Knowing the political ideas in ancient and medieval periods reflecting India’s diversity and

pluralism
Unit-I: Traditions of Pre-colonial Indian Political Thought
➢ Brahminic
➢ Sramanic
➢ Islamic
➢ Syncretic

 Other Units deal with Ved Vyasa, Manu, Kautilya, Buddha, Kabir, Barani, and Abul
Fazal
 This course shed light on concepts such as State, Society, Monarchy, Rajadharma, and
Ideal Polity
Relevance of Political Thought
To manage civilization
To set up a sound social and political order
To foster social and political transformation: Greeks of their time found Plato and Aristotle
largely irrelevant, yet their ideas caught fire in 13th-century Europe to shape a new civilization.
Indian Political Thought
 Commonly held that there was no political thought in ancient and medieval India
 Personality and identity of Indian society
 Social Cleavages and fundamental unity
 Visible Continuity in Political Thought (habitual quoting and citing of Manu, Valmiki and
Vyasa)
Obstructions
 Cyclical and Zigzag Movement
 Lost Manuscripts and Untranslated
 Date and Originality - Greeks, Romans, and the Chinese have no difficulty in deciding
the possible dates of their classics. In India such documents have been subjected to
genetic mutations from time to time.
 Ideological divisions among scholarship- Nationalist, Liberal and Marxist
Brahminic
 Political Ideas evolved in the Hindu Tradition
 Contributed and preserved by Sages
i. Manu – Social and Cosmic Order
ii. Valmiki and Vyasa- War and Monarchy
iii. Kautilya- Pragmatic State Politics

• Origin of Hindu Political Thought is shrouded in mystery

• The first known formulation in the Vedas, followed by Ramayana and Mahabharata
• Later expounded in the thoughts of Kautilya, Kalidasa, Kamandaka, Brihaspati, Sukra
• The identity of Vedic people was anonymous.
• They had global connections (Greek, Persian and Roman)

• They developed military and governmental organizations

• Some of them lived in urban settlements
• Followed constitutional monarchy as an ideal polity
• King was considered a link between this world and the divine world.
• Following the principles of rights in life was always considered important
Role of Manu
 Legend tells that Manu is the first legislator who laid down the form of social life and
practices later embodied in various Dharma sastras and Samhitas.
 Manu smriti laid down rules to be observed by a righteous person including the King.
 Manusmriti is a mixture of lofty and mundane
 He talks about the sustenance, expansion and development of the world.
 In the passage of time the world will decline from pure to impure, from the age of truth
and innocence to the age of anarchy and chaos.
 Thus certain notion of a right moral order is needed for the preservation of the world.
 Here he reiterates the notions of Rita and Dharma
Rita
Nature as well as society is governed by certain laws
In the Vedic period the word Rita came to mean cosmic law or cosmic order
It implies that harmony that underlies all objects of the universe
It is different from the man-made laws which can be created and altered at will
Rita is the order that governs the material world, all living beings, all heavenly bodies, and
primary elements such as earth, water, fire, wind, and space
Rita is the force behind all natural phenomena and human actions
Rita is equal to the Western concept of natural law
Rita can be discovered by human beings by his spiritual experience
Dharma
 Later it was replaced by the word Dharma
 Dharma might be translated into English as Principles of Right
 Rita denotes natural order. But Dharma refers to specific moral concerns of the human
world.
 Man may break the Cosmic order (Rita) as he has Soul ( Atmana), Integral Reason (
Buddhi) and Motives ( Mana)
 This is why Dharma is necessary
 Dharma produces good people who are free from attachment and hatred.
 Such people perform the duty of selfless service ( Nishkama Karma)
 Dharma embodies the spirit of what is right or what is in conformity with truth.
 Dharma entails a system of duties which comprehends an individual’s social obligations.
Concept of Yugas
 History is a Zigzag process in which there is a continuous fall from the age of truth
termed Satyayuga to the age of Kalyuga through the intermediary stages of Tretayuga and
Dwaparyuga.
 The first is reigned by truth everywhere while the last is destructive of truth and replaced
by the rule of organized mighty (Sangha Shakthi).
 In Satyayuga people had long life whereas in Kalyuga they had short lives.
 By appropriate action (Purusharthas), it is possible to have Satyayuga even in the
Kalyuga.
 It depends on the character and disposition of the ruling classes.
 Hence the importance of Politics (Rajniti) and the System of Punishment ( Dandaniti)
Purusharthas and Ashrams
Four Purusharthas- Principal objects of human life- individual level
1. Dharma- Performance of own duties
2. Artha- Material Prosperity
3. Kama- sensual enjoyments for satisfying desires
4. Moksha- Final liberation of the soul
Four Ashramas – social level
1. Brahmacharya – Student Life
2. Grhastha- House Hold Life
3. Vanaprastha- Retired Life
4. Sanyasa – Renounced Life

