Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c6.6

c6.6

Dharma as Sovereign. There was, however, a deeper political philosophy which moulded Indian polity to this form. Hindu thought counts *Dharma* as the true Sovereign of the State, as the Rule of Law. The king is the executive called the *Dāṇḍa* to uphold and enforce the decrees of *Dharma* as the spiritual sovereign. Thus the king or the temporal sovereign is not the source of Law in the Hindu State. The sources of Law are above and beyond him. They are not his creation. He has only to see to their observance.