Questions Asked
- Examine the significance of Dharma in ancient Indian political thought. (13/15)
- Compare and contrast Dharmashastra and Arthashastra with reference to State power. (10/30)
- Comment: The main political ideas contained in the Manusmriti. (03/20)
- Comment: Four Purusharthas in Indian tradition. (04/20)
Introduction
- Dharmashastra occupies the central importance in Hindu political thought. It is a series of texts about the regulation of life in the entire sphere - political, economic, domestic, religious, legal and cultural.
- Dharmashastra refers to the “science of dharma”, which teach the eternal immutable dharma found in Vedas. Dharmashastra is considered as embodiment of complete knowledge given to Manu by Lord Brahma.
- Establishment of Dharma or cosmic order is the primary goal of the state. Power and Authority of king is secondary.
Thinkers’ Views
- As per Thomas Pantham, the crux of Indian Political Thought revolves around Dharma.
- Bhiku Pareek views that Indian Political Thought deals with material life as well as metaphysical life.
- According to Rig-veda, ‘Prithvim dharmam dhritam’. i.e. Dharma is what that which holds life on earth. When dharma is not followed, it will lead to arajakata (anarchy), and ultimately to pralaya (catastrophe).
- Nowhere in the world, human mind has dealt with the various questions and dharmas of life in such a depth as in case of India. – Max Muller
Concept of dharma
- Dharma refers to the cosmic law of the universe. It is not like religion in the traditional sense.
- In Hinduism, dharma signifies refers to the behaviors that are in accordance with Ṛita, the order that makes life and universe possible.
- It includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living".
- Dharma is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions. There is no single-word translation for dharma in Western languages.
- Hindu political thinkers conceptualised political life in terms of two central concepts namely, dharma and danda.
- Indian Political thought is also known as Dandaniti. The term danda means discipline, force, restraint, constraint or punishment.
- Dharma is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘dhr’ meaning to hold. Society could be held together when each individual and group does their specific duties. This is achieved by following the Varna Ashrama Dharma.
Divine Origin of State
- According to this theory, the state was established and governed by God, the King is the representative of God.
- In early society, the religious and political authority were combined into one.
- The authority of the king was to be accepted and obeyed due to the fact that he represented divine power.
- The Jews were exponents of this theory.
- The king bore responsibility only to God for his acts.
- G.H. Sabine in "A History of Political Theory" writes that the new monarchies that came into existence after Alexander was predestined to be absolute in which the king was identical with the State. Later on, the kings have also enrolled, among the Gods of the big cities. "Thus, the belief in the divinity of the king" came into European thought and persisted, in one form or another, down to modern times."
Nature of State
- The governmental organisation and politics were looked at as a part of the larger whole called society.
- Nature of state is organic.
- State is compared with a human organ.
- State is comprised of seven parts like seven organs of the human body.
- For a better state, all organs should be stronger.
- King maintains dharma (i.e. law and order) in society, and for preserving dharma, danda is essential.
- The divine is ominipotent and is visible in the formation of society and government.
- The divine purpose is to be enforced by the king, divine punishment reinforces earthly punishment and sometimes supplants it.
- Sovereignty was, infact, ultimately sourced in the divine will.
Significance of Dharmashastra
- The most succinct statement on dharma is found in Dharma shastra and Dharma sutras which can be divided into three categories:
- Rules for good conduct
- Rules for legal procedures
- Rules for penance
- The Dharma shastra prescribed rules for all of society so that each person might live according to dharma.
- These texts are attributed to the ancient rishi or sages.
- Manu was the most important of these and is the most famous and his manavdaharmashastra (Laws of Manu) is the most famous of all the texts. It is also called manusmriti (smriti means what is remembered).
- It is in the form of dharma revealed by brahma to manu, the first man, and passed on through Bhrigu one of the ten great sages.
- The divine origin is claimed for all the Dharma shastras to facilitate their general acceptance.
- The dharmasastras were legalistic and religious in orientation.
- The monarch or the head of political institutions was the upholder of Dharma, and it was the primary duty of the monarch to provide all the necessary conditions for Dharma to be followed as a social, political and moral code of conduct in the society.
Relationship between Dharmashastra and Arthashastra
- The very essence of Philosophy of dharmashastras was rooted in his belief that in the universe there exists only one ultimate reality which is termed as the ‘supreme spirit', and all the dharmashastras trace their origin directly or indirectly from supreme spirit.
- Hence all the power of State as prescribed in the dharmashastras are derived from Dharma or order created by supreme spirit.
- In the Arthashastra the power of State is vested in the Swami (King), the identities of king and state coincide when looked through the prism of power and authority. The King is sovereign to none but can only exercise powers when he is able to gain and sustain popular support. Hence the power of the State is vested in popular support in the form of king.
- The writers of dharmashastra concentrated on exploring the dharma of individuals and social groups, including the government. They, however, did not attempt to provide political dharma as a distinct and autonomous subject of investigation. What they did was to provide a code of conduct covering the entire human life. Politics was incidental to this main concern.
- In contrast to the approach of the dharmasastras, the authors of arthashastra were interested in the organisation and mechanics of Danda.
- The Arthashastra of Kautilya gives us a detailed account of the nature and organisation of government, the nature and method of exercising coercive power, how power could be acquired, strategies and mechanics of retaining power, the possible threat to the varnas, prakritis or the elements of state and the best way to deal with them. The works of the authors of arthashastra were specifically political.
Conclusion
- To conclude we can say that the two approaches of dharmashastras and arthashastra differed mainly in their subject matter.
- One choosing to explore political life from the stand point of dharma, the other from that of danda.
- The dharmashastras were legalistic and a religious in orientation, whereas the arthashastras concentrated on institutions and politics and were secular in orientation.
- Neither approach was complete by itself, nor this is fully appreciated by its followers. The two together constitute the Hindu traditions of political thought.