A History of Hindu Political Theories from the Earliest Times to the End of the First Quarter of the Seventeenth Century A.D. c14.15

c14.15

Turning to the other points, it may be remarked that the king in the Hindu theory is not accountable to God alone for his actions. For much as we deny the claim of the Hindus to have worked out the idea of popular sovereignty, we might, we think, argue from the conception of the all-embracing Law (Dharma) that the Brāhmaṇas were conceived as qualified to supervise the conduct of the king.§ Furthermore, it has been shown that none of the Hindu authors with the possible exception of Nārada countenances the unlimited obedience of the subjects : on the contrary, they develop in the course of their argument principles tending to justify the right of deposition, and even that of tyrannicide.* Finally, it may be mentioned that the Hindu theory contains no trace of the doctrine of indefeasible hereditary right which is an essential element of Divine Right in the Western system.