The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c16.s1.57

c16.s1.57

The Viṣṇu Purâṇa throws no additional light on institutions but it gives an interesting picture of a primeval golden age with its bliss and plenty, its gradual degeneration into what is called ‘civilisation’—the origin of society, caste, agriculture, industry, commerce, houses, villages and towns, etc., etc. It tends to bring out that the government exists to enforce the social order and to lead and educate the people into righteousness. It repeats the story of Veṇa from the Mahâbhârata as a warning against tyrannical rule.³