History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c46.120

v3.c46.120

According to the theory of Dharmaśāstra, the king is not only the head of the civil administration and the fountain of justice, but he is also the final controlling authority in preserving religious and spiritual institutions, he is to see that people follow the dharma, to punish them for breaches of the religious and spiritual codes and to see to the administration to them of appropriate penances. In short, he is also the Defender of the Faith. Vide Gaut. XI. 9-11, Viṣṇu Dh. S. III. 2-3, Nārada (prakīrṇaka) verses 5-7, Yāj. I. 337 and 359, Atri 17-20, Manu VII. 13. But he regulated spiritual and religious matters not by his arbitrary authority but on the advice of his *purohita* and ministers and after taking the opinion of the assemblies (*pariṣad*) of learned men. Whenever difficult questions arose about the validity of anything from the religious point of view or about penances for lapses, or about excommunicating or outcasting a man the opinion of the assembly of learned men was sought. Therefore, detailed rules are laid down in the Dharmasūtras and smṛtis about the constitution of *pariṣads*. In modern times, the British Government being neutral in matters religious or ecclesiastical, the ascetic heads of the various maṭhas have been in the habit of assuming to themselves jurisdiction over persons professing to follow their dogmas in ecclesiastical matters such as prescribing penances for lapses, settling disputes between castes, and deciding upon questions of outcasting. A few words must be said about the *pariṣads* and about the claims of the Śaṁkarācāryas (the modern heads of *maṭhas*) to regulate religious matters affecting their followers.