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Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c10: Chapter VII. The Purāṇas and Upapurāṇas

Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c10

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Chapter VII. The Purāṇas and Upapurāṇas

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While the authors of Dharma Śāstras were promulgating or compiling their regulations on life, another class of compositions was put into shape. The dates of the Purāṇas are as uncertain as those of the Smṛtis. The term occurs in later Vedic literature. The Atharva Veda, for instance, speaks of Itihāsa-Purāṇa which later was called the fifth Veda. There existed from very ancient times accounts of cosmic creation and regal dynasties cast in a more or less popular form. They were edited and re-edited, and added to, from time to time until they assumed the form of eighteen Purāṇas between the fifth and tenth centuries A.D. Interpolations continued to be made till long afterwards. Some of the Purāṇas bear traces of sixteenth century influence but their form and contents were for the most part settled during the centuries following the break-up of the Gupta Empire. The Purāṇas fall into three schools after Brahmā, Śiva and Viṣṇu, the Hindu trinity. They vary according to tradition in size, from the 81,000 couplets of the Skanda Purāṇa to 9,000 of the Mārkaṇḍeya. Altogether they perhaps comprised about 400,000 couplets, as tradition will have it. But owing to losses and interpolations, the actual numbers of couplets do not always agree with the orthodox computation.¹

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¹ The following are the names of Purāṇas and the numbers of couplets which they probably once contained :—

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| | *Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa.* | | |
| 1. Viṣṇu | ... | ... | 23,000 |
| 2. Nāradīya | ... | ... | 25,000 |
| 3. Bhāgavata | ... | ... | 18,000 |

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Generalising on the contents of Purāṇas, Hindu writers declare that they all deal with five subjects: primary creation or cosmogony, secondary creation or cosmogony of worlds including chronology; genealogy of gods and patriarchs; reigns of Manus and the history of the solar and lunar dynasties. An ampler analysis specified ten essential contents: (1) primary creation, (2) secondary creation, (3) description and

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| 4. Garuḍa | ... | 19,000 |
| 5. Padma | ... | 55,000 |
| 6. Varāha | ... | 24,000 |

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*Śaiva Purāṇa*

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| 7. Matsya | ... | 14,000 |
| 8. Kūrma | ... | 17,000 |
| 9. Liṅga | ... | 11,000 |
| 10. Vāyu | ... | 24,000 |
| 11. Skanda | ... | 81,100 |
| 12. Agni | ... | 15,400 |

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*Brāhma Purāṇas*

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| 13. Brahmāṇḍa | ... | 12,000 |
| 14. Brahma Vaivarta | ... | 18,000 |
| 15. Mārkaṇḍeya | ... | 9,000 |
| 16. Bhaviṣya | ... | 14,500 |
| 17. Vāmana | ... | 10,000 |
| 18. Brāhma | ... | 10,000 |

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Cf. Alberuni, tr. Sachau, Vol. I, 130–31.

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On the Purāṇas, see in particular Pargiter, Dynasties of the Kali Age. and Indian Historical Tradition. Recently there has set in a reaction against the nineteenth century underrating of Purāṇas. Mr. Rapson, for instance, thinks that they have preserved, though in a perverted form, an independent tradition which supplements the priestly tradition of the Vedas and Brāhmaṇas and which goes back to the same period (Cambridge History of India, p. 302). The Purāṇic tradition pertains to the heroic Kṣatriya literature which has largely disappeared. The Kūrma Purāṇa gives a list of nineteen Purāṇas. For the Purāṇas and their size, see also the Matsya Purāṇa, Ch. LIII, 13–58. It is claimed that all the Purāṇas describe the four Vargas—Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Mokṣa—and the evil consequences following from sin. (Ibid., 66.) The Matsya Purāṇa preserves the tradition, which may have some historical basis, that the Purāṇas were composed after the Mahābhārata by Vyāsa. (Ibid., 69.)

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classification of movable and immovable things, (4) the rescue of men and of the world in every age by a divine incarnation, (5) reigns of Manus, etc., (6) genealogies of past, present and future kings, descended of Brahman, (7) histories of kings and their descendants, (8) the destruction of the world causal or natural, temporary or permanent, (9) the influence of Avidyâ or ignorance in creation, and (10) the reduction of Brahman or the universal spirit to Jiva or individual soul under the influence of Mâyâ. The Śrimad Bhâgavata and the Kûrma Purâṇa give slightly different lists of contents. These, however, are really the characteristics of the Upapurâṇas, the eighteen sub-purâṇas, which were composed on the model of Purâṇas.

