State and Government in Ancient India c8.s3.1

c8.s3.1

Apart from the works on Nītiśāstra, there are a number of other books in Sanskrit, Pali and Prākṛita literatures that incidentally throw light on the science of polity. As shown already, (p. 5) a number of hymns in the *Ṛigveda* and the *Atharvaveda* and passages in the *Śātapatha*, *Aitareya*, *Taittirīya* and *Pañchaviṁśa Brāhmaṇas* are very valuable to the student of the subject. The importance of these passages is considerably enhanced by the circumstance that they refer to an early period when the literature on polity and administration had not yet come into existence. The Dharmasūtras and Smṛitis have usually important sections dealing with the duties of kings and the working of administration; these, however, are usually written from the religious viewpoint. A few chapters on these topics occur in some Purāṇas; but they usually summarise the Smṛiti views and are not therefore very important: Works like the *Pratijñāyaugandharāyaṇa*, the *Raghuvaṁśa* and the *Mālavikāgnimitra*, the *Pañchatantra*, the *Hitopadeśa*, the *Kādambarī*, the *Harshacharit*, the *Daśakumāracharit* and the *Rājātaraṅgiṇī* have important though often small passages giving us a valuable glimpse into the contemporary political theory or administration.