The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c19.115

c19.115

Kṣemendra, who lived in Kashmir in the eleventh century and probably came of a line of ministers, stands in a class by himself among later Sanskrit writers. In his Rāmāyaṇamañjarī and his Bhāratamañjarī he summarises the epics, reproduces their political teachings and seeks to re-capture their spirit and atmosphere. None the less, the influence of Dharma Śāstras and Niti Śāstras is there.¹ The same writer in his Bodhisattvâvadânakalpalatâ epitomised numerous Buddhist Jâtaka and Avadâna tales with equal success. Here, however, the political ideas are given in a Brahmanical setting. In the Bṛihatkathâmañjarī, based on Guṇâḍhya's Bṛihatkathâ, the politics of the age find a reflection. There is nothing new here. But it is worth while observing that federal-feudalism is reflected in these works as elsewhere.