-R ta- no w called dha rm a-·
tho ugh t and of life. The fun dam ent al law
ept anc e of the people to be
however, con tinu ed by the gen era l acc
1
recognised as sup rem e. ' •
tion , it n1ay be said also
• Pol itic al Order. The hist oric al fou nda
es of stat es tha t existed in
includes the pol itic al ord er, i.e. , the typ
al tho ugh t is very mu ch the.
anc ien t Ind ia. An cie nt Ind ian pol itic
ien t Ind ia. Ind ian types of
pro duc t of pol itic al ins titu tion s of anc
of the orig ina l Ind o-A rya n
terr itor ial n1onarchy was der ive d out
Yaj us- Sam hita s and the
trib al pol ity dur ing the per iod of the
to the suc cee din g centuries.
Bra hm ana s, and it was the nce pas sed on
em pir e in its diff ere nt senses
A second typ e of pol ity, nam ely , tha t of
y like wis e be trac ed bac k to the
of ove r-lo rds hip ove r vassal stat es, ma
the Bra hm ana s. In late r times
sam e per iod of the Yaj us- Sam hita s and
to ach iev e this old Vedic
it bec am e the aim of all am biti ous kin gs
ica n, can be trac ed sporadi--
ide al. . A thir d typ e of pol ity, the rep ubl
m Northern India across.
cally with the help of historical examples fro
Unity, viii.
1 R. C. M;ajumdar (ed.), The Age of Imperial
tNfRODUCT0RY OBSERVATIONS 41'
g str etc h of tim e sep aratin g the Buddha in the fifth and sixth
the lo~
. fro m the ear ly Gu pta Em perors in the fourth century
centur1~s B.C
A.D.
State-constituents, it can ·b~ said:
. 'The catego~y of the seven
ut ex ag ge rat ion , shape d the form of the Indian po Ji ti cal theor
witho
t the . an cie nt tim es. Fo r no t •only did it dominate th!
throughou thasastra and the·
the technical Ar
out~ard form of the theories of el
profound influence upon the paraJJ
~rahmanical Smritis, but it left a of
tem s of the Bu dd his ts· an d the Jain as as well as -the masters
sys al·
cla ssi cal Sa nsk rit lite rat ure . Ho,v thoroughly Indian po1itic
the
in pa rtic ula r, wa s ide nti fie d with the monarchic State is
thought,
the fac t tha t the au tho rs of the technical science _of polity
shown by works ,vith the avo\\·ed
ak a an d Sh uk ra int rod uce the ir
lik~ Kamand
ir duties, whilst those of the Brah-
object of instructing kings in the i-
n the rule of Hfe for kings. Signif
manical Smritis claim to Jay dow royal science' (rajasastra :...._,,
e attitu de is the title of 'th e
cant of the sam
e Kshatravidya or Kshatradharma
or nripasastra or rajavidya) or 'th
ddhist authors to the science of
applied by Brahmanica] and Bu
polity. ' 1

SOCIAL ORDER
ial order of the Aryans, who
. The third foundation was the soc
Indian political thought. The social
originated and developed ancient
Indian social order dating fron1 the
factor, the pattern of ancient
the division ~f societ~ in~o ~our
early Vedic times, contemplated
tus· and functions. This pr1nc1?le
primary classes with distinctive sta ,
social theory through the centunes.
dominated the form of Indian
Brah ma nas, the Bu dd hists and the Jainas differ_ in their estim_ate
'.The
the ·re lat ive sta tus of Br ahm anas and Kshatnyas, but they ~11
of er. It gavd"e !IS e
·s fun dam ental doctrine of the social· ord . d b •
agree On thl the do ctrine s of the cre ation of the soc1~I or er Y 1v1ne
as such to
n (as in the Br ahm ani cal the ory ), or else 1~ t~e c~urse_of a
ordinatio n to h1stor1cal timesf
·c evolut1· on from mythical dow .
process of cosm1 and the Jamas). The dogma~
(as in the theories of the Buddhists
vine .ordin ation of the social order forms one of th~ ma1~
Di
powers as well a:h:h;~a~:~:a
piJlars of the doctrine of the t~ ?
vileges formu lated by
Brahmanical itnmunities and pri
I

canonists
' . '2

1 u. N. Ghoshal~ op. cit., B-9•

• Ibid., 1-8.
 42 ANCIENT lNDIAN POL ITl? AL THOUG1rr·

ECONOMIC ORDER
The fou rth fou nda tion of anc ient Ind ian Pol itic al thou
ght was
the economic ord er of anc ient Ind ia. It also
influenc~d the
growth of anc ient Ind ian political tho ugh t. But ,.
as \\'e shall see,
the economic ord er itse lf was bas ed on the soc
ial ord er of the
Ary ans -the Hin dus of Anc ient Ind ia. The du~ _ies
-rat her the social
fun ctio ns- of the peo ple wer e the bas is of eco nom
ic life in ancienr
Ind ia. .Oc cup atio ns and call ings of the peo ple wer e
cha ract eris ed by-
the weH-kno\vn eco nom ic prin cipl e of divi sion of lab
our . And it was
the most imp orta nt fun ctio n of the stat e (or kin gsh
ip, the dominant-
form of gov ernm ent) to pro tect not onl y the soc ial ord
er but also the.
economic ord er of the society. Thu s the pre vail ing
eco nom ic order
con trib uted to the cha ract er and form ulat ion of poli
tica l tho ugh t in
ancient India.

VI. CR ITI CIS M OF HIN DU RA JAS AS TR A

•. Many western writers have critic_ised Hindu Rajasa

stra on
several gro und s, with the purpose of repudiating its
independent
existence. First of all, they say tha t the ancient Hindus
did not free
thei r poli ties from religion and spiritualism. Dunnin
g writes : 'The·
. oriental Ary ans never freed their politics from the theo
logical and
metaphysical environment in which it is embedded tod
ay. ' 1 It was·
for this reason tha t he c_on:fined himself in his work
to the political
theo ry of the Aryans of Europe only. An oth er
crit ic Bloomfield
says : 'Fro m the beg inni ng of India's history, religious
institutions
controlled. the character and the development of its
people to an
~xtent, unknown· elsewhere.... There is no provision
in such a
scheme for:the interest of the state and the de~elopment
of the race.' 2
lioshal al~o writ~s : 'Religion, it was authoritatively hel
d not long
exercised such an exclusive hold on the JD.dian min
d as to
~d e it f~om conceiving the idea of the State.• It is, th~
refore,
Ketol'Qlng to them, to attempt to discover in ancient
- - conce ts o :e~n• 1bl ic.~n .~a~ . , Ind ian
--
\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\W\\\\\
2. 2.9
.... 'Ii...,...