State and Government in Ancient India c9.31

c9.31

¹ Rousseau, however, is an exception in this connection. His State of Nature described in the *Discourse on Inequality* is as happy and idealistic as that of the Kṛita Yuga of the ancient Hindus; but he differs from them in postulating that the political organisation was introduced not as a means of escape from an intolerable condition, but as a means of conserving rights that were naturally enjoyed by men in the State of Nature. Cocker, *Readings in Political Philosophy*, p. 478. The rise of the State was thus due according to Rousseau to the general will of the people; according to the *Mahābhārata* it was due to the Code of Brahmā and the willingness of the people and king to follow it.