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Ancient thought
In the epoch that began with the philosophical movements
which are expressed in the mystical texts known as Upanisads
and culminated in the regime of the emperor Aśoka, whose rule
extended over all but southernmost India, the dimensions of
Indian social thought were established. During these formative
centuries, roughly from the seventh to the middle of the third
century B.C., new modes of economic production, the
incorporation of indigenous peoples into the Aryan community,
and other social changes rendered the old agencies of
integration inadequate; with many of the certainties of life
dissolving and new social relationships demanding new
justifications, men were faced with the need to re-examine basic
values and institutions. A variety of ideas about the nature and
destiny of human life began to challenge traditional religious
conceptions
Cosmology

Discussion of a system of political beliefs and speculations

requires a general understanding of the symbolic forms in terms
of which reality is comprehended by a people. Men reveal
reality to themselves through particular ways of seeing, which
discriminate objects and events from the whole in which they
are embedded. Observation is purposive behavior, and in the
first stages of the development of human knowledge acts of
discrimination and the assignment of meaning are closely
bound together. Later, as thought becomes theoretical, the
contents of experience are grouped and correlated, and in time
strict definition becomes possible, as facts are subsumed under

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general ideas and conceptually grasped. When the subject of
our investigation is the political thought of the last several
centuries in Europe or America, the cosmology at the base of
such ideas may be taken for granted. But the study of ancient
civilizations cannot properly proceed without a consideration of
symbolic and mythic materials, although such materials may be
only indirectly related to political theory and although we may
have to content ourselves with what is at best informed
conjecture.
In this attempt to discover the different ways in which the world
is viewed we discover that, except for the Greeks in the
classical age, existence is rarely comprehended in terms of a
rational order which lends itself to intellectualistic investigation.
More frequently the imagery is dramatic: the world derives its
meaning from its creator rather than from the logic of its
structure, and knowledge takes the form of mystic
apprehension (gnosis) instead of rational inquiry. Insight into the
meaning of a world not yet completed depends on revelation
and supernatural capacities: the emphasis is on encounter
instead of examination. In one version of this latter world view
the god-creator involves himself in the universe, assuming a
variety of forms and disguises. Man’s response to this sacred
power may take the form of supplication or ritual, in which
instance professionals are usually required to act as
intermediaries between man and the holy. But sometimes the
godhead is not seen as a deity possessing will and design, and
the individual worshiper may seek through discipline and
contemplation to merge himself in the cosmic process.

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Ancient Indian political thought must be understood in the
context of religious beliefs. In the earliest cosmology the
political order was seen as analogous to the cosmos, its
creation a repetition of the divine creation of the cosmic system.
Vedic liturgy was essentially an effort to reproduce the cosmic
order so as to ensure the effective functioning of society. By the
later Vedic period the anthropomorphic gods of the heroic age
had been eclipsed by more imposing and aloof deities, and the
rituals had become a highly formalized religion with a complex
ceremonialism. As religion came to be tied to technical
expertise, the priests strengthened their position, isolating
themselves from social controls. By the end of this period the
Aryan invaders had extended their hegemony over the whole of
the Gangetic plain.
The early texts

The most authoritative statement of the orthodox tradition exists

in the venerable Rg Veda, which provides the earliest historical
record of the Indo-Aryan peoples who invaded northwest India
in the middle centuries of the second millennium B.C. The Vedic
hymns themselves can be dated from at least the eleventh or
twelfth century. When the interpretation of the Vedas required
explanatory texts, a set of ritual manuals, the Brahmanas, were
appended to the hymns. The later Vedas, Brahmanas, and the
early Upanisads belong to the centuries 900-600 B.C. It is
probable that the original versions of the epics Mahábhárata
and Rámáyana were in existence shortly after the end of this
period. The sources of heterodox doctrine are found in the
pronouncements of great teachers who lived at this time. (It was
not until the fourth century that the Pali Buddhist canon was

