Hindu Administrative Institutions c6.s2.3

c6.s2.3

This peculiar state of nature is also described as *arājaka* in the *Śānti Parvan* of the *Mahābhārata*. *Arājaka* simply means a state with no government. According to the then prevalent standards, government was indispensable for a state. ‘No government, no state,’ is the principle underlying the *Rāja Dharma* section of the *Mahābhārata*. *Arājaka* is a state of anarchy as is explained in chapters lxvi and lxvii of the *Śānti Parvan*. It will not be out of place to summarize these here.