Introduction
“राज्ञां नयो राजनीतिः” – the prudent or righteous conduct of a king is considered as rājanaya. The science of polity which lays down the rules and regulations to be followed by the king during the administration of the affairs of the kingdom is termed as Rājanītiśāstra. As the king is responsible for the prosperity of the subjects – and the people get destroyed in his absence, it is inevitable that he has to abide by the rules laid down by this Śāstra.
The prominence of this Śāstra is also due to its anciency, which has been well established in Śāntiparva (Rājadharmānuśāsanaparva) of the great epic Mahābhārata where it is said that Lord Brahmā, the god of creation composed by his own intelligence a work consisting of a hundred thousand chapters. After this, Lord Śiva studied and mastered it. Seeing the gradual decrease of the span of human existence, Siva abridged that highly important science composed by Brahmā. That abridged version known as Vaiśālākṣa comprising of ten thousand chapters was then received by Indra, who again abridged it into a work consisting of five thousand chapters which was named as Bāhudantaka. Then the preceptor of devas, the great Bṛhaspati, abridged it further comprising of three thousand chapters and named it as Bārhaspatya. After that, the preceptor of daityas, the sage of unlimited wisdom Śukrācārya abridged it again into a treatise of only a thousand chapters. In addition to these, great sages like Śukrācārya, Bharadwāja, Gauraśiras and Prācetasamanu have been indicated as the pioneers of Political Science[2] who appreciate the dharma of protecting the subjects.
Similarly, the pioneers of Rājanītiśāstra have been mentioned in a text called Nītiprakāśikācomposed by Vaiśampāyana.
Likewise, Viṣṇuśarmā, the composer of Paňcatantra offers his salutations to the scholars and composers of the political treatise like Manu, Bṛhaspati, Śukra, Parāśara, Vyāsa, Cāṇakya and others, before the commencement of his composition.
Thus our gods and great sages had made such a great endeavour in the composition of the wonderful treatise where political ideologies are dealt with extensively.
Need for the composition of the political treatise:
Here a question arises. What is the need for such an endeavour? For this, Manusmṛti gives the answer by conveying the inevitability of the creation of the ruler of subjects thus: “When the creatures, being without a king, through fear dispersed in all directions, the Lord created a king for the protection of this whole creation”.
The same thought has been conveyed by Satyavatī to Vyāsa after the death of Vicitravīrya in Ādiparva (Sambhavaparva) of Mahābhārata where he says that in a country without king the people get destroyed, all holy deeds like sacrificial rites, charity etc. will be lost and there will neither be the presence of gods, nor will there be any rain.
Thus the underlying factor in the creation of a king and in the emergence of the political treatise is protecting and safeguarding the people which has been strongly emphasised by all the ancient scriptures.
Vedas on rājadharma:
There are various hints available in Vedas from which we can understand the significance of rājadharma. The terms connected with polity and interpretations of the commentators showcase the anciency of this science. In the first maṇḍala of Ṛgveda, there is a verse in praise of Lord Varuṇa by sage Śunaśśepa where the word kṣatra has been interpretated by Sāyaṇācārya as śarīrabala, the physical prowess, which is very important for a king. In the fourth maṇḍala, the adjective Viśvāyu is added for the word kṣatriya, which has been commented upon by Sāyaṇācārya as kṛtsnamanuṣyādhīśa, the lord of entire human race. A wonderful simile has been indicated in the tenth maṇḍala. The context is that a messenger is sent to bring the wife of Lord Bṛhaspati where it is said that she did not reveal herself to the messenger just as the kingdom well protected by a king to the enemies. Sāyaṇācārya further elaborates that as “क्षत्रियस्य राज्ञः गुपितं राष्ट्रं राज्यं शत्रवे यथा न प्रकाशयति”. Thus, the safety of the kingdom is strongly emphasised while laying out the responsibility of the king to protect the subjects.