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compiled.) Although the Rg Veda, the Bráhmanas, and other
early texts contain much material relevant to the study of
political thought, literature expressly devoted to legal and
political questions is encountered only with the Dharma Sutras
(500-200 B.C.). The ArthaśSastre literature, which deals with
the art of government and what is described as “the science of
material gain,” may date back to the sixth century, but the oldest
treatise that remains is the work ascribed to Kaufilya, which is
usually believed to date from the early years of the Mauryan
state (c. 300 B.C.), but which may be as late as the third or
fourth century a.d. During the several centuries before and after
the beginning of the Christian era, the Mahabharata attained the
form in which we have the work, and the major Dharma Śāstra
treatise, the code of Manu, was compiled. The Dharma Śāstra
and Arthaśāstra literature extends well into the medieval period
of Indian history; some texts, however, are as recent as the
ninth and tenth centuries a.d. It will be apparent to the reader by
now that only the broadest chronological arrangement of these
writings is possible. By the eighth century the Arabs had
dominated the lower Indus valley; however, long before the
Muslim conquests the creative period of Sanskrit theory was
over. Not until the nationalist and reform movements of the
nineteenth century was there a significant revival of Indian
political speculation.
There is little evidence that Vedic kingship was considered a
divine institution; few priestly functions were performed by the
king. Sometimes the ruler is compared with certain of the
gods—or it may be said that he has superhuman attributes, or
that during the sacrifice he takes on aspects of divinity. There is
no evidence that the early monarchy was elective in any
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modern sense of the word (although the texts often suggest that
the king was chosen by the people), but there are indications
that the ruler was dependent on the support of at least the
aristocracy, and we may assume that “election” must be
understood as approval or appointment. The authority of the
assembly and the role of the people in the coronation ceremony
point to a degree of popular participation that was never
equaled in later times.
Brahmanism

When the tribal organization based on kinship relations was no

longer adequate to meet the strains on social cohesion, the
ruling nobility grew increasingly dependent on
the brahman priests to provide new principles of legitimation
which could justify political authority. By the later Vedic age the
priests had come to control the sacrifice and through the
sacrifice the means of salvation. At this time the ideas
of karma and transmigration began to assume a central
importance. Every soul, according to this belief, has existed
from eternity and journeys through a series of rebirths until it
has earned eternal bliss. Each thought and action has
consequences for the destiny of the soul and determines one’s
position and status in society. In the light of these doctrines it
would be extremely difficult to reconcile religious interest with
social reform. As Max Weber remarked, the sanction for
traditionalism was as complete as any contrived by the mind of
man. With the brahman priest at the apex of the class structure
and karma ideology as its foundation, we are confronted with a
society so effectively integrated by religion that political
institutions need play only a minor role in regulating conflict.

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And, indeed, throughout most of Indian history social
coordination was accomplished through caste and village
institutions.
The vitality and naive optimism of the Vedic age had
succumbed to a more restrained philosophical and religious
perspective. The Brahmanic deities had become manifestations
of an impersonal cosmic principle. Prajapati, lord of creation,
was exalted above the other gods: but he had himself become
the harmonizing sacrifice. The figure of Prajapati provides a link
between earlier Indian religion and the varieties of mysticism
that served to shift religious emphasis from ritualism to
individual spiritual insight.
In the political speculation of this time, most of which is found
in brahman texts, we are not surprised to find that the authority
of the brahmans is considered superior to that of the king and
that the priests are independent of the secular power. Mitra, the
old Vedic god who was taken to represent the priesthood, at
one time stood apart from Varuna, who in this instance
epitomized power. That is, mind was conceived to be
independent of will. But just as will relies on
intelligence, regnum (ksatra) could not exist
without sacerdotium (Brahmaā). There are passages in the
texts that qualify this characterization, but they are rare.
The first suggestion of an attempt to explain the origins of
government occurs in the Aitareya Braāhmana (I, 14). The
gods, at first disunited, came to realize that victory over the
titans could be theirs only if they yielded to Indra, the great
warrior, and granted him their collective powers. The account of

