EVOLUTION OF STATE IN ANCIENT INDIA

RESEARCH PROJECT

HISTORY - I

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

Anirudh Pratap Chandra Dr. Sreemoyee Sarkar

Semester: III ‘B’ Teaching Assistant

Roll No.: 1158 History
NUSRL, Ranchi NUSRL, Ranchi

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF STUDY AND RESEARCH IN LAW

1
 TABLE OF CONTENT

3
ABSTRACT
STATE IN ANCIENT INDIA 4

Social Contract Theory 5

Divine Origin Theory 5

Organic Theory 6

Theory of Evolutionary Origin 7

Force Theory 7

CONCLUSION 8

9
REFERENCES

2
 ABSTRACT

In ancient India, there are different or we may say different views on the history of the State and
political ideas. Whenever power can be consolidated in a sustainable way, the early forms of the
state arose. Agriculture and writing are all but correlated with this process: agriculture because
it allowed a social class of people to arise who had most time to spend on their own livelihoods,
and writing (or an equivalent of writing, such as Inca quipus) because the centralization of critical
knowledge was made possible. A state is a kind of political community that lives within a particular
governing system. A world-history analysis shows that states have emerged in different nations at
different periods. State has evolved periodically and globally. One state comes back, the other has
taken two steps. We therefore do not find accuracy and continuity. A State has the power, through
its internal and external jurisdiction over a given territory, to determine the rules of individuals
within one and more societies.
Keywords
Ancient India, State, Theories, Vedas, Kings.

3
 STATE IN ANCIENT INDIA

The State was viewed as suitable in ancient India to guarantee solidarity, law and satisfaction. It
was a political controlled social association. Nonetheless, ancient researchers were not consistent
as they would like to think concerning the inception of the state. As indicated by a few, state was
the result of an agreement fundamentally political in nature between the rulers and the dominated.
They believe that preceding the origin of state there was something many refer to as a golden age,
wherein individuals delighted in an existence of harmony, request, self-control and bliss.
Essentially, a few speculations like force theory, patriarchal theory, matriarchal theory, divine
origin theory and finally the evolutionary theory advanced the origin of the state. Also, the
Saptanga theory propounded by ancient Indian scholars examines the structures and elements of
the state. Advancement of Dharma was viewed as the essential worry of the state. Thirdly,
monarchy was considered as the ideal form of government by a majority of the ancient Indian
thinkers.

The origin of state has stayed a disputable subject since former times. It was one of the Vedic
course books named Aitreya Brahmana that gave a most punctual record of the origin of state and
sovereignty. The work is a depiction of a legend that clarifies the battle between the Gods and the
evil presences and the thrashing of the previous.

This annihilation, as depicted by the book, caused Gods to join together and select Soma as their
King who was required to serve the human necessities and save the nation from military assaults.
With the foundation of the majesty, the state step by step evolved.
State has been the critical idea in political theory since the time of fantastic scholars like Plato and
Aristotle. To investigate the origin and advancement of the state has been probably the best issue
in Political Science. In ancient India likewise scholars like Bhisma, Narada, Brihaspati, Kautilya,
Kamandaka have taken a gander at the issue. There are different theories which states the origin
and evolution of the state in ancient India, which has been discussed further.

4
 1. Social Contract Theory

The social contract theory, one of the basic speculations of the inception of state, accepts that state
is an aftereffect of an agreement between the ruler and his subjects or delegates. The ruler, hence
selected, was relied upon to save the state and the subjects from outside animosity and set up
request and security inside the state. Notwithstanding, the most punctual Vedic works never
expressed that state was the aftereffect of an agreement. In any case, they explained that ruler was
chosen for wage an effective battle against the devils.

The reference to contract theory can be found in the Buddhist writings like Dīgha Nikāya and
Mahāvastu and brahmanical texts like Shānti Parva and Arthashāstra of Kautilya. John Spellman
and U.N. Ghoshal acknowledge just the Buddhist sources as the credible wellspring of contract
theory on the grounds that as indicated by them the brahmanical texts have a combination of
contract and divine origin while Buddhist sources give an obvious record of contract theory[26]
The principal clear and created piece of this theory is found in the Buddhist standard content Dīgha
Nikāya where the narrative of creation helps us to remember the ideal province of Rousseau
followed by the condition of nature as portrayed by Hobbes.

2. Divine Origin Theory

This theory of origin of kingship just as the state was not generally acclaimed in the ancient Indian
country. The ruler, as per this theory, was a subordinate to law, which was made by the general
public and not him. The people group overall was given more prominent significance than the
ruler. The lord was not permitted to act aimlessly and was relied upon to go about as a father to his
subjects, and treat them with friendship and kindness.

Notwithstanding, certain ancient writings like Manusamhita clarify that the origin of state is from
the heavenly. One such passage from Manusamhita is that 'the Lord made the ruler for the
assurance of his entire creation … even a newborn child lord should not be disdained (from a
thought) that he is just a human, since he is an incredible divinity in human structure'.

