Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c11.s2.t4.15

c11.s2.t4.15

Conscious, perhaps, that he had appeared on the scene rather late, the author of Śukranīti is at pains to connect his handiwork with hoary antiquity. He repeats with slight modifications the Mahâbhârata version of the history of Daṇḍanīti which goes back to the beginnings of creation. He had elected to condense the version of Brahman because the life of man was too short. He conceives of politics as an art with a definite object. Daṇḍanīti aims at the promotion of general prosperity. It conduces to the stability of the world. It is, of course, particularly useful to rulers. A king who neglects it, sinks like a leaky vessel.¹ It need hardly be repeated that in Hindu speculation politics are not clearly separated from the general science of society. Like other writers, Śukra has something to say on society as a whole. At one place he displays an extraordinary breadth and liberality of outlook. It is not birth but “virtues and works” which determine the rank of a person in the system of caste. Passing to politics, Śukra adopts the time-honoured theory that a state is an organism of “seven limbs,” *viz.*, the sovereign, the minister, the ally, the treasure, the territory, the fort and the army. It is significant that Śukra compares them to various members of the human body.²