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the royal coronation in this work (vIII, 15) contains a theory of
kingship that is at least a primitive version of the European
political philosophies which locate the basis of authority in a
contract. For a closer approximation to the idea of the state’s
contractual basis we must turn to the later Buddhist legends.
The functions of the royal authority were secularized to a
degree uncommon in the ancient world, and the spheres of
politics and religion were differentiated as the ksatra- Brahmā
distinction indicates); yet there remained a religious dimension
to kingship and an aura to the person of the king that impeded
the development of a concept of contract between the king and
his people. [Seesocial contract.]
The texts of this period argue that the primary obligation of the
king is the preservation of dharma. This term, which defies any
exact rendition, is used to describe the totality of rules and
duties, the eternal and necessary moral law, truth, and justice. It
is a category of theology, ethics, and law: The central
importance of this concept in Indian political philosophy
expands the boundaries of speculation to include aspects of
human experience not generally associated with politics in
Western thought on the subject. In this conception law is
ultimately god-given. Dharma stood above the king, and the
king’s failure to preserve the sacred tradition must have
disastrous consequences. It was the function of the power of
sanction and coercion (danda) to ensure compliance
with dharma, and the rajadharma, the dharma of the king, thus
existed as guarantor of the whole social order with its hierarchy
of privileges and duties. Behind this doctrine lies the belief that
it is only the fear of punishment that makes men righteous in
their conduct.
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In the Dharma Sūtras, which are condensed technical prose
works consisting of rules governing the broad area of human
conduct, the individual is still not sharply distinguished from the
group. Local custom and law are recognized as authorities in
this age of transition from the tribal community to the territorial
state. With the systematization of usage and tradition in the
Sūtras, the legitimacy of royal power—formerly dependent on
priestly proclamation—came to be based on the law codes. But
this in itself did not mean that the king was becoming more
independent of brahman controls. Actually the powers of the
king were more rigidly defined. Heretical religious beliefs were
beginning to appear at this time, however, and since there was
the possibility that competing ethical and religious movements
would be successful in eliciting the support of the king, the
prestige and power of the ruler continued to expand, and the
position of the brahmans became increasingly vulnerable.
This was a turbulent period in Indian history, and the capacity to
respond effectively to environmental challenge must have
dictated an adaptability in the ideological superstructure of the
nascent state—an allowance, so to speak, for the necessity of
sin. Symbols of foundation were continually invoked. The
concept of foundation implies the possibility of the “artificial”
establishment of social aggregates. The heroic role thus came
to be institutionalized: it was the assertive, trans-moral role
charged with the upholding of honor and the protection (by
violence if need be) of the order of things. And it was kept within
bounds by its subservience to the higher spiritual power. The
harmony of the two complementary powers—the temporal,
or ksatra, and the spiritual, or Brahmaū, ensured the harmony
of the world. The former (whether represented by Romulus or
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Varuna) is that mysterious potency which is always in an
equivocal relationship to society. In guarding the established
order against hostile forces it may be necessary to take on
characteristics not unlike those of the enemy. Authority is
transformed into naked power. In India the amoral dimension
of ksatra found its fullest expression in the figure of the god
Indra, who represented the warrior virtues, power as well as
authority. Indra had the right to go above the sacred code when
necessary for its protection. But purification and compensation
were always required. This is one reason for the importance of
the sacrifice in Aryan ideology.
The most characteristic feature of the sacred is its dangerous
and proscriptive property. Intermediaries are needed to make
possible communication between the realms of the sacred and
the profane, since the forces unleashed in the contact between
the two spheres are so powerful they might otherwise destroy
each other. The brahmaūn priest acted as this intermediary in
the conduct of the sacrifice. It must have been only a matter of
time before the power to manipulate the gods began to seem
superior to the gods themselves. This brahman potency,
projected into the pantheon, ultimately returned in the
conception of Prajaūpati (or Brahman). Some students of Indian
philosophy insist that the monistic principle usually associated
with the Upanisads had long been dominant in Brahmanism.
Political and legal treatises

Although in the Vedas an embryonic caste form is portrayed

(the Purusa hymn names the four orders but does not directly
indicate that status distinctions are intended; see Rg Veda x,

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90, 11 ff.), by the end of the Vedic period the institution had
become stereotyped, and it was fairly prevalent by the time of
the Buddha. The brahman was the referent whereby rank
position was determined, and distinctions had come to be
based on relative ritual purity. The two highest
castes (brahman priests and ksatriya nobility) monopolized
duties that required ritual purity. The brahmans possessed the
right to study the scriptures, perform the sacrifice, pursue the
ascetic life, and “receive gifts.” By the later Vedic period they
and the ksatriyas had become virtually endogamous.
The ksatriya ideal that dominated the centuries of the Gangetic
expansion—personal honor and military valor—was tamed with
the establishment of the territorial state. Protection and
regulation became the major responsibilities of the governing
elite. The demand for specialists in the techniques of
coordination and adaptation grew, and the influence of the
minister began to challenge the traditional status of the knight.
The needs of the settled community were bringing
the brahman more directly into political activity; he was often the
person best qualified for the deliberative, advisory, and
supervisory roles of the emergent state. But at the same time
the governing nobility took unto itself offices and powers that
had formerly been reserved for the various corporations of
society and for religious functionaries. The ksatriya role had
become more specifically political —in that secular authorities,
with bureaucratic instrumentalities at their disposal, regarded
themselves as charged with mobilization of social resources for
the achievement of collective purposes. Below these dominant
classes were the agriculturalists and herdsmen, traders and
artisans (collectively the vaiśya class), and the sudras, who are

