History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.305
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.305
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v4.c62.305.1
The word 'rāṣṭra' occurs even in the Ṛgveda (IV. 42.1, 'mama dvitā rāṣṭraṁ kṣatriyasya')–'mine is the kingdom on both sides (or in both spheres)' says king Trasadasyu. In Ṛg. VII. 34.11 Varuṇa is praised as the Lord of rāṣṭras (rājā rāṣṭrāṇām &c.). In Ṛg. VII. 84.2 and X. 109. 3 the word rāṣṭra occurs. In a very famous benedictory ¹⁷⁵ passage of the Tai. S. VII. 5. 18. 1(= Vāj. S. 22.22 ) one of the blessings invoked is 'may the king in this kingdom become brave, a skilled archer, and a great warrior'. Vide Tai. Br. III. 8. 13 for explanation of the Tai. S. passage. In the Atharvaveda XII. 1. 8 and 10 the earth is called mother and invoked to impart to the *rāṣṭra* strength and brilliance (or energy). Kām. VI. 3 says 175a that since all the elements of the State spring from the territory of the State, the king should raise up his territory with all his efforts. The Agnipurāṇa 239. 2 holds that rāṣṭra is the most important of all elements of the State. Manu VII. 69 prescribes that a king should make his home in a country that is not water-logged (i. e. is dry and not moist),¹⁷⁶ is rich in crops, inhabited mostly by Āryas (or well-conducted people), not disturbed (by epidemics &c.), that is charming (owing to trees, flowers and fruits), the chiefs in which have submitted to him and in which livelihood can be had easily. Yāj. I. 321 and Viṣṇudharmasūtra III. 4–5 are to the same effect. Kām. (IV.
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50–56) remarks 'the territory of the king depends for its prosperity on the qualities of the soil, the prosperity of the territory tends to the prosperity of the king; therefore a king should choose for the sake of his prosperity land possessing good qualities. That land is preferred for the sake of prosperity that is endowed with various crops and minerals, is full of merchandise, mines and various substances, that is favourable to cattle-rearing, that abounds in water, is inhabited by well-conducted people, is charming, has forests and elephants, has facilities of water and road transport and does not depend upon rain-water only.'¹⁷⁷ Land that is full of gravel and stones, full of forests always infested with thieves, that is waterless, full of thorny bushes and snakes is not fit for choosing as a *rāṣṭra*. A country is to be preferred that yields livelihood easily, is possessed of the qualities of good land (cited above), is full of water, that has hills in it, that consists mostly of śūdras, artisans and merchants, the husbandmen in which undertake great projects, that is loyal (to the king) and averse to the king's enemy, that can put up with troubles and taxes, that is large in extent, full of people from various countries, that follows the right path, that possesses plenty of cattle and wealth, the principal men in which are not foolish nor vicious.
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These requirements show that the country must be prosperous, well-stocked with the necessaries of life and well suited to defence. There is also some difference of opinion among the smṛti writers about the composition of the population. Manu VII. 69 requires that the kingdom should consist mostly of āryas (āryaprāya), while Viṣṇu Dh. S. III. 5 holds that a country should be peopled mostly by vaiśyas and śūdras. In another place (VIII. 22) Manu says that that country in which śūdras abound, which is full of atheists and void of dvijas is overwhelmed by disease and famine and perishes. Similar provisions are found in the Matsyapurāṇa 217. 1-5, Viṣṇudharmottara II. 26. 1-5, Mānasollāsa (II. 3. verses 151-153), Nītivākyāmṛta (Janapadasamuddeśa p. 191 which defines rāṣṭra, viṣaya, deśa, janapada &c.). The Matsyapurāṇa 217. 5 and Viṣṇudharmottara II. 26.5, (*evaṁvidhaṁ yathālābhaṁ rājā viṣayamāvaset*) point out that every rāṣṭra cannot be expected to possess all the qualities mentioned by them and that the king must do the best with such qualities as his country possesses. Kauṭilya II.
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1 advises¹⁷⁸ the king to found a district of villages either on old sites or on new ones by inducing people from other countries to immigrate or by causing thickly populated parts of his own country to send its overflowing population and to see that each village consists of not less than one hundred families nor more than five hundred, is peopled mostly by śūdra cultivators, has an extent of one *krośa* or two and is capable of offering help to its neighbours.