[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897) › c12.2 # The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c12.2 The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c12.2 - **Language:** English ### [c12.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c12.2) In the Jâtakas, where the king appears to us throughout as an absolute ruler, which he probably may have been in the great monarchies of the east, the advisory element of the administration is represented by the ministers (amaccas,. Of a participation of the people in the administration of the State, of a limitation of the kingly power through the will of the people, such as we find in the Vedas,¹ there is nowhere any talk in the Buddhist age. We must admit that under the stupefying influence of the climate and long peace, which followed the subjugation of the aboriginal races and which was only broken by occasional quarrels with the neighbouring kings or with races who were not completely subjugated and who lived in the frontier, the strength and political independence of the people decreased. The secure possession of an over-rich land did away with the necessity for individuals to serve the king with their arms and defend their home which was at first liable to frequent attacks; as they felt themselves sufficiently protected by the king and his strong army, they directed their thoughts towards increasing and improving their worldly possessions and ensuring the prosperity of the family. Through this the condition of the people improved, vast accumulation of wealth took place, agriculture, trade and commerce flourished. With this progress of civilization, there went hand in hand a development of the communal sense—as it did in Greece after the Persian wars; where Indian thought, dissociated from worldly things subserved higher interests, it was mostly occupied with metaphysical questions, with anxiety for the welfare of the soul.¹ - [Previous: c11.98](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c11.98) - [Next: c12.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c12.3) - [Up: c12](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c12) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c12.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c12.2) · Pramāṇa