State and Government in Ancient India c19.s1.1

c19.s1.1

In addition to the above official courts, there were a number of popular courts in the ancient Indian polity, which constituted one of its special features. We have already indicated how the *sabhā* of the Vedic age probably functioned as a popular court. The *Arthaśāstra* polity was a highly centralised one, but it left a number of causes to be decided by unofficial courts. Disputes about the boundaries were to be settled by the village elders.¹ Causes concerning the affairs of the temples, Brāhmaṇas, ascetics, women, minors, old and invalid persons were also to be decided by the Dharmasthas or unofficial jurors.² What precisely was the nature of these cases, and how and by whom the Dharmasthas were selected and what was their number is not known to us.