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described as the servants of the other classes of society and
who were, for all practical purposes, beyond the pale of justice.
Before this class structure had hardened into a caste system, it
was confronted by the indirect challenge of heterodox salvation
religions, which themselves were part of an intellectual
movement reaching back to the seventh century B.C. It is the
theme of many of the Upanisads that knowledge alone—
knowledge acquired through meditation—can transform the
individual, raising him to union with the eternal One. In such an
argument each member of society is equal to every other, in
that all participate in the divine. By the time of the Buddha (c.
560-480 B.C.) there existed in India the better part of a hundred
distinguishable doctrines, and they ran the gamut from idealism
to bald materialism and nihilism. These new disciplines and
schools, Buddhism included, were not reform philosophies
intent on social change; they offered, rather, an alternate way of
life, introspective and world-renouncing. Buddhism is not the
expression of active brotherliness; it would be more accurate to
say that the teaching calls for a retreat from intense involvement
in social relationships. Although not a social philosophy,
Buddhism, with its greater attention to ethical considerations
and the role of human volition in determining social
arrangements, opened new possibilities for political speculation.
Induction and reason are of greater importance because less
can be explained as the result of divine intervention. By way of
Buddhist arguments, secularization could be carried further than
had been possible in orthodox theory, and we find, for example,
theories assuming the human origin of kingship that allow the
unambiguous acceptance of the contract as the basis of
obligation; taxes are payment to the king in return for protection.
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The Buddhist view of social evolution postulated an idyllic state
of nature at the beginning of time. Gradual moral decline at
length underscored the differences dividing men, and social
institutions were introduced to cope with the problems that
arose. To establish order the greatest among men was named
king and received, in return, a portion of the produce.
As in the Braūhmanic literature, punishment (danda) is a duty of
the king, but it no longer has the central position it had in earlier
political thought. The Buddhist conception of dhamma connotes
the supreme principle of righteousness. It is closer to Western
concepts of virtue than is the Brahmanical dharma, which
generally has a legalistic ring and is tied to the maintenance of
caste prerogatives. Furthermore, Buddhism offers more in the
theory and technique of organization than does Brahmanism.
The coordination of missionary activities, the preservation of
Buddhist tradition and dhamma, and the supervision of
discipline were functions of the monastic community known as
the Sangha. The only distinction recognized among the monks
was seniority, and resolutions, to carry, had to have the consent
of all present (on rare occasions the majority principle was
employed). Although it was a self-governing and democratic
body, the Sangha had no power to prescribe new laws that
contradicted the precepts of the founder.
In searching for reasons to explain the growing influence of
such heterodox systems as Buddhism and Jainism at this time,
we may speculate that with the waning of tribal institutions and
with the appearance of new forms of economic production and
political organization, the salvation religions might be viewed as
substitutes for the lost reservoir of psychic strength. It is not that
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a sense of loneliness or impotence was felt on a conscious
level, for there is no precise moment when the kinship role is
replaced by the occupational role. But before expectations,
roles, and controls were integrated (caste was not yet
sufficiently advanced to serve this function), the sharpened
sense of guilt which accompanied the relaxing of clan and tribal
authorities may have produced a tormenting uneasiness and
“self-consciousness.” It remained for the new religions to turn
this estrangement to positive ends. Buddhism encouraged the
internalization of controls, and this development in itself must
have helped ease the transition from one type of external
authority to another—preventing, if we are right in our
speculation, a greater reliance on arbitrary force.
Also, in the absence of a “correspondence theory” which
projects political events into the cosmic order, such activities
are confined to the area of human relationships, and political
innovation is less apt to be discouraged. Despite the explicit
goals of Buddhism, a consequence of the radical shift in
cosmological symbohzation would conceivably be the
justification of secular ends as legitimate in their own right. A
clearly perceived tension between sacred and profane could
produce either the spirit of world renunciation and asceticism or
the frank acceptance of the contrary demands of the two levels
of existence. And when salvation became more distinctly a
private affair, the state was allowed a freer scope for its
activities than was possible in the era of braūhman supremacy.
Perhaps most apparent is the opportunity that heterodoxy
provided the ruling class to free itself of priestly influence. The
Buddhist emperor Aśoka (c. 270-232 B.C.)
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interpreted dhamma broadly so that it provided the basis of a
civic code that amounted to a rejection of the sacrificial cult of
the braūhmans and the inequities it justified. Although the policy
pronouncements that remain in the form of rock and pillar
inscriptions indicate that Aśoka was always careful to avoid
antagonizing the priests directly, his heterodox sympathies
threatened the traditional balance of power. When the state
combined Braūhma and ksatra in its own authority it
approached a self-legitimating caesaropapism. Thus there
existed the opportunity for religion to become the instrument of
government. In the first “pillar edict” we learn that it was
sometimes necessary for Aśoka’s religious agents to
“persuade” those who wandered from the true path.
Hindu thought
Portions of the great heroic epic the Mahaūbhaūrata were
influenced by Saūnkhya doctrine—perhaps the most important
philosophical influence on the development of early Hinduism—
before the epic was revised to conform with Vedanta teaching,
a system more congenial to the priestly group. The atheistic and
rationalist Sankhya philosophic system, of ancient origin but
outside the Vedic tradition, shares certain features with
Buddhism, such as the belief in the “constant becoming” of the
world and a conception of life as suffering. But the Saūnkhya of
the Mahaūbhaūrata embraces a concept of God, who is the
expression of the highest excellence. Many of the incidents in
the Mahabharata refer back to the remote Vedic period, but the
major brahman modifications and additions probably date from
the second and first centuries B.C. In the most famous section
of the work, the Bhagavad Gūtaū, Krishna, the divine charioteer