5
It was likewise expressed in Manusamhita that 'when the world was not without a ruler and
scattered in dread every which way, the master made a lord for the security of all. What's more,
since, he's framed of pieces of every one of those divine beings, the lord outperforms any remaining
creatures in quality'.
The extraordinary epic of India, the Ramayana, likewise obviously spread out that ruler was of
divine origin. It is expressed in that that men moved toward Brahma (the Creator) to give them a
lord and as needs be after all the Gods saved a bit of their capacity, a being in the human structure
arose and was made the ruler.

The Mahabharata, another extraordinary epic, clarifies that ruler is an individual blessed with
predominant ability and type slipped from paradise to the king on the earth. Essentially, Puranas
likewise portray the divine origin of the ruler and the state. The Agni Purana expresses that the
rulers were encapsulations or types of Lord Vishnu (the god who supports the earth). It is
additionally fascinating to take note of that a few rulers had titles like Chakravarthi—general
sovereign, while a portion of the Mauryan heads presented titles like Devanam Priya, dearest of
Gods, upon them.

3. Organic Theory

This theory holds the view that state resembles a creature and that every organ has a particular
capacity to perform. The theory accepts that the solid working of the entire life form relies on the
sound states of each piece of the body or creature and its productive working.

The seven parts of the body, that is, state are the king or the sovereign, the minister, the territory
and population, the strengthened city or the capital, the treasury, the army, the friends and the
allies. Among all the seven components or parts, the king is generally significant.

The Matsya Purana expresses that the king was the root and the subjects were the trees. Likewise,
Sukra Neetisaara, contrasts the state and that of human body. As per Sukracharya, the ruler is the
head, the priests the eyes, the financier the mouth, the military the heart, the fort the hands, and the
territory the feet. Mahabharata additionally underpins this theory and that each component or the
appendages are significant for the correct working of the state.

6
 4. Theory of Evolutionary Origin

This is the most established theory of the origin of the state in India and has been referenced in the
Atharva Veda. As indicated by this theory the state is the aftereffect of developmental advancement
and it didn't start at a fixed time. The tenth psalm of the eighth part of the Atharva Veda gives an
image of the evolutionary origin of the state.[2]
The hymns of the Atharva Veda express that the earliest period of human existence was the phase
of vairājya or stateless state. It was a condition of complete political agitation. However, in this
way, with the development of farming, stable life got conceivable. To satisfy the requirements of
horticultural society the family arose and the top of the family turned into the first wielder of
power. Further, the need of co-activity in the various domains of society prompted the development
of sabhā and samiti. Sabhā was the association of elder individuals and samiti was the overall get
together of basic people.[3]With the rise of sabhā and samiti coordinated political life started which
at long last finished in the rise of the state.

5. Force Theory

In spite of the fact that ancient Indian political masterminds didn't propound force theory in a
deliberate manner, force was viewed as a significant factor in the advancement of the state in
India.[12]Earliest Aryan groups battled among themselves for pet creatures (exceptionally for the
dairy animals), pastureland, settlements and wellsprings of drinking water. Just a solid and capable
champion could lead the family in such wars. So he was given uncommon status and the
individuals from group began obeying him. This propensity proceeded in the times of harmony
likewise and hence the pioneer became king.[13]Citing models from the Vedas (Rig Veda and
Sāma Veda) and the Brahmanas (Aitareya, Shatapatha) John Spellman additionally thinks that the
king in ancient India was principally a military leader.[14]

7
 CONCLUSION

From this paper it can be concluded that there were many theories which has been changed from
time to time during the process of evolution. The changes are according to the circumstances and
conditions in that particular period, like the divine theory came when people were fighting
among themselves and there was no one to stop them so God sent a king on his place to rule and
to govern the state so that people would live peacefully. In the same manner the rest of the
theories are also important and has their own meaning reasons for why that particular theory
came what are the logic behind that theory, etc. The nature and attributes of the ancient history
and the establishment for emergence of modern India. The core issues in the study of political
science are the state and the government. The institution of state is studied in relation to its
origin, nature, aims and functions of the state in ancient India. The dawn of civilization was
stated to have marked the beginning of the origin of state.

8
 REFERENCES

• Dasgupta, Rama Prasad,(1939), Development of the Hindu Polity, Proceedings of the

Indian History Congress, Third session, Calcutta, p. 175.
• Vidyalankar, op. cit., p. 288.
• Spellman, John W.,(1964), Political Theory of Ancient India, Oxford, Clarendon Press, pp.
21-22.
• Spellman, op. cit., pp. 21-22.
• D. N. Jha, (2003), Ancient India in Historical Outline”, Manohar Publishers, Delhi.
• Upinder Singh, (2009), A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone
Age to the 12th Century, Pearson, India.
• R.P. Kangle (Tr.), (2010), The Kautilya Arthasastra, Motilal Banarasidass Publishers Pvt.
Ltd. Delhi.
• R. S. Sharma. (2009), Rethinking India’s Past, Oxford India Paperback, New Delhi.
• Sreenivasa Murthy. H. V. (2014), History of India: Part I, Eastern Book Company, Patna.
• Romila Thapar, (2000), A History of India: Volume 1, Penguin, India.