Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c7.2

c7.2

After the Mahâbhârata, the law books constitute one of the most important sources of Hindu governmental theory. They profess to cover the whole field of life and lay down extremely minute regulations on everything. They deal with administration when they describe the duties of the Kṣatriyas. They indicate a full theory of government when they discuss the duties of all the castes and stages and when they inquire, though in a perfunctory manner, into the origin of things. The most influential of Hindu law-books is the famous "Code" of Manu which still influences the life and thought of millions. Its exact date cannot be ascertained. There are ideas, verses and, perhaps, chapters in it which belong to a remote antiquity. Manu appears many times in the Mahâbhârata. According to Ancient Hindu tradition, Manu was the first king of mortals. Fragments bearing his name must have been composed long ago. When the work assumed its present compact form cannot be accurately determined. Max Müller held that it was posterior to the fourth century A.D. But its closest student, editor and translator, George Bühler, holds that the work, as we know it, existed in the second century A.D.¹ This is the safest date to assume for all purposes of discussion.