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of the warrior-prince Arjuna, seeks to convince the ksatriya of
the need to fulfill his caste obligations. Arjuna, who had lost
conviction in his motives for fighting, returns to the battle
confident of the importance of upholding dharma. The Giūtaū
offers an alternative to the world-renouncing ideal of the monk;
worldly activity is valued as long as it is not motivated by selfish
desire. Caste gains in religious significance in such a
philosophy, while simultaneously the promise of salvation is
offered to every man who leads a life of detachment and
devotion to God. The ksatriya was always more the hero than
the achiever, and in this sense the ideal depicted in the
philosophic poem is not a radical departure from the traditional
figure of the knight. The knight has been civilized and his
energies turned to the larger purposes of the community, but it
remained for Kautilya and the Arthasastra theorists to
emphasize achievement and to declare that artha (material
gain) was a fundamental principle of society and essential to the
building of an empire.
The Śaūnti Parvan, the twelfth book of the epic, is the major
source of political commentary in the Mahaūbhaūrata. The
subject of this didactic book is niūti, the science of worldly
pursuit. We are told that at first dharma kept everything in its
place, but the shadow of greed and lust eventually fell across
the land. The resultant condition of
anarchy (maūtsyanyaūya, the “law of the fishes”—what we
might describe as the law of the jungle) is disorder of
Hobbesian proportions. The account of the origin of kingship
that follows contains justifications of authority in terms of
function, heredity, subordination to the brahmans, and finally,
divinity itself. The authority of the ruler is exalted in these
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passages, for “when the science of politics (chastisement) is
neglected, the Vedas and all virtues decline.” Taxes were
considered the king’s remuneration for protecting and furthering
the interests of his people. But in taxing his subjects the king
must resemble the subtle leech and the gentle cowherd,
extracting the necessary revenue without destroying initiative.
The Arthaśaūstra writings

The Mahaūbhaūrata mentions a number of schools of

Arthaśaūstra doctrine, and the names of previous writers (some
as early as the fifth century B.C.) agree with those found in the
Arthasastra of Kautilya. In the earlier stages of its history the
science of politics was termed raūjadharma, but when the study
was broadened to include both politics and economics, it came
to be called arthasastra, (In treatises which emphasize that fear
of retribution is the real basis of order, the term dandaniti is
sometimes employed.) Most political thought assumed the
existence of a monarchical form of government, and politics
was accordingly defined as the science of kingship. The
Arthaśaūstra texts were intended as guides for the king and his
ministers, and they included such subjects as public
administration, economic regulation, foreign policy, techniques
of warfare, and civil law. The most important of these works,
and the earliest we have, is the treatise generally attributed to
Kautilya, the minister of the first Mauryan emperor.
Kautilya is not primarily concerned with broad political
speculation on the origin and nature of the state (India provides
no philosophical text that can be compared with the major
theoretical works of Europe), and his originality is not to be