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In this scheme, political thought occurs in the course of the descriptions of the reigns of Manus and dynasties. It generally follows the lines which the Mahâbhârata, the Arthaśâstras and the lawgivers had sketched out. The purâṇas draw freely on them and only too often reproduce verbatim long passages from them. But here and there they give a new setting to old concepts. In their zeal to promote virtue, they often speak in the imperative mood.

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Politically, the Agni Purâṇa is one of the most important in the whole series. True, it classes politics among inferior sciences reserving the dignity of superior science to Brahmavidyâ alone. But it has much to say on government. It accepts the time-honoured theory of caste. It is the business of the king, that is, of the government to enforce the social order as well as actively to encourage honest pursuits and assist those who walk in the path of virtue. The king should erect and maintain divine temples and instal the sacred images therein. The life of a king ought to be one perpetual vow of ameliorating the condition of his subjects. So, the state is a culture-state, a moral association and the

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The A g n i Purâṇa.

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government as embodied in the king, is the supreme instrument of promoting spiritual welfare. The king should provide ascetics with the necessaries of life, should bestow gifts on Brâhmaṇas, and maintain aged persons, widows, imbeciles and friendless people. The function of a benign government is to provide conditions in which all may live peacefully and enjoy their property and the fruits of their labours. The Agni Purâṇa accepts Yâjñavalkya’s analysis of the elements of the state, but it makes clear that the king is the central figure. He is the fountain source of all authorities and regulations. Those who rebel against him or pervert any of the other factors of the state should be mercilessly slain. The king ought not to be too clement. On the other hand, he should not be too harsh. He should maintain his dignity and prestige but he should attempt to win the affection of his subjects. In himself, he should present an example of moral discipline, character, energy and fortitude. He must forego all pleasures of his own and live solely for the well-being of his charge. No penances or sacrifices will avail him if he fails to protect his people. The house of a monarch who performs this duty is heaven itself, while hell exists nowhere else than in the home of a king who neglects the good of his subjects. In particular, the king should take care to safeguard his subjects against the extortions and oppressions of his own officers and favourites and of the usurers. Let it be remembered that to the king falls a sixth part of the merit or sin of all actions done in his dominions. In the love of his subjects lies the strength of a king. The epithet Râjan itself means that the king should be a source of joy to his people.¹ The king therefore should do only what would please his subjects and avoid what would cause hardship to them. A declaration and promise of protection to all should be made by the king at the time of his coronation which, according to the Agni Purāṇa, should be celebrated a year after his accession. The king should devote his hours and minutes to the business of the state. Every day he should see his subjects, consider the daily reports of income and expenditure, receive Brāhmaṇas, ministers, officers and people presented by the usherer of the court, consult his ministers on weighty matters and preside over the court of justice. Such is the daily programme—ceremonies, meals and exercises intervening.¹

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¹ Agni Purâṇa (edited by Manmatha Nath Dutt). Uttarakhaṇḍa, Ch. CCXVIII, 2-3; CCXXIII, 4-13, 22-26; CCXXII, 15-18; CCXX, 22-23, CCXXIX, 6-12. The Purâṇa compares the king to the gods after the manner of the Mahâbhârata, CCXXVI, 17-20. For the position of sciences, Ch. I, 14-17. The Agni Purâṇa claims to expound the

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¹ Ibid., CCXVIII, 4—6. The Agni Purāṇa gives elaborate descriptions of the ceremonies and sacrifices accompanying the coronation. See CCXVIII, 7—34; also CCXIX. For the duties of the king, CCXXV, 1—17.

