Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c6.98

c6.98

Protection of the people, in the widest sense, material and moral alike, is the primary function of the government, the very essence of the kingship. The term, as used in the Mahâbhârata, sometimes means energy and efficiency, sometimes beneficence and righteousness, and sometimes justice and enforcement of order but it is best translated as firm paternalism.⁵ The merit which the king earns by a single day’s righteous protection of the people brings him a reward which lasts for ten thousand years.⁶ A monarch who can afford no protection is to be shunned like a leaky boat, or an ignorant priest.⁷ A king who does not protect his subjects is a thief and sinks into hell. If a weak person fails to find a rescuer, the great rod of divine chastisement falls on the king. Protection is supremely important because it is the prime means of human happiness. In one of the dialogues of the Śāntiparva, Bhr̥igu declares that happiness is an attribute of the soul and is in itself desirable. The Heaven is Light and Hell is Darkness. The Truth is Righteousness; Righteousness is Light and Light is Happiness. The doctrine was incomprehensible to Bharadwāja who protested that R̥iṣis sought something higher and that happiness as an ideal was not acceptable to high-souled people. Bhr̥igu, however, reiterated his position. The trend of the Mahābhārata is towards emphasising popular happiness as the goal of governmental activity.¹