The Mauryan Polity c8.s4.t1.1

c8.s4.t1.1

Mention has already been made of the peculiar concept of Indian Jurisprudence that the law of the land was the *de facto* if not *de jure* sovereign of the land, and that the monarch of the kingdom was bound by it and should act according to it.¹ In other words, the ancient Indian king was no law-maker. His function was to administer the law already established. This is one of the powerful weapons by which the people were able to check and curb the arbitrary powers of the king. We shall now examine what constituted this law or in clear language, what were the different heads of law. This is not the place to discuss the various heads of law as adumbrated in the *Dharmasūtras* or *Dharmaśāstras*. Confining ourselves to the contemporary work of the Mauryan epoch, we find that four heads of law are mentioned in the *Arthaśāstra*: *dharma* (to give out what has actually happened), *vyavahāra* (to rest on evidence), *caritra* (customs and precedents), and *rājaśāsana* (royal proclamations).² It may be noted *en passant* that these royal proclamations amounted to promulgation of laws fallen into disuse and not introduction of new laws altogether.