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The king must appoint a number of chief officials—Ambassador, Minister, Master of the Kitchen, Royal Physician, Keeper of Royal Elephants, Keepers of Stables, Masters of the Castles and Fortresses. The Agni Purāṇa jumbles the state and household officers together. It prescribes the usual intellectual and moral qualifications for them all. It is specially mentioned that no royal officer should be an atheist. For local government, the Purāṇa adopts the old scheme of Manu and Kauṭalya. The village officer is designated Grāṇâdhipati; the superintendent of ten villages is known as Daśagrâmâdhipati, of 100 villages as Śatagrâmâdhipati and the yet higher officer as Viśweśwara. They must be paid according to the great and eternal science of Brahma. In the Purāṇas, as in the Smṛtis, penances are prescribed for all sorts of sins and crimes. See Agni Purāṇa, Ch. CCXXI. The killer of a cow or a Brāhmaṇa should quit life the same day or commit himself to the flames for the destruction of his sins. (CLXXIII, 17.)

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ing to the importance of their charge. Their conduct must constantly be watched by spies.¹

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¹ Ibid., CXIX, 1-8; CCXXIII, 1-4; CCXXI. According to the Agni Purāṇa a village should be 100 dhanus in extent and a town, 200 or 300 dhanus. All towns should be enclosed by walls which a camel could not look over (CCXVII, 20-22).

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It is the spies who are the real eyes of the king. Disguised as merchants, physicians, astrologers, religious mendicants, they should watch the doings of all and note the strength and armaments of foreign states. They must also keep a close watch on foreign visitors. But some check is necessary on them as well. Spies should not know one another. A single spy is not to be trusted, unless he is corroborated by others.²

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² Ibid., CCXX, 17-22.

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The Agni Purāṇa advocates justice in general terms. It declares that it is for the sake of royal justice that subjects pay taxes to the king, but it goes further than previous writers in claiming privileges for Brāhmaṇas. It holds that half the revenue collected should be deposited in the treasury and the other half distributed among Brāhmaṇas. The king is specially enjoined to rear, protect and worship Brāhmaṇas. He should ascertain the occupation and accomplishments of each Brāhmaṇa, provide him with a decent annuity and take care of him as if he were his own son. The ceremonies and sacrifices which Brāhmaṇas perform prolong the life of the king and bring happiness to the people at large. The king may be dying of hunger but he should not tax Brāhmaṇas. The king dies if a Brāhmaṇa famishes for food. The climax is reached when we are told that a Brāhmaṇa is never to be hurt or killed, though he may be leading the most wicked life and though he may have committed the most heinous crimes. The killing of a Brâhmaṇa is the deadliest of all sins.¹ The Agni Purāṇa follows its predecessors in laying down the principles and items of taxation, the customs, the toll on sales and purchases, the division of treasure-trove, and unclaimed property, etc. Only a few peculiarities need be noticed. The Purāṇa recognises the sale of female slaves. If they were imported, a duty should be levied according to the time and country of importation. One-sixth is charged on animals, one-fifth on gold and one-sixth on articles of perfumery, cereals, flowers, roots, fruits, leaves, pot-herbs, hays, bamboos, hides, wicker-works, earthen pots, stone-vessels, honey, meat and clarified butter. The king should not recklessly exhaust the mineral resources of his dominions.²

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¹ Ibid., CCXXIII, 14—16; CCXII, 15—181, 30—32.

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² Ibid., CCXXIII, 23—29.

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On law, civil and criminal, the Agni Purāṇa follows the Smṛtis. There are four sources of law—the scriptures, custom, the practice of the righteous and royal edicts. The Dharmaśāstra takes precedence over the Arthaśāstra. These include local custom and rules of good conscience. On every topic it dilates in minute detail. It declares that treason on the part of feudatories or governors should be punished by amputation of the hands and by impalement.³ State functionaries who prove corrupt or unworthy should be banished. Like Kauṭalya, the Agni Purāṇa seeks to legislate on labour. It would fine an employer who dismissed a labourer before the expiry of the stipulated term. It would punish a labourer who refused to serve on receipt of adequate wages. The king's command, the decision of the community and amicable settlement by parties may end disputes. In the royal court, assessors and ordeals are admitted. So we have the involved statement that a tribunal should consist of the eight limbs of a law-suit—the king, the judge, the jurors, the scriptures, the astrologer, the clerk, gold, fire, and water.¹ Witnesses should belong to the same caste or social order as the party by which they have been cited.² The Agni Purâṇa counsels that enemies of the public good should be publicly executed while all other sentences should be carried out privately.³

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³ Ibid., CCXXVII, 1—17, 40—48, in particular CCLIII, 3, 50.