In Taittirīyasamhitā, the line “मित्रभृतः क्षत्रभृतस्सुराष्ट्रा इह माऽवत” has been commented upon by Bhaṭṭabhāskara as “बलस्य पोषयित्र्यः शोभनं राष्ट्रं कर्तुं समर्थाः”. Thus, the king has been defined as the nourisher of prowess and the one who is capable of making the country virtuous and richly decorated. In Vājasaneyīsamhitā, the greatness of the king has been wonderfully explained. It says that a king, coronated with the prowess of Soma, Sūrya, Agni and Indra, becomes kṣatrapati among kṣatriyas.
In Atharvavedasamhitā, the term kṣatriya has been aptly interpreted by Sāyaṇacārya as “क्षत्रजातीयः विजयकामः पुमान्”, the one who belongs to the race of kṣatriya and is desirous of victory. By having the desire of victory, a king ensures the safety of the subjects by winning over the enemies. Kāṭhakasamhitā indirectly points out the readiness of a kṣatriya for war by mentioning the bow as his special attribute. The same fact is found in Taittirīyāraṇyaka as well.
While narrating the act of creation of the Universe by Lord Prajāpati, Aitareyabrāhmaṇa mentions the weapons, shield, horse, and chariot of the king. In his commentary Sāyaṇacārya emphasises the appropriateness of the shield etc. of those born in the race of kṣatriya. The inevitability of a kṣatriya being an expert in the usage of weapons has been mentioned in Taittirīyasamhitā. The term iṣavyaḥ has been interpreted by Sāyaṇacārya as “बाणाद्यायुधेषु कुशलः”, an expert in the usage of weapons like arrow etc. Maitrāyaṇīsamhitā conveys the same point. Vājasaneyīsamhitā adds one more term namely “ativyādhī” which has been elaborated by Uvvaṭācārya as the one who pierces the enemy with the arrows (अतिविध्यति द्विषन्तमित्यतिव्याधी).
In Śatapathabrāhmaṇa, the commentary of Sāyaṇacārya emphasises the fact that only under the control of the king, the wealth of vaiśyas expands. In Chāndogyopaniṣad, on being asked by Sanatkumara, devarṣi Nārada gives a list of Śāstras in which he has attained expertise, where he mentions Kṣatravidyā and this term has been interpreted by Śaṅkara as Dhanurveda, the Science of archery, one of the important qualifications of a ruler.
Thus there exists abundance of evidence in the Vedic literature which throws light on the antiquity of polity.
Dharmasūtras on rājadharma:
The necessity of the ruler has been emphasised in Baudhāyanadharmasūtra, where the commentator Govindasvāmī states that the absence of a protector gives rise to the crimes and thereby leads to the intermixture of varnas. So, Baudhāyana says that a king should protect the subjects after getting sixth portion of the income and the meritorious deeds of the subjects. Govindasvāmī says that by the term protection, Baudhāyana means making the subjects adhere to the duties (varṇadharma) laid down for them. He further clarifies that he is said to be the king who has gone through the ceremony of coronation. In the present-day scenario, it can be said that a ruler is the one who has officially taken oath. While laying down the duties of a king, Baudhāyana says that the study of ancient scriptures, conducting sacrificial rites, doing charity, bearing weapons, and thereby protecting wealth and the subjects are essential for a king to attain prosperity.
Gautamadharmasūtra pinpoints the position of the king and the brāhmaṇa together in the society saying that both are engaged in preventing all the perils through the law of punishment and proper guidance respectively. It is further said that the sustenance of all creatures depends upon both the king and the brāhmaṇa. Gautama emphasises that the prevalence of dharma is also based on the proper adherence to the duties by both. The commentator Haradatta expands the term dharma by saying that prosperity through timely rain and thereby preventing diseases, protection from evil minded like thieves and prevention of intermixture of castes through the law of punishment and timely guidance on expiation collectively constitute dharma. The law of punishment has also been crisply defined by Gautama where it is inferred that a king, without love and hatred should give judgement which is not contrary to the rules laid down in the ancient scriptures. The punishment should neither be very minor for the heinous crime nor be severe for a petty mistake. From this, one can infer that a king plays a significant role in leading the society on the virtuous path.