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found in the realm of abstraction. The treatise is, as its author
explains, a compendium and summary of earlier Arthasastra
writings. Of the three ends of human life—virtue, wealth, and
enjoyment—Kautilya assigns first importance to wealth, but he
is always aware of the instrumental value of religion and ethical
norms in preserving the structure of society. He allows the king
to determine for himself what shall have the sanction of law,
although the Vedas are accepted as sources of dharma, and
statute law must be compatible with the sacred texts. Despite
the significance he attaches to the role of the king, Kautilya is
pragmatic in his approach and would give priority to that
component of sovereignty which happens to be of most
consequence at any particular time. In Indian theory sovereignty
was usually thought to contain seven elements: the king, the
ministers, the populace, the fort, the treasury, the army, and the
ally. (The same catalogue may be found in the Kamandaūklya,
the Sukranltisaūra and the Manu-Smrti.) The theory, in which
diplomacy is made an integral part of politics, is intended to
show the necessary conditions for the effective functioning of
the state.
The Arthaśaūstra leaves the reader with the impression that its
author is little concerned with ethical considerations. Political
expedience had been a characteristic of the Arthasastra
tradition, and in such works as the Santi Parvan right is equated
with might in a world in which the stronger live upon the weaker.
Kautilya usually recommends unscrupulous tactics only against
those who would subvert the social order, and he is aware that
power, if not restrained in its use, can be destructive of itself.
The author of the Arthasastra was sensitive to the economic
bases of power and opposed any decentralizing tendency that
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would weaken the control of the state over the economic life of
society. Yet the state should not seek to eliminate the
independent group life of the community. The caste structure
was accepted as long as the general well-being was not
prejudiced by narrow class prerogatives. The Arthasastra
represents an important step in the direction of authority based
on the interests of all. The king was advised to see no interest
other than the interest of his subjects. However, Kautilya also
makes clear that prosperity rests on the good will of the people
and that the power of the state depends on wealth. This
conception of authority must necessarily include many functions
previously reserved to institutions that were not considered
political. The scope of political authority, then, was markedly
broadened, and in the literature of this period we begin to read
such statements as “the king is maker of his age.”
The Nūtisaūra of Kamandaka, usually placed in the Gupta
period (fourth or fifth century a.d.), is essentially an abridgment
of the Arthaśaūstra, although the later writer neglects a number
of subjects that Kautilya obviously believed of great importance.
Two-thirds of the Kamandaklya Nitisara relates to foreign policy
and the conduct of hostilities.
All the literature that has been considered thus far was
produced in northern India, and, except for Buddhist writings, in
Sanskrit. The contributions of Tamil and other south Indian
writers are now beginning to receive more attention. Perhaps
the most important work produced in the south (broadly
contemporaneous with the Niūtisaūra) was the Tlrukkural
(KuraJ) of Tiruvajluvar, which also owes much to Kautilya.
Several Jaina texts can be classed among the Arthaśaūstra
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writings. Such authors as Hemacandra (twelfth century a.d.)
were willing to allow the ethical standards of their religion to
inform political life, but generally they can be contrasted with
authors of Buddhist canonical works, who demanded the
subordination of politics to ethics and held in contempt
the “ksatriya science.”
The last great comprehensive political study of the ancient
Hindus, the Śukraniūtisaūra (probably ninth to thirteenth century
a.d.), though a smaller work than the Arthaśaūstra, is wider in
scope. It is as much a moral treatise as it is a political one: the
great attention to the moral norms necessary for regulating
conduct prevents a sharp distinction between politics and
ethics. Probably the dearth of comment regarding the origins of
state and government must be taken to mean that the author of
the text considered the state as having existed in some form
from earliest time, being the product of human needs. Sukra,
like Kautilya, is concerned with the actual mechanism of
government, the organization of power, and the theory of
empire. The usual seven components of sovereignty are
elaborated, but Sukra introduces an analogy to the human
body, which has led some students of the work to describe it as
an organic theory of the state. The ministers have an important
place in this theory; they were to be consulted on all questions
of policy. Their recommendations must be accepted by the king.
By the time of Sukra eight ministers constituted the standard
council. With the possible exception of the minister of religion
and the crown prince, the roster is not greatly different from
modern cabinets. Public officials were to be chosen on the
basis of character and accomplishment: circumstances of birth
were of less importance to Sukra than to other theorists.
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The Dharma Saūśtra writings

