History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.37.1

v4.c62.37.1

According to almost all of our authorities a state (*rājya*) is constituted by seven elements²⁰ viz. *svāmin* (ruler or sovereign), *amātya* (minister), *janapada* or *rāṣṭra* (the territory of the State and its people), *durga* (fortified city or capital), *kośa* (accumulated wealth in the ruler's treasury), *daṇḍa* (army), *mitra* (friends or allies).' These seven are called *aṅgas* or *prakṛtis*. The word prakṛti in works on politics is also used for the constituents of a circle of states (of a maṇḍala). Vide Manu VII. 156 and Kauṭilya (VI.2). The word also means ministers as in Śukranītisāra II. 70-73 and 'subjects' in Khāravela's Inscription (E. I. vol. 20 p. 79 l. 4), Nārada (prakīrṇaka 5), Raghuvaṁśa VIII. 18. The order in which these are arranged and their names vary a good deal. The quotations given below will indicate how the order differs. The sequence is important for the reason that some of our authorities expressly state that when calamities befall or deterioration sets in each of the seven elements, those that befall each preceding one are more serious for the State than those of each succeeding one (Kauṭilya VIII. 1, Manu IX. 295). For *janapada* sometimes the word *jana* or *rāṣṭra* is used, for 'daṇḍa' the word 'bala' and the word 'pura' for 'durga'. The Āśramavāsiparva (5.8) speaks of eight angas of *rājya*. According to Sumantu quoted by the Sarasvatīvilāsa (p. 46) *daṇḍa* means "punishment bodily or monetary" and 'army' is included under 'kośa'.