Functional Division of the Society

 According to Manu men vary in their executive capacity
 Since they differ in terms of capacity, each person should perform the functions for which
he is naturally fitted
 People must be given different powers and stations in proportion to their qualities and
talents.
 Hence society was stratified into four
 This division reflects Plato’s division of society.
 This division was not hereditary but based on individual merit
 But later it degenerated into caste but stopped short of race
Role of Family
 Family is central to social existence as the heart is the central body
 Family is the institution that enables people to perform their functions within other
institutions
 Family should establish mutual accord
 It should serve the interests of children, women, and old people
 If one accumulates wealth in the name of family that is a sin
 Family should not impede the performance of one’s duty towards parents, teachers, and
the wider society
  When there is a clash between the interests of family and society, the societal interest
should be given priority.
Social Welfare
 To protect the marginalized especially orphans, widows and the old is the supreme duty
and highest religion of the king
A selfish king eventually becomes the cause of his destruction
State, Politics and King
 Rajadharma is the set of rules concerning the duties of the ruler
 Politics is an integral part of society without which it can not function
 A good state must be judged not only by the services rendered by it but also by the
quality of people inhabiting it.
 A good kingdom is where saintly people live, there is no disease, fruits and vegetables are
grown in plenty, people are polite and fearless, and easy commerce.
 The main duty of the King is to protect good people and punish bad people
 There is no place for smugglers, profiteers, and black marketers in his state
 A Kingdom in which the weak are exploited perishes.
Human Nature- Maastsya Nyaya