That is why emphasising the degree of responsibility of the king, Gautama says that a king has more responsibility in protecting all the creatures compared to others. The degree of responsibility can be understood through the words of the commentator Haradatta who says “स्थावरादीनामप्यश्वत्थादीनां छेदननिरोधेन”. “A king is responsible even towards the protection of the trees like aśvattha by prohibiting the act of cutting”. The king’s responsibility towards brāhmaṇas, brahmacāris and physicians engaged in the service of the society has been specially mentioned by Gautama in four sūtras.
Vasiṣṭhadharmasūtra mentions that the study of Vedic scriptures, performing sacrificial rites and giving donations are the important duties of the king. In the subsequent sutra, Vasiṣṭha specifies that the dharma of the king is to protect the subjects through weapons, and this should be the purpose of his life. By doing this, his responsibility as the king is fulfilled. That is why fighting war is considered as the primary duty of a kṣatriya through which he can overcome his misfortunes. Thus, Vasiṣṭha labels the first three duties of studying Vedas, performing sacrificial rites and giving donations as karma and the duty of fighting the battle as dharma. Vasiṣṭha elaborates this dharma further by saying that considering the laws specific to a region, caste and race, the king should make the subjects belonging to the four varṇas adhere to the duties laid down to them respectively and punish those who violate the rules. Punishing the criminal is dharma and setting them free makes the king sinner as by punishing the culpable person, the king slays the crime with the law.
Subsequently, Vasiṣṭha conveys about the implementation of law of punishment for the offences like battery and use of abusive language. In this regard, the place and time of the offence, the virtue, age, knowledge, and social status of the concerned persons are the important factors to be considered. Precept and precedent should also be considered.
The responsibility of the king towards the growing of trees has been specifically mentioned by Vasiṣṭha in two sūtras where he says that a king should not cause damage to the trees that produce flowers and fruits but may cut them down for cultivation purposes.
Apart from this, Vasiṣṭha says that truthfulness, absence of short temper, generosity, non-violence, and procreation are the general duties laid down for all castes and therefore should be followed by the king as well.
Vasiṣṭha mentions about the role of ministers in the proceedings of the court. He has indirectly given a hint that even a minister individually can handle the proceedings in the absence of the king. In this context, the inevitability of impartial quality of the king has been emphasised. It is further said that giving up of fear and sympathy is like a sacrificial session for the king that lasts till his old age.
Āpastambadharmasūtra mentions that in addition to the study of Vedic scriptures, performing sacrificial rites and doing charity, a king has two more important duties to be discharged namely doing war and implementing the law of punishment. He is prohibited from teaching the Vedic scriptures, conducting sacrificial rites for others and getting something in charity.
Āpastambadharmasūtra, while indicating the moral responsibility of the king says that he should not enjoy comforts more than his ancestors and ministers. Commentator Haradatta clarifies further that the comforts include food, clothing etc.
It is also said that the king should ensure that no body in his state, knowingly or unknowingly, suffers from hunger or from diseases, bad weathers like extreme heat or extreme cold, which means that it is his primary duty to work towards the well-being of the subjects. Haradatta throws more light on this point by saying that in order to extract tax, it is unlawful to make a person suffer from hunger or to make him stay in place of extreme heat or cold. The essence of the primary duty of protecting the subjects has been aptly quoted thus “He is considered as the benevolent king in whose domain there is no fear of thieves”. It has also been emphasised that those who are venerable, of pure character and truthful should be appointed by the king for this purpose in villages and cities.
Thus, dharmasūtras have dealt with the proper way of handling the affairs of the kingdom extensively.
(to be continued)