Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c6.162

c6.162

conquest of the earth is held forth as the noblest of ideals, and is celebrated in stirring verse in the Mahābhārata. In the course of one of the most remarkable episodes in the epic, Jarāsandha openly declares that it was a Kṣatriya's duty to bring others under his sway by the exhibition of his prowess and to treat them as slaves. In the Vanaparva it is stated that whatever sin a king commits in acquiring dominion, is expiated afterwards by means of sacrifices and gifts. Incessant warfare and diplomatic negotiations were the result. The perpetual recurrence of crises shook and destroyed the influence of ethical principles on foreign policy. As in Italy in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, reason of state was erected into the most sacred of principles. Every state was sovereign and claimed to be a law unto itself. When face to face with dire adversity, the government could do anything. The justification of it all is that abnormal times have an ethics of their own, Āpaddharma, as it is called. It must be clearly understood that in days of distress, all the ordinary rules of morality and custom are suspended. Once in a period of anarchy and misery, the great sage Viśvāmitra, driven to the verge of starvation, insisted on stealing a haunch of dog's meat from the lowest of Caṇḍālas. The latter debated and entreated in vain. The holy sage consumed the meat, expiated the whole sin by penances later on, and attained wonderful spiritual successes. Thus self-preservation is the highest law and justifies all means.