 Before the advent of sovereign the world was afflicted with Maatsya Nyaya
 It is the law of the jungle
 Maatsya Nyaya means behaving like fishes in the sea where each fish is swallowed by a
bigger fish and the bigger fish is swallowed by still bigger fish.
 So there is no security for anybody under such circumstance.
 In such a context the King appears on the scene
 He establishes control over everybody by means of power of danda
Dandaniti
 Danda means a rod, the symbol of power
 Danda implies the ability to use force; Dandadhara is king
 The science of politics and the art of government was widely described as Dandaniti.
 Dandaniti deals with the tactic of using danda properly
  According to Kautilya, there are four purposes of Dandaniti;
1) Acquisition of the unacquired
2) Preservation of the acquired
3) Augmentation of the acquired
4) Fair distribution of the acquired, preserved, and augmented
Sramanic Tradition
 Generally Indian politics in ancient times was dominated by Monarchies
 However, there were some regions in the eastern side where republican form of
government flourished.
 Such republics are mentioned in Mahabharata also.
 But they are predominant in Buddhist literature
 They include Shakyas, Mallas, Magadha, Kosala, Kuru, Panchala
 They know as Janapadas ( settled territorial communities) and later Maha janapadas (
greater territorial communities)
 According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikhaya there are 16 such Janapadas
 Kosala- Rama
 Magadha- Buddha and Mahavira
 There are not many evidences regarding the functioning of these republics.
 Assemblies consisting of the heads of families were organized under the leadership of
some person called Raja or Pradhan
 They took decisions on the basis of Unanimity failing which issues put to vote.
 These states promoted greater individualism and diversity of opinions
 Sramana means striving traditions
 It believed in the spiritual realization through one’s own personal efforts than through
birth.
 Sramana school include Jainism and Buddhism and it differs from Brahmanical or Vedic
schools
 Both Mahavira and Buddha lived in sixth century B.C
 They were highly critical of Brahmanical system, hereditary base of caste and animal
sacrifices.
 They refuted the over importance of Gods
 Buddhism and Jainism preached the value of moral life in terms of the theory of Karma
 God is not important for individual salvation as man himself can transcend karma by his
own efforts
 The idea of renunciation received its full expression in Jainism
 Jainism developed a marvelous epistemological theory called anekantvada and wedded it
to the doctrine of non-violence
 Following the story of the elephant and six blind men, it was argued that it is very rarely
that one side is completely right and the other side completely wrong in a dispute.
 The world is not divided between absolute right and absolute wrong
 There are many shades and levels in between
 One should try to understand the truth in its totality on the basis of a total understanding
of different view points
 They one will have only one option – be non-violent
 In following extreme non-violence Jainism abstained from unconscious killing of germs
and they discarded agriculture and turned to commerce
 Jainist principle of Anekantavada is similar to Vedic principle of ‘neti’ ‘neti’ (this is not,
this is not)
 As a result in the passage of time it embraced some aspects of Hinduism, including
practices, worship, mantra and tantra
 In the beginning stage, Jainism was a non-political doctrine
 It did not contain any political statement of individualism or human equality
 In an interesting conversation recorded in Uttaradhyana between a saint king and Lord
Indra, the king highlights the futility of the life of a king in contrast to the life of
renunciation which alone can lead to one’s liberation from the cycles of birth and rebirth.
 Indra enjoins the king to establish peace by use of his powers. Then the king replies that
the rod of punishment is a mere delusion
 Because sometimes the guilty are left free while the innocent are punished
 To the advice that the king must conquer other kings, he replies that one who conquers
himself is far superior to the one who conquers millions of warriors.
 Mahavira tells:
  “Fight the self alone, what is the benefit in fighting external forces. Man attains
happiness only by conquering his self by soul”
 The doctrine of many sided truth enabled the Jainism to come to terms with Hinduism
later, the Buddhism had a different epistemology which could not adapt it to the former
 Hinduism gave more emphasis to the mutual dependence of intra-cosmic gods and men,
Buddhism stressed on the importance of psychic transformation for the attainment of
nirvana.
 Buddha was deeply struck by the fact of change in human life
 He thought that permanence is merely a mental construct
 Buddhists denied the existence of a soul passing from life to life in fulfilment of its past
actions
 There is no such spiritual substance
 Personal identity was merely a result of the process of psychic life which continued from
birth to birth binding actions in terms of their moral consequences.
Buddha
 The Buddha was born in the Lumbini, near the town of Kapilavastu (in modern-day
Nepal near the Indian border).
 His birth name was Siddhārtha Gautama (Shakyamuni Gotama)
 Most Historians say he was born in 563 BC and died in 486 BC.
 He born in a Vedic Kshatriya family
 Gautama’s father, Suddhodana Gautama, was the leader of the warrior class of
Kapilavastu. Gautama’s mother, Queen Māyā (Māyādevī) died shortly after his birth, and
he was raised in luxury by his father and his father’s new wife
 Gautama showed an early taste for meditation, reflection, and self-growth. By his father’s
wishes, he married young and took part in the public life of the king’s court.
 Wife’s name was Yashodhara
 He had a son whom he named Rahula.
 Gautama began his quest for Enlightenment at the age of 29 when he managed to go
outside the palace walls.
 Throughout Gautama’s entire life before this, his father had constantly kept him inside
the palace walls to protect him from suffering and the reality of the world.
 On his first visit outside the palace, he came across an entirely new reality, a world that
he never knew existed.
 He saw the suffering of a newborn baby, a sick man, an old man, and a rotting corpse. He
suddenly realized that suffering is common to all of humanity.
 After making the acquaintance of a mendicant monk, he calmly and peacefully decided to
abandon his family, wealth, and power to achieve Enlightenment.
 Buddhists call this decision “The Great Renunciation”, and they consider it a turning
point in history.
 Buddha is a Sanskrit term used in Buddhism to refer to an enlightened being who has
realized the nature of reality and attained freedom from suffering.
 A Buddha has overcome all the defilements and ignorance that keep ordinary beings
trapped in the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
 The term “Buddha comes from the Sanskrit word “Buddh,” which means “awakened” or
“enlightened.”
 It refers to someone who has attained enlightenment and has awakened from the sleep of
ignorance.
 A Buddha is considered an ideal teacher who has reached the ultimate spiritual goal and
can guide others to achieve the same.
 The historical Buddha was Siddhartha Gautama, who lived in ancient India around 2500
years ago.
 He is revered as the founder of Buddhism and a source of inspiration and guidance for
Buddhists worldwide.
 He is known for his teachings on the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and
the concept of impermanence.
 Texts of Digha Nikaya and Jataka Stories hints about Buddhist thought.
 Buddha on the whole declared metaphysical questions irrelevant and emphasized the
importance of a simple moral life in accordance with the four noble truths and eightfold
paths.
Four Noble Truths (Chatvari-arya-satyani)
1. To live means to suffer- the world is full of suffering (Dukkha)
2. Suffering is caused by human desires- The origin of suffering is attachment
(Samudāya)
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable- Renunciation of desires is the path to salvation
(Nirodha)
4. Salvation is possible according to eight principles - leading a balanced life (Magga)
 Eight-Fold Path (Ashtanga Marga)

