The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c14.s1.2

c14.s1.2

Nor should we think of a clearly defined territorial state, internally coherent and closed to the outside. Already the fact that the well-known seven elements, which according to the *Arthaśāstra* form the realm, include the ally indicates the open-endedness of the state. It is equally significant that territory is not included as a separate item. The term *janapada* (or, in some texts, *rāṣṭra*) means the undifferentiated whole of people-cum-territory, in the same way as the French "pays" or the German "Land."³