Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c15.4

c15.4

There is nothing surprising in the fact that a good deal of Hindu¹ political thought is imbedded in religious compositions. Writing of an important epoch in European history, Figgis remarks that ‘of political principles whether they be those of order or of freedom, we must seek in religious and quasi-theological writings for the highest and most notable expressions.’² In spite of differences in the context and method of speculation, the same tendency operated yet more strongly in India. Here the whole outlook on life has been deeply tinged by religion; law has always been associated with religion and all literature has been coloured by it. The manner in which governmental ideas are only too often interwoven into the texture of theology is sometimes irritating to the modern inquirer, but it has one indubitable advantage. It presents political thought as part of the current intellectual stock and as related to the whole of life. It is thus possible to detect certain principles which lie behind it, which are not clearly stated but which emerge out of the whole set of ideas and their context.