 The Eightfold Path shines as a central teaching, offering profound guidance for living a
life of wisdom, ethical conduct, and mental discipline.
 It is more than just a spiritual doctrine; it’s a practical and comprehensive approach to
addressing the fundamental challenges of human existence.
 Right View - Sammā ditthi
 Right Intention- Sammā san̄kappa
 Right Speech- Sammā vācā
 Right Action- Sammā kammanta
 Right Livelihood- Sammā ājīva
 Right Effort- Sammā vāyāma
 Right Mindfulness- Sammā sati
 Right Concentration- Sammā samādhi
This path was revolutionary at the time, offering a practical and accessible way to
transcend suffering, distinct from India’s religious and philosophical systems.
Right View
The Right View often considered the starting point of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, is the
understanding of reality as it truly is.
It involves seeing things clearly without the distortion of biases or misconceptions.
Right Intention
Right Intention, also known as Right Thought, is a critical aspect of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path.
It refers to the commitment to cultivate ethical and mental self-improvement.
This involves setting intentions free from desires of sensuality, ill-will, and cruelty and is guided
by renunciation, goodwill, and harmlessness.
Right Speech
 Right Speech, a key element of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, is speaking truthfully,
kindly, and effectively.
 It involves using speech positively—to build rather than to destroy, to heal rather than to
wound.
  This principle encourages speaking truthfully, helpful, harmoniously, and appropriately.
Right Action
Right Action, an essential aspect of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, focuses on conducting oneself
in a way that is ethical, moral, and non-harmful.
It encompasses actions that respect the well-being of other beings and oneself, promoting moral,
ethical, and peaceful conduct.
Right Livelihood
Right Livelihood, a core element of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, encourages earning a living
ethically, honestly, and harm-free.
It emphasizes the importance of engaging in professions and work-related activities that
contribute positively to oneself and society, steering clear of trades or occupations that cause
harm or suffering
Right Effort
Right Effort, an essential component of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, refers to cultivating a
positive mind.
It’s about exerting oneself towards fostering wholesome qualities and avoiding or overcoming
unwholesome qualities.
This effort aims to maintain mental and emotional balance, leading to inner peace and clarity
Right Mindfulness
Right mindfulness is a fundamental aspect of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path. It involves
maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and
surrounding environment with a gentle, nurturing lens. This practice is about being fully present
at the moment and observing experiences without judgment or distraction.
Right Concentration
Right Concentration, an integral part of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, refers to deep meditation,
leading to mental focus and clarity. It involves the development of mental discipline to achieve
mindfulness, where the mind is entirely present and aware.