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¹ Ibid., CCLIII, 3–66.

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² Ibid., CCLV, 2. On the Law of Debt, see CCLIV, on other branches of civil and criminal law, CCLV—CCLVIII. The rules about witnesses, etc., are borrowed from Smṛitis.

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³ Ibid., CCLXI, 47–53.

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Feudatories figure more than once in the Agni Purâṇa. They should help the suzerain power in appeasing the public feeling and should rally to its support in times of war, by collecting allies and auxiliaries and by distinguishing friends from disguised enemies.⁴

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⁴ Ibid., CCXLI, 16–28.

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Feudatories.

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In dealing with foreign affairs, the Purâṇa adopts the precepts of its predecessors. It specifies seven expedients: (1) Sâma or friendly measures, (2) Dâna or payment of money, (3) Bheda or creating dissensions, (4) Mâyâ or stratagem, (5) Indrajâla or deceit, (6) Upekṣâ or indifference, and (7) Danda or war. The Purâṇa would prefer diplomacy to the uncertain chances of war. Hence the importance of envoys. There are three classes of them: (1) Sâsanârhaka, those who are charged simply to deliver a message: (2) Mitrârtha, those who are charged to conduct negotiations according to instructions from headquarters, and (3) Niḥsṛiṣṭârtha or plenipotentiaries, those who are authorised to settle affairs

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Foreign affairs.

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according to their own lights. All ambassadors, of whatever grade, must observe the correct etiquette.¹ The king must always carefully contemplate the balance of power among the twelve monarchs of the Maṇḍala or circle. When he finds himself in conflict with a foe of superior might, he should himself make overtures of peace for his own good.² Next, the Purāṇa embarks on an elaborate description of military tactics, strategy, manœuvres, auspicious auguries, omens, etc.³

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¹ Ibid., CCXLI, 1–12; CXXXIV, 17–251; CCXXVI, 4–8.

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² Ibid., CCXLI, 1–6.

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³ Ibid., CCXL, 7–32. Also CCXXXII-III. CCXXXVI.

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The Bṛhaddharma Purāṇa, an Upapurāṇa, gives its political theory in the form of a narration of the ancient history of the human race. The world began with the golden age called Satya Yuga which was free from all sorrow and sin, disease and disputes. It was a heaven of perfect virtue and happiness. With the advent of the second age or Tretā Yuga commenced a decline which reached an advanced stage in the Dwāpara Yuga.⁴ Of course, caste had appeared long ago in the usual orthodox style and the duties of the different orders had been laid down. Brāhmaṇas are never to bear arms, or practise agriculture, pasture, trade, etc. Otherwise they are guilty of the sin of cow-slaughter. The Purāṇas, it will be observed, are more strict on the law of caste than even the Smṛitis. The Bṛhaddharma Purāṇa, however, admits that all, even Śūdras, attain the rank of Vipras if they duly perform their duties.⁵ The course of human history was disturbed by an episode which left lasting traces on society. There arose a king called Vena who violated the law in every particular. He forbade all religious worship, exercise and gifts by beat of drum. He embarked on a course of deliberate oppression. The sages approached him and told him that Dharma was the greatest friend of men of all castes and stages. If the king renounced Dharma, the subjects would follow suit. Then nobody's wife would be his own and nobody's wealth or house would be his own. That is to say, family and property would be gone. The rule of a Dharma-less king is equivalent to anarchy. It means promiscuity which means the birth of bastards who are calculated to lead all to hell. The discourse was lost on Veṇa who wilfully intermixed the castes and thus ultimately gave rise to 360 sub-castes. At last the cup was full; the Ṛiṣis were enraged. They went forth to slaughter the wicked king. They extinguished his life by their breath and ground his hands. They set up a new king, Pṛithu. The earth obtained peace; Dharma resumed its vogue and the gods, Brāhmaṇas and cows received protection once again. The intermixture of castes was stopped but the existing half-castes were not exterminated. They were given a place in the social system and assigned different functions.¹ The story of Veṇa illustrates what a government ought not to do. It emphasises that government is the great instrument of keeping Dharma intact. It sanctions regicide as the last measure to get rid of iniquitous tyrants.

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⁴ Bṛhaddharma Purāṇa (ed. Hara Prasad Shastri, Calcutta, 1888), Uttarakhaṇḍa, Canto XII, 5–42.

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⁵ Ibid., I, 4–6, 14, 22–3; II, 8–62.

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¹ Ibid., XIII, 13—49, 54—60; XIV, 3—80.

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The king, who incorporates the essence of all the gods, is meant primarily to protect the people. That is equivalent to a thousand horse-sacrifices. But real Protection. protection implies the punishment of the wicked and the relentless suppression of sin. Sternness is the law of nature. On earth, as in water, creatures are constantly slaying one another. If the king has to slaughter in the course of protection, he is guilty of no sin. The world comes under the control only of those who wield the rod. To the impotent belongs neither this world nor the next It is the fear of the rod alone which keeps men under control and prevents wickedness. If the rod were laid aside, all would become undisciplined.¹ Behind it all there lies, as in the Mahâbhârata, a low conception of human nature. From the capital punishment, the Purâṇa would exempt Brâhmaṇas, women, old men and children.² A few of the miscellaneous precepts of the Bṛihaddharma Purâṇa may be mentioned. The revenue should be spent on projects of Dharma, on the royal household, and on the succour of Vipras. The government should always keep itself in readiness to meet the emergency of war and should maintain its forces in perfect order. No minister should continue in office too long. The brothers of a king should not be given too great a latitude. No interest on loans should be charged from Brâhmaṇas. Śûdras should be debarred from the study of sacred literature.³

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¹ Ibid., III, 10 et seq.

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² Ibid., III, 23—33. The Purâṇa also invokes supernatural punishments to reinforce earthly chastisement. (Ibid., 34—37.)

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³ Ibid., III, 41—48, 49, 51, 54; IV, 10, 18—24.

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The Vâyu Purâṇa is remarkable for a theory of caste slightly different from the orthodox version. In the Kṛitayuga, the Golden Age, there was no caste, no distinctions of high and low. Perfect virtue, happiness and beauty prevailed. All lived to a good old age. All had Kalpavṛikṣas or trees of plenty at home. Later, greed and passion suddenly assailed human hearts. Then came into existence what is now called civilisation. Villages and towns were founded, forts were erected, social institutions were devised. Clothing and furniture were introduced.

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Agriculture and other occupations came into vogue. Brahman grouped the people according to their character and deeds. Those who were disinterested, who spoke the truth and who explained the Vedas aright became Brāhmaṇas. Those who were suited for command and prone to violence became Kṣatriyas. Those who were rather feeble, and engaged in agriculture and industries fell into the order of Vaiśyas. Lastly, those who lacked vigour and strength, who were cleansers and who ran about on service were termed Śūdras. The social order is thus based on hard psychological facts, utility and divine sanction alike. It must be enforced by the government.¹

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¹ Vāyu Purāṇa, ed. Rajendra Lal Mitra, (Bibliotheca Indica Series, Calcutta, 1880), Canto VIII, 60-61, 64-65, 78-80, 84-90, 92-97. For details of constructions, 98-123; for agriculture, 142-143; for caste, 157-159; for the scheme of duties, 161-164; for Āśramas or the fourfold division of Dwija life, 169. The Vāyu Purāṇa holds that the household stage is the root of all Āśramas (173).

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The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, though remarkably free from sectarianism, wants the rules of the social order to be enforced with the utmost strictness. All must be kept within bounds, within their particular duties and occupations. It is permitted to a high-caste man to marry, for the second time, into a lower caste but he must then fall to the lower rank. For example, a royal heir-apparent who married a Vaiśya forfeited his right to the throne and had to content himself with Vaiśya occupations.² On the king's paramount importance, his divine character, his qualifications and duties, on his ministers, officers, spies and so forth, the Mārkaṇḍeya repeats the Smṛtis.³ It emphasises the duty and wisdom of conciliating the subjects.

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² Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, XXVIII, 33-36; CXIII, 19-21. There is an excellent translation of this Purāṇa by F. E. Pargiter, Calcutta, 1904. Wilson placed this Purāṇa in the 9th or 10th century. Pargiter brings it up to the 4th century A.D. (Introduction, XIII-XIV.)

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³ Ibid., XXVII, 1-9, 10-16, 21-31.

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Whosoever is an obstacle in the way of promoting the welfare of subjects, whether it be father or preceptor, kinsman or friend, should be killed by the king.¹

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¹ Ibid., CXXXI, 27-28; XXVII, 1. Canto XV describes the various punishments reserved for offenders in future life. For instance, he who carries away a deposit goes to hell and is then born a worm. Murderers of women and children are also born as worms. See XV, 1-4, 6, 18-16, 19.

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The Viṣṇu Purāṇa has an interesting theory of the growth of what is called civilisation. At first there was no society or state. The Siddhis, the perennial goddesses of bliss, bestowed everything on all in right royal profusion. But after a while sin increased and people began to quarrel. No longer were they fit for the golden age. The Siddhis therefore inaugurated a new order of things. Agriculture, trade and other occupations were instituted. All the grains, vegetables and medicines were brought into being. Towns, walls, forts, moats, houses, and wells were laid out. Religious and moral rules were promulgated; the ritual was defined. Brahman created the four castes. It was the function of the king to uphold this order. The Purāṇa repeats the story of Veṇa from the Mahābhārata as a warning.² The Matsya Purāṇa relates the history of man in yet greater detail, tracing the gradual appearance of mountains, rivers, lakes, etc., as well as of hunger, sin, greed and human instincts in general. Villages and towns developed late. Government was needed to educate the people into the mysteries of social life and to uphold the social order.³ The kingship was created by Brahman, also to award the Devas their respective shares of sacrificial oblations.

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² Viṣṇu Purāṇa (ed. T. R. Vyasacharya, Bombay, 1914), Canto VI, 6, 17-20. Also Canto XIII.

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³ Matsya Purāṇa, Ch. XLVII. For the horrors of the Kali age when śūdra kings will reign, see Ch. CXLIV, 30-47. On statecraft in general, Chs. CCXXII-CCXXVI. On law, penalties and finances, Chs. CCXXVII-CCXXVIII.

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The Bṛhannâradîya Purâṇa, which is really an Upa-purâṇa wedded to the Vaiṣṇava faith, is one of the latest and most orthodox of Purâṇas. It prescribes peculiarities in the dresses of the different castes. It is at pains to reinforce earthly punishment by spiritual penances all regulated according to caste. It declares that Dharma varies according to aeons and that in the Kaliyuga, inter-caste marriage, sea-voyage, Vânaprastha, etc., are forbidden.¹

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¹ Bṛhannâradîya Purâṇa (ed. Hrishikesh Shastri, Calcutta, 1893), Ch. 22.

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The Padma Purâṇa describes policy, diplomacy, manœuvres, etc., in the usual fashion.²

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² Padma Purâṇa (ed. Mahâdeva Chimanjî Âpte, Poona, 1893), Vol. III, Chs. CCXVI—CCXXIX.

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The Varâha Purâṇa, recited by Viṣṇu as Varâha or the Boar Incarnation to the personified earth whom he had saved from annihilation, contains only brief and scattered allusions to the creation of the world and the reigns of kings. Here and there it mentions monarchs who, tired of worldly prosperity, installed their sons on the throne and themselves departed to the forest to lead ascetic lives. It declares that Brâhmaṇas must be worshipped by all. They are the gods of all. None should display indignation or jealousy towards them.³

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³ Varâha Purâṇa (ed. Hara Prasad Shastri, Calcutta, 1893), Ch. 218 (18—20).

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The Nṛisiṁha Purâṇa relates, *inter alia*, the story of Râma but contains only the usual reflections on government.⁴

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⁴ Nṛisiṁha Purâṇa, Bombay, 1911.

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The Kûrma Purâṇa, recited by the divine Tortoise Incarnation to the Ṛiṣis who sang his praises at the churning of the ocean, presents a vivid picture of idyllic existence and a perverted society. The world began with abundant Kalpa trees which showered necessaries and luxuries on all at the prompting of the heart. When they disappeared at the commencement of the Tretâyuga, men were seized with greed. By the Kaliyuga or the present dark age, virtue departed from the earth. Men are now feeble, irascible, covetous and untruthful. Brâhmaṇas do not study the Vedas, nor repeat the hymns nor perform ablutions. They will associate with Śûdras and join them in the performance of religious rites. "Princes, surrounded by Śûdras, shall prosecute the Brâhmaṇas." Śûdras will occupy higher positions than Brâhmaṇas. All alike will insult and disparage the Vedas and gods. That's what is destined to happen but what ought not to happen.¹

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¹ Kûrma Purâṇa (ed. Nilamani Mukhopadhyaya, Calcutta, 1890), Section I, Chs. XXIX-XXX. Cf. Swayambhû Purâṇa, Ch. VII.

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The Śrimad Bhâgavata which is called a Purâṇa, but which is really an independent work inculcating the worship of Kṛiṣṇa, has a few political passages.² It is stated once that even a sinful monarch should not be disregarded by the people, for every monarch embodies the vigour of Lokapâlas or protectors of the universe.³ But this doctrine, akin to that of passive obedience, is later qualified by the narration of the traditional story of the tyrant Veṇa’s fate. Exasperated by his lawless conduct the Ṛiṣis declared that the wicked man was not fit to rule. They put an end to his life by their breaths.¹ The king should be virtuous and vigorous, at whose advent disorderly persons would disappear as mice disappear before a snake. Nothing is more deplorable than anarchy. If there is no king, people are burnt like worms betwixt pieces of wood.² The Bhāgavata delights in its delineation of Pṛithu’s character. True to his word, impartial to all, to his own son, as to his enemy’s son, like a father to his subjects, like a servant to philosophers, like death to the wicked, he was the delight of all.³ The Earth must be duly protected. Once when she did not receive adequate protection, she refused to bear any herbs, etc.⁴ It was the king’s function to educate his subjects into virtue, to set every one to his proper duty and to chastise the undutiful.⁵ The sceptre of dominion and the rod of justice can be wielded only by those who are versed in Vedas and Śāstras.⁶ Needless to say, the Bhāgavata repeats the traditional origin of caste, stresses Brahmanic supremacy, and wants the social order to be enforced by the state.⁷

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² A late passage in the Padma Purâṇa says that Vyâsa, the traditional author of all Purâṇas as of the Mahâbhârata, composed the Bhâgavata last of all and incorporated into it the essence of the foregoing Purâṇas. The Bhâgavata is greatly indebted to the Viṣṇu Purâṇa and Harivaṃśa Purâṇa. Probably it arose in the south, cf. XI, 5 (38-40). There are numerous commentaries on the Bhâgavata. That of Śridhara Svâmî is one of the best.

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³ Śrimad Bhâgavata, IV, 13, 23.

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¹ Ibid., IV, 14, 30-35.

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² Ibid., IV, 14, 2-3, 7-8.

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³ Ibid., IV, 16, 11-19, 21-26.

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⁴ Ibid., IV, 18, 6-8. The Bhāgavata follows the Mahābhārata in ascribing the foundation of villages and cities to Pṛithu (IV, 18, 25-32).

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⁵ Ibid., IV, 20, 14; IV, 21, 22, 24.

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⁶ Ibid., IV, 22, 45.

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⁷ Ibid., XI, 17, 3, 14-15, 19. For other Purāṇic political passages see the Garuḍa Purāṇa, Chs. 111-114, 143, 145. Some Purāṇas like the Liṅga and Brahmavaivarta contain hardly anything political.

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The other Purāṇas and Upapurāṇas are politically in line with those noticed above. In authority, the Purāṇas admittedly rank below the Vedas but later they were recognised along with Smṛiti as sources of law. Attempts were made to bring the two classes of writings into mutual harmony. Whole chapters from earlier writings were sometimes incorporated into Purāṇas. Not only the Śrīmad Bhāgavata but sections of other Purāṇas also have formed the subject of long commentaries ever since. For instance, the Sūtasaṃhitā, incorporated in the Skanda Purāṇa, has a commentary called Tātparyadīpikā by Mādhavācārya himself. In this species of literature which still continues to grow, Purāṇic texts are explained and reconciled to each other and to Śruti and Smṛiti. The importance of Purāṇas extends beyond Brahmanic circles. The Purāṇic tradition, style and doctrine exercised a deep influence on Jaina and on Mahāyāna Buddhistic literature.

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