Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c14.s1.1

c14.s1.1

The Mahābhārata contains numerous allusions to guilds and makes it clear that their headmen occupied an influential position in the community. The Mahābhārata reckons them among the principal supports of the monarchy. It insists on their internal cohesion. No expiation can remove the sin of forsaking one’s duty towards one’s guild. Guilds of warriors appear to have been very important in the heroic age. A king is enjoined to avail himself of Śreṇivala which is described as equal to that of hired soldiers. The Rāmāyaṇa also refers to Sayodhaśreṇis. A passage in the Śāntiparva discusses the conditions which gaṇas must fulfil in order to prosper. But the word gaṇa here refers to political groups, oligarchic republics, which flourished for a while in the north. To the theory of guilds proper, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa make little contribution.