Whereas the Arthasastra literature introduces inductive

reasoning and a greater realism into political thought, the
Dharma Sastras are essentially deductive in nature. In the first
centuries a.d. the prose Dharma Sutra texts were reworked in
verse form, and the social and religious regulations of the
orthodox brahman culture were systematized. These codes are
accepted as authentic guides to law, custom, and duty. Through
the centuries they achieved a stature comparable to that of the
Vedic hymns, although it is not possible to say whether any of
the law codes were deliberately employed as regulations
backed by coercive sanctions. The Manu-Smrti is the oldest and
most famous of the Dharma Sastras; it is usually regarded as
the most authoritative work on Hindu law. In defining sacred
law, the treatise includes, in addition to the sacred tradition,
individual conscience and the example of virtuous men.
Allowance must be made for local custom, and past usage must
be considered in the settling of legal disputes. The king is
understood to be divinely created and ordained to protect the
people from a barbarous state of nature, but the absolutism of
the European divine right argument is not found in the
conception. The king embodies the virtues of eight deities; his
authority is derived from the divine nature of his office and the
significance of his crucial role in the preservation of the social
order, as well as from the supernatural origin of his person. It
goes without saying that such characterizations of kingship as
we find in the Manu-Smrti and the Mahabharata are compatible
only with hereditary kingship. Caste distinctions are also made
the product of divine decree as well as the result of social
necessity. Brahman superiority is described and justified in the
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most extravagant terms. In the Manu-Smrti and most of the law
books, punishment increased in severity as social status
diminished.
A basic tenet of Hindu political thought was the belief that the
king must regard himself not as the creator of the law but only
as its guardian. The Narada-Smrti is an exception. In this work
the royal decree is regarded as legitimate in its own right.
Perhaps the most authoritarian of Indian writers, Narada
demands that the king be obeyed whether right or wrong in his
actions. However, from about the third century B.C. there
seems to have developed a growing appreciation of the need to
relate law and tradition to changing social conditions. This
awareness can be seen in the Dharma Sastra work attributed to
Yajnavalkya. In that work and in the codes of other legal
authorities it is argued that the edict must harmonize with
customary and sacred law and that departures from the
original rajadharma must be carefully controlled. Judicial offices
were generally to be filled by brahmans, since no man could be
judged by one who was not at least his social equal and since
the sin involved in the crime must also be judged. The earliest
court was likely the king’s palace, but by the time of the Dharma
Sastras complexities of judicial administration necessitated
formal institutions of a more specialized nature. There existed a
regular procedure for appeal from lower to higher courts.
The political commentary of the Dharma Sastras is similar to
that of the Arthasastra writers and requires little further
discussion here. Tax revenue was seen as the king’s rightful
due in return for the security he provided. Concern for social
stability induced some of the legal theorists to elaborate rules of
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statecraft with Kautilyan candor, but usually (as in Yajnavalkya)
military action was to conform to a code of conduct. The
technique of the power balance was understood, and alliances
were considered among the major assets of the state. In Hindu
political theory, diplomacy is constructed on the
interrelationships within a group of states, all neatly described in
terms of their probable effect on the fortunes of the home state.
This theory (mandala) is based on the assumption that the king,
by nature, aspires to conquest and that his neighbor is his
enemy. The natural ally is the kingdom on the opposite frontier
of the enemy.
The Puraūnas

The Puranas, compendia of ancient legends and lore covering a

wide variety of topics, in their present form belong to the first
seven or eight centuries a.d. Again we are reminded of the
fundamental importance of punishment in preserving dharma. In
these texts, as in others, there is no place for the right of
resistance. The problem of individual rights as opposed to the
right of the state does not arise in ancient Hindu theory—
except, possibly, with reference to brahman immunities. The
king is advised to be neither mild nor harsh in dealing with his
subjects and to exert his authority to bring about their full
spiritual and material development. If he fulfills his duty he is
entitled to a sixth part of the merit earned by his people.

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