Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c10.